NBC’s Richard Engel Tears Into Pompeo: ‘I Don’t Know How He Can Possibly Even Say’ U.S. Has Fulfilled Commitment in Syria

NBC News correspondent Richard Engel ripped Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for comments he made today defending the U.S. withdrawal from Syria.

The implications of the redeployment of forces to Iraq, Engel bluntly said, are “ethnic cleansing, the mass expulsion of the Kurdish population from northern Syria.”

“That is what the Kurds say they are already facing. They say it is still going on, even though there is a ceasefire — a ceasefire that expires in just about 24 hours. But they say once the ceasefire expires, Turkey will resume its full-on military offensive. And then the ethnic cleansing will continue only at a much accelerated rate,” he continued. “They think — the Kurds here in northern Syria — that they have been abandoned by the United States. Abandoned specifically by President Trump and the White House. And they say they are facing mass expulsion and it is just a matter of time before they are wiped off this part of the country.”

Earlier today Pompeo touted what the U.S. has done in a CNBC interview, saying, “We jointly took down the threat of the caliphate of ISIS. It was to the benefit of the SDF, it was to the benefit of the United States of America, and indeed, to the benefit of the world. The commitment that we made to work alongside them we completely fulfilled.”

“I don’t know how he can possibly even say that,” Engel responded. “Hundreds of thousands of those Kurdish people who are supposed to be protected by the SDF are now fleeing their homes. They are heading to Iraq. They are dying in the hundreds. No. They do not feel like the United States has fulfilled its commitment to them. If you look, we saw today I think some of the worst images that will — that will resonate throughout history.”

He brought up the images of U.S. troops being pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables, and even some stones, as they were leaving.

“The soldiers in this country who are being ordered to leave feel absolutely horrible,” Engel noted. “There might not be a formal deal, a written treaty, with the Kurds. But there is a bond that these troops formed. A bond of blood, a bond of honor, that they think they are breaking right now and that the commander in chief has ordered them to do something immoral by leaving the Kurdish people and their Kurdish allies behind to die. So, no, they do not feel like they are — have had their end of the agreement fulfilled.”

You can watch above, via NBC.