Press Releases

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) released the following statement in support of the decision by the White House to keep a small force of U.S. troops in Syria split between Kurdish areas in the northeast and al-Tanf in the south:

“I am pleased to learn that the president has reversed his decision to pull all of our soldiers out of Syria, and has decided to leave a small force at the base and deconfliction zone at al-Tanf in south Syria. It is critical that U.S. forces are present to lead our international allies in providing stability in this fragile region. History has shown us that a strategy of ‘America leading from behind’ results in disastrous consequences that threaten the lives of refugees, and allows brutal dictators and terrorist groups to thrive. We must ensure that an allied force remains at al-Tanf and today's announcement is welcome news."

Rep. Hill has repeatedly spoken out on the importance of American leadership in Syria. On January 10, 2019, he delivered a speech on the House floor discussing America’s military goals in Syria which includes supporting a small base and deconfliction zone at al-Tanf, pictured below.

Video of that speech can be viewed by clicking HERE or on the picture below.

Prepared remarks from Rep. Hill's January 10, 2019, floor speech are copied below:

Mr. Speaker, I was delighted to read that President Trump has reflected on his initial instinct to pull our 2000 soldiers out of eastern Syria based on his conclusion that ISIS is defeated. Instead, he is ordering a withdrawal “at a proper pace” consistent with American objectives.

To meet our goals of a safe American homeland and progress towards regional stability, America must: First, develop a strategy to eliminate ISIS from Northeast Syria along the lower Euphrates Valley at the border of Syria and Iraq.  

This plan must include a productive partner role for our allies, the Kurds. It is not in America's interest to abandon our long friends the Kurds to Turkish treachery and annihilation. Recent open source data suggests that there are 30,000 ISIS related fighters in the lower Euphrates Valley near the Syrian – Iraqi border. With our allies, we must press this villainous band to its inglorious end. And, we must, with our allies, redouble our efforts to cut off their money flow and recover the hundreds of millions stolen by this rogue, murderous “caliphate-in-name only.” Our leaving with no plan will squander our immense success in cutting off funding and winning back hard fought territorial gains from the occupation by ISIS.

Second, America must block Iran. A key here is the small base and deconfliction zone at al-Tanf.  A small force of 200 anchors that base along this key highway. Not only is this a strategic imperative, but 50,000 refugees are tenuously housed within this deconfliction zone at Rukban (Ruck-ban). We must insure that an allied force remains at al-Tanf blocking the Iranian autobahn being considered from Tehran to Damascus. For the 50,000 refugees, half of which are children: withdrawal and death awaits them. Jordan can take no more. Withdraw and you will leave Israel fully encircled by its greatest enemy, the Ayatollah in Tehran.

Finally, America must achieve peace and stability in Syria. Our small, elite presence, our supply lines, and air superiority offer pressure on the murderous regime in Damascus to reach a settlement to return Syria to peace and return millions of refugees to their towns and ancestors’ villages. Leave, Mr. President and you will squander the great moral victory of your strategic strikes against Assad from his illegal use of chemical weapons and barrel bombs. Your decisive action made our friends, villagers huddling in fear and from the Euphrates to Idlib, shout with joy –– “America is back” they shouted.

Leave, Mr. President with no plan, and no strategy and they will hang their heads, as they did during President Obama's shameful abandonment. Mr. Speaker, this unfortunate chapter unfolding in the tragedy known as Syria foreshadows an unflattering flashback to a time long ago when Great Britain abandoned a role of stability in the Holy Land and India.