In December 2018, Trump caught US lawmakers off guard after he took to his favored social media platform, tweeting that he would be pulling the 2,000-strong US force out of Syria on account of the Daesh terror group having been defeated. However, since then, the White House has slowly backtracked its statements by repeatedly pushing back the time frame for an exit.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton has also indicated troops would only be removed once Daesh militants are completely defeated, and when Turkey makes guarantees that it won't attack US-backed Kurdish forces of the YPG.
"When it comes to US imperialism and the war machines, the Democrats are just the same, if not worse, than the Republicans," Sheehan told Radio Sputnik's Loud & Clear on Friday.
"And what I found most interesting about this vote is that the Democrats who will be vying for the [presidential] nomination in 2020, like [Vermont Sen. Bernie] Sanders, [California Sen. Kamala] Harris and [New Jersey Sen.] Corey Booker, they voted with Trump."
"What are they saying? Are they saying that they're actually for peace, and they believe Trump is for peace? Or do they believe that their base is going to be energized by their no votes on this?" she asked.
Noting that the votes by Booker, Harris and Sanders against the amendment were not exactly "of conscience," Sheehan told hosts Brian Becker and John Kiriakou that the trio has been "reliable votes for [US] imperialism in the past."
Earlier this week, Bolton had the Twittersphere on fire after he was spotted at a White House press briefing with a legal pad that included the note: "5,000 troops to Colombia." Although it hasn't been confirmed that troops were being sent to Venezuela's neighbor, that hasn't kept the speculation from bubbling.
"The thing about these proposed withdrawals from Afghanistan or Syria… They're not really withdrawals, they're just realignments," Sheehan said, recalling Bolton's note. "It's just about moving these pawns all over the world."
Thursday's vote ultimately demonstrated "the fact that there's just one party, and it's the war party," the activist told Becker. "It's going to take a mass movement of people, not just electorally here in the United States… but really putting up a very legitimate and credible alternative to US imperialism."
The latest development comes after a bipartisan group of eight US House lawmakers introduced two bills on Wednesday that would prevent the Trump administration from completely withdrawing soldiers from Syria and South Korea.
