Syria

[bandrus1 413]

Anti Kurdish bombings by Turkey has just started. 

Not good

[Cdub100 3,689]

Just so you know Trump said we are leaving Syria, so expect the media to care about it again and (certain) people to try and keep us there. 

[bandrus1 413]

I mean I personally support protecting people fighting ISIS 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

1 minute ago, bandrus1 said:

I mean I personally support protecting people fighting ISIS 

So do most people not colored orange.

[IGotWorms 4,028]

Wag the dog 

[SUXBNME 1,439]

56 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

Wag the dog 

Lick my balls

[shorepatrol 1,828]

I don't care. Turn it into glass or take it over. 70 years of nothing but conflict and pandering has got nothing done to our benefit. 

[The Observer 641]

If Lindsay "Donald's poop smells like honeysuckle" Graham speaks out against it, you know it has to be a disastrous decision.

[Hardcore troubadour 14,164]

Another mess Obama left behind. 

[fandandy 3,313]

We have zero business being in Syria to begin with.  Attempting to topple Assad was about as bright as taking out Ghadafi.  

Promises Made, Promises Kept.  You don't like it, vote for Warren.

[RLLD 3,928]

I am not sure if he actually understands what he is doing, but this is some crafty sh!t.....if you have ever spent time in the area, as I have, you will understand that this creates a real problem for Russia and Iran in particular.  Can't wait to see how they react to this.

[NorthernVike 2,082]

The US has all of 1000 troops in this shithole.  Big whoop. 

[Cdub100 3,689]

6 minutes ago, NorthernVike said:

The US has all of 1000 troops in this shithole.  Big whoop. 

1000 too many. Leave.

[drobeski 3,061]

It's funny, the left are now the war mongers. 

[IGotWorms 4,028]

18 minutes ago, drobeski said:

It's funny, the left are now the war mongers. 

That kweer lindthey graham is on the left now?

I personally don’t care except it’s an obvious attempt to distract from impeachment and we ought not be putting our national security at risk and focking over our longtime allies the Kurds for that 

[Hardcore troubadour 14,164]

12 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

That kweer lindthey graham is on the left now?

I personally don’t care except it’s an obvious attempt to distract from impeachment and we ought not be putting our national security at risk and focking over our longtime allies the Kurds for that 

It's funny, the left are now the homophobes. 

[drobeski 3,061]

13 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

That kweer lindthey graham is on the left now?

I personally don’t care except it’s an obvious attempt to distract from impeachment and we ought not be putting our national security at risk and focking over our longtime allies the Kurds for that 

Impeachment? good one

[MDC 6,762]

44 minutes ago, drobeski said:

It's funny, the left are now the war mongers. 

It’s funny how you’re not:

 

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,051]

Impeachment distraction right. Trump has been against being in the Middle East for years and has been pulling back since coming into office. Sorry if they are allies or whatever but if you wear a rag on your head I truly don’t give a damn. Hell if you aren’t American I truly don’t care either

[MDC 6,762]

Just now, RaiderHaters Revenge said:

Impeachment distraction right. Trump has been against being in the Middle East for years and has been pulling back since coming into office. Sorry if they are allies or whatever but if you wear a rag on your head I truly don’t give a damn. Hell if you aren’t American I truly don’t care either

This is probably the one area where I wholeheartedly agree with Trump. Credit where it’s due.

[RLLD 3,928]

13 minutes ago, RaiderHaters Revenge said:

Impeachment distraction right. Trump has been against being in the Middle East for years and has been pulling back since coming into office. Sorry if they are allies or whatever but if you wear a rag on your head I truly don’t give a damn. Hell if you aren’t American I truly don’t care either

There is a problem here, the military-industrial complex is nothing to fart around with, they will have no issue at all getting rid of a guy like Trump by any means necessary.  Yes, the intel community is working against him, but they have to avoid going too far.....I would be legitimately afraid of impacting the profits of the MIC or the Clintons...both with get you eliminated quick, fast and in a hurry....

[tanatastic 2,062]

I say we take every American out of there and let them fight their own battles and blow themselves up all they want.

[Hardcore troubadour 14,164]

1 minute ago, tanatastic said:

I say we take every American out of there and let them fight their own battles and blow themselves up all they want.

And not let anyone from those countries in here.  Problem solved. 

[RLLD 3,928]

Releasing this problem to the Turks is focking brilliant....God I love this, I cannot wait to hear about the fall out on the back end.

[avoiding injuries 1,363]

If the Generals and strategic military personnel agree, that’s what (and all that should) matters. 

[The Observer 641]

9 minutes ago, avoiding injuries said:

If the Generals and strategic military personnel agree, that’s what (and all that should) matters. 

Mattis resigned the last time he suggested this. So did McGurk.

[Casual Observer 597]

16 hours ago, Cdub100 said:

Just so you know Trump said we are leaving Syria, so expect the media to care about it again and (certain) people to try and keep us there. 

Which is probably the impetus for these bogus impeachment proceedings.

[Casual Observer 597]

12 minutes ago, avoiding injuries said:

If the Generals and strategic military personnel agree, that’s what (and all that should) matters. 

Agree on what?  Wasting more American lives?  Wasting more Syrian lives?  Go grab a rifle and fly over there.  Tell us how you make out.

[The Observer 641]

Just now, Casual Observer said:

Which is probably the impetus for these bogus impeachment proceedings.

The "bogus" impeachment hearing where Trump and his team are hiding documents and telling his staff not to testify?    ROFL  Yeah, that sounds real bogus.

[RLLD 3,928]

Just now, Casual Observer said:

Which is probably the impetus for these bogus impeachment proceedings.

The impetus for the impeachment was him winning the election.

[avoiding injuries 1,363]

2 minutes ago, Casual Observer said:

Agree on what?  Wasting more American lives?  Wasting more Syrian lives?  Go grab a rifle and fly over there.  Tell us how you make out.

Agree on the decision to leave Syria, you knucklehead. 

[Casual Observer 597]

2 minutes ago, RLLD said:

The impetus for the impeachment was him winning the election.

Quite possible Ray, but the decision to leave Syria has resulted in a lot of handwringing, especially from evangelicals.  Neocons are apoplectic.

[Casual Observer 597]

2 minutes ago, avoiding injuries said:

Agree on the decision to leave Syria, you knucklehead. 

Oh good.  First focking right decision they've agreed on in the last 30 years or so.

[Casual Observer 597]

17 hours ago, bandrus1 said:

I mean I personally support protecting people fighting ISIS 

Let's be honest Bandrus.  The US hasn't really been fighting the "JV Team" known as ISIS.  The Russians and Syrians have.  If we have really been fighting ISIS for more than five years now and haven't been able to destroy them, what does that say about US military capability?

[fandandy 3,313]

4 minutes ago, Casual Observer said:

Let's be honest Bandrus.  The US hasn't really been fighting the "JV Team" known as ISIS.  The Russians and Syrians have.  If we have really been fighting ISIS for more than five years now and haven't been able to destroy them, what does that say about US military capability?

This is sadly true.  Things were going very south in Syria until per Assad's request, Russia showed up and kicked some ass.  We were trying to topple a regime, not defeat ISIS.  We are the reason they had so many weapons to begin with.  America's foreign policy is to stir up sh!t.  

[Cdub100 3,689]

GTFO

[RLLD 3,928]

54 minutes ago, Casual Observer said:

Quite possible Ray, but the decision to leave Syria has resulted in a lot of handwringing, especially from evangelicals.  Neocons are apoplectic.

Agree. But often doing the right thing means being unpopular.

[The Observer 641]

So Turkey wasted no time using Trump's approval to invade and kill innocent people.  Including our allies.  Even Lindsay Graham is furious.  I bet none of the board Trumpsters are, though. Jim Jones-like loyalty.

[fandandy 3,313]

A recent post from Pat Buchanan:

Among those objecting most loudly to an American withdrawal from the forever wars of the Middle East are those who were the most enthusiastic about plunging us in.

The backstage struggle between the Bush interventionists and the America-firsters who first backed Donald Trump for president just exploded into open warfare, which could sunder the Republican Party.

At issue is Trump’s decision to let the Turkish army enter Northern Syria, to create a corridor between Syrian Kurds and the Turkish Kurds of the PKK, which the U.S. and Turkey regard as a terrorist organization.

“A disaster in the making,” says Lindsey Graham. “To abandon the Kurds” would be a “stain on America’s honor.”

“A catastrophic mistake,” said Rep. Liz Cheney.

“If reports about US retreat in Syria are accurate,” tweeted Marco Rubio, Trump will have “made a grave mistake.”

“The Kurds were instrumental in our successful fight against ISIS in Syria. Leaving them to die is a big mistake,” said ex-U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, “we must always have the backs of our allies. ” But of our NATO ally of almost 70 years, Haley said, “Turkey is not our friend.”

Sen. Mitt Romney called it a “betrayal”:

“The President’s decision to abandon our Kurd allies in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal. It says that America is an unreliable ally; it facilitates ISIS resurgence; and it presages another humanitarian disaster.”

Trump tweeted this defense of his order to U.S. forces not to resist Turkish intervention and the creation of a Turkish corridor in Syria from the eastern bank of the Euphrates to Iraq:

“The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. … I held off this fight for … almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home.”

When, in December, Trump considered ordering all U.S. troops home from Syria, Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned in protest.

Behind this decision is Trump’s exasperation at our NATO allies’ refusal to take back for trial their own citizens whom we and the Kurds captured fighting for ISIS.

The U.S. has “pressed France, Germany, and other European nations, from which many captured ISIS fighters came, to take them back, but they … refused,” said a Sunday White House statement. “The United States will not hold them for what could be many years and great cost. … Turkey will now be responsible for all ISIS fighters in the area captured over the past two years.”

 

What are the arguments interventionists are using to insist that U.S. forces remain in Syria indefinitely?

If we pull out, says Graham, the Kurds will be forced, for survival, to ally themselves with Bashar Assad.

True, but the Kurds now occupy a fourth of Syria, and this is not sustainable. We have to consider reality. Assad, the Russians, Iranians and Hezbollah have won the war against the Sunni rebels we and our Arab friends armed and equipped.

We are told that the Kurds will be massacred by Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan, who sees them as terrorist allies of the PKK.

But the Turks occupied the Syrian border west of the Euphrates and the Kurds withdrew without massacres. And how long must we stay in Syria to defend the Kurds against the Turks? Forever?

If we depart, ISIS will come back, says Cheney: “Terrorists thousands of miles away can and will use their safe-havens to launch attacks against America.”

But al-Qaida and ISIS are in many more places today than they were when we intervened in the Middle East. Must we fight forever over there — to be secure over here? Why cannot Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States deal with ISIS and al-Qaida in their own backyard?

Why are ISIS and al-Qaida over there our problem over here?

“This will throw the region into further chaos,” says Graham.

But if Trump’s decision risks throwing the region into “further chaos,” what, if not wholesale U.S. intervention, created the “present chaos”?

Consider. Today, the Taliban conduct more attacks and control much more territory than they did in all the years since we first intervened in 2001.

Sixteen years after we marched to Baghdad, protests against the Iraqi regime took hundreds of lives last week, and a spreading revolt threatens the regime.

Saudi Arabia is tied down and arguably losing the war it launched against the Houthi rebels in 2015. Iran or its surrogates, with a handful of cruise missiles and drones, just shut down half of the Saudi oil production.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is awakening to his nation’s vulnerability and may be looking to negotiate with Tehran.

Among those objecting most loudly to an American withdrawal from the forever wars of the Middle East are those who were the most enthusiastic about plunging us in.

And, yes, there is a price to be paid for letting go of an empire, but it is almost always less than the price of holding on.

[Reality 3,043]

One of the reasons I voted for him, I want out of these sh!tholes.