DES MOINES — Moving U.S troops out of Syria was the wrong move, according to South Bend Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
In the past, Buttigieg has been an advocate for ending what he refers to as “forever wars” in the middle east. It was this reasoning that President Trump said prompted him to pull troops out of northern Syria early last week.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union in Des Moines, Iowa Sunday, Buttigieg said ending the war doesn’t mean withdrawing from engagement.
“Often if mean making sure we do our part to stabilize or help keep the peace so that full-blown conflicts don’t break out,” Buttigieg said. “This isn’t even a strategy or a policy. It is the president systematic destroying American alliances and values. That makes the country worse off.”
Since the removal of U.S. troops in northern Syria, Turkey has invaded the country and engaged with Kurdish forces, whom the Turks believe are terrorists.
Buttigieg also discussed America’s working class and how the government needs to do more to protect them.
“We hear a lot about family values. Well to me making sure your workplace supports your ability to raise a family, that’s family values too,” he said. “We need a 15-dollar floor on the minimum wage and everybody working in America. Fast-food workers should have access to 15-dollars (an hour) and a union.”
Buttigieg added that he wants to see Obama-era overtime protections for all working-class Americans reinstated. Those protections were scaled back by the Trump Administration earlier this year.
(PHOTO: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
