Moreover, the issue of credibility shows the importance of choosing threats and commitments carefully. Going to war should be an option of last resort. It should not be something that a country does to convince a foe that it is willing to attack them. Former President Barack Obama should have never drawn a red line over Syria. The cost of unnecessary, ill-considered guarantees and resultant wars is likely to be much greater than the credibility theoretically gained.

The last, and perhaps lamest argument for removing U.S. troops from Syria, is that now is the wrong time. Sen. Lindsey Graham quoted former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as saying “the time was not right to leave.” But in their view, when is the right time? Never. Things are better, so we wouldn’t want to lose that advantage. Things are worse, so we need to double down. Things are the same, so we dare not stop doing whatever is maintaining the status quo. There always will be another job to finish, foe to fight, ally to assist, adversary to cow, and friend to reassure. If the deployment is not worth the cost, then it is time to go. Now.

Obviously, there is much about President Trump’s policies and operating style which warrant criticism. However, attacks against him take on a quality of “the kitchen sink” by people who dislike him irrespective of what he does. Indeed, only Donald Trump could turn progressive neo-pacifists in raving neoconservative hawks. America’s role in Syria, the Mideast, and world deserve a far better and more serious debate.

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire.

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