In a move that reportedly shocked U.S. military and diplomatic officials, President Donald Trump suddenly caved to Turkish demands and ordered U.S. troops to pull back from the areas held by our Kurdish allies. The move is being widely denounced by both Democrats and Republicans as an abandonment of allies who have fought along side with us for years. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., denounced the “impulsive decision” by Trump and said that this could be “a disaster in the making.” The authoritarian president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is of course delighted and is expected to invade Syria now that U.S. troops are pulling back. Nikki Haley, Trump’s former United Nation ambassador, put it bluntly in saying that Trump was leaving our Kurdish allies “to die.” Likewise, Senate Majority Leader denounced the move and declared that it “would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime. And it would increase the risk that ISIS and other terrorist groups regroup.”
Fox news has reported that top Pentagon officials were “completely blindsided” and “shocked.” Once again, the White House seems to be running foreign policy by tweet with little preparation or consultation with its own “constituent” federal agencies.
It is hard not to see how this is not a betrayal to our allies and a further erosion of the faith in U.S. commitments. The Kurds have been a reliable and effective ally for the United States in defeating ISIS. The image of U.S. troops pulling back as Turks ready an invasion will not be forgotten by them or many others who are weighing alliances with the United States.
Trump however insists that times up: “The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area. We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate.”
The problem is that we are not pulling out of Syria. We are pulling back to free areas specifically targeted by Turkey and its notorious leader.
The United States will also be handing over prisoners to Turkey, which now has a green light to wipe out the Kurdish forces.
But, but, but, Assad is KILLING HIS OWN PEOPLE!!!
And who, pray tell, is the other side killing??? THEIR OWN PEOPLE, TOO!
That is what civil wars are all about. Gee whiz, but Abraham Lincoln killed his own people too, and his picture is all over our money, and there is a huge-a$$ stature statue of him right in the middle of D.C.!*
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
* Which, do you figure that the politicians and the MSM do not know it is a civil war, or do you think that maybe their purpose by constantly blathering out that ASSAD KILLS HIS OWN PEOPLE is more of an attempt to deceive the public???
Here is another good take on this:
—————-
To All Those ‘Assailing’ Trump Leaving Syria
Go pick up a gun.
Any gun, but I suggest something that the people there have ammunition for. After all a gun without ammunition is a club, and the first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun.
Check it in your luggage, and head on over.
It’s not illegal, so long as you’re fighting on the “right” (e.g. what the US would support) side.
If you’re not willing to put your own a$$ on the line for what you allegedly believe then sit down and shut the **** up.
I’m tired of blowhard politicians and policy wonks telling me how “horrible” it will be if we don’t wage war.
If you want to wage war nothing stops you from personally doing it, so long as you’re not doing it on behalf of an enemy of the United States.
Now the other nation may think poorly of you doing this, and might even shoot you. Then again that’s what war is about, right? The risk of getting shot, blown up, or contracting some horrid disease while out there waging war always exists.
If you’re not willing to put your a$$ where your mouth is, then who and what you are is obvious — and as far as I’m concerned you can go **** a goat.
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=237023
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Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeeks, you kicked some royal war mongering arse right there sweety!
As do political parties and political interest groups. For some it’s ‘control’ and for the rest of us it’s getting rid unacceptable wannabe controllers. Starting with the socialist fascists.
I notice the same meaningless words are included ..”could be” ‘widely denounced’ and of course quoting Democrats as one of the sources as if they had any credence..
And very little mention of the 18 year old war and the fact that it did not preclude beginning a different form.
No… the bloodthirsty left just stated it as a terrible move when they themselves never supported the Kurds but did support ISIS.
Like leader, like follower. Ill-informed and spewing garbage.
As usual the incomplete comment is far far to incomplete to make any sort of judgement .
How many troops of what type and make up are being pulled back.
What does pulled back mean?
One signal was the smallish space given to the comment of to where and not turning over prisoners.
What else was intentionally or not intentionally left out to leave us in the dark?
Write an intelligent report with the requisite facts included or make no wild silly comments of all. We get enough of that from the left stream socialist liberal propaganda mongers. .
And here it comes … From the deranged imbecile
“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over…”
I disagree with your qualification of Trump, but I’ll take a deranged imbecile any day over war mongering liars like you who spit on the Constitution, on George Washington in his Farewell Address where he commands that “all foreign entanglements are temporary” (“all” includes any ME nation including Israel), and on then the all time most decorated US Marine, Major General Smedley Butler, who loudly proclaimed that “all wars are bankers wars.”
Butler fought the wars people like you invent and avoid, and most likely had more first hand experience fighting wars than anyone reading these words.
Hutom. We have been engaged in war for how long? How much longer do you think we should be engaged in war? I don’t know what is right or wrong because I don’t hold all the facts but the ability for a country to wage war and for its leaders to remain in power is its economy. You don’t see that yet you call the one that recognizes that fact an imbecile.
How does that reflect on you?
I’ve made a few posts here…just want to be clear about one thing: the US should work with Syria, Russia, and the Kurds(SDF) to put SDF held territory back under Syrian control. We should end our undeclared war with Assad and work to ensure that the jihadists are taken out for good. That means handing over control in an agreed upon fashion- not a unilateral pullout. However, if the Kurds/SDF refuse to do so then we should simply pull out. We must not let the tail wag the dog.
Ivan, why would the U.S. stain its credibility by ‘working with Assad’?? He’s the butcher responsible for all the mayhem!
The US and it’s sunni allies in the region(Turkey, SA, etc) started this illegal, undeclared, dirty war. We and our allies foolishly joined an unholy alliance with the head choppers in order take down Assad. We, and our allies, armed, trained, and provided logistical support to ALL the jihadi groups including ISIS and Al-Qaeda. We have been the bad guys and it’s our actions that has left Syria in ruins and hundreds of thousands dead. The establishment hides this truth from our people, but it’s not hard to hide the truth when the people don’t want to know that we’re the baddies here. That’s what happens when you let the CIA run foreign policy.
All dictators are butchers and we are allied with many of them- in fact, one friendly butcher, SA, attacked us on 9/11. The question is what to do next? To leave without handing over control to the Syrian government would invite chaos that would surely be exploited by jihadi forces. Syria, with Russia’s help, can easily regain control of it’s territory provided the Kurds are on board. We should work towards this outcome because it brings peace and brings our troops back home from this fiasco.
When it comes to the never ending war in Syria, I cheer for the Syrian Arab Army and Russia when they fight Al-Qaeda and ISIS. I thought the next battleground is Idlib where Al-Qaeda rules the roost, but with the US announcing a pull back, SAA forces are now moving towards Manbij apparently to stop the Turks from taking it through force. I’m worried that we could see Syria and Turkey come into direct conflict, but Putin is the big dog and hopefully he prevents this from happening.
Ivan, the US Deep state mischief makers did this not “we.” “WE” as in the people have never been for all these petty and destructive foreign adventures. Let’s see in a few years will the CIA apologize for its messes?
Like it made in Iran
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/690363402/how-the-cia-overthrew-irans-democracy-in-four-days
Is the CIA trying to overthrow Donald Trump now?
Absolutely, this is the deep state/neo-cons/neo-libs in action. The people need to wake up to it though and that’s on us- that’s my criticism.
Ivan, CIA has been deeply manipulate of American media for many decades. So, it’s hard to get out the word about their mischief.
John Courtney Murray, Time/Life, and the American Proposition Hardcover – 2015
by David A. Wemhoff
https://www.amazon.com/John-Courtney-Murray-American-Proposition/dp/0929891155
A few months ago John Bolton still cheered himself for his huge contribution toward starting the Iraq war debacle.
Hell is too nice a place for Bolton. Satan will bow down to Bolton’s evil when he gets there. Trump was dumber than rocks to hire Bolton.
Please most more often.
Ivan, it doesn’t sound like you have the slightest clue of what’s going on in Syria. One might guess your news source has no ‘International News’ section. And during the course of this news day, most Republicans on Capitol Hill reacted with outrage that Trump would abandon the Kurds.
LOL. Perhaps you could point out what it is that I don’t understand? Give it a try. I’ve been following the war daily for six years now. It looks like you don’t know jack.
“most absurd” may be unaware of American “staining its credibility” by working with other tyrants in the area. Let me see, can with think of any example? oh, wait, how about Saddam Hussein? as he gassed iranians on the battlefield.
was that a CIA operation I wonder?
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/26/exclusive-cia-files-prove-america-helped-saddam-as-he-gassed-iran/
I’d take it with a grain of salt. When the U.S. re-established relations with Iraq in 1985, the deal included some agricultural credits which were used to buy pesticides. Some of the pesticides had dual uses. People like Jill have been trying to make hay out of this for 30 years.
“People like Jill…”
Nice. /sarc
How about the USA being in bed with the Al Saud Krime Syndikat, the most evil military dictatorship on earth. We buy them war machines, they repay us with 9-11 and by building madrasas where Islamic children bow down several times a day repeating, “death to Amerika.” Why? Because if the Al Saud Krime Syndikat did not lie and tell their Muslim subjects “It’s all the USA’s fault,” those subjects would rise up and kill their criminal captors.
SUCH A DEAL!!!
You mean unlike the Al Saud family crime syndikat, whose bed we share, the most unholy, blood thirsty military dictatorship extant, who annually beheads more people than ISIS? Is that what you mean?
Is it news to people like you (and apparently Turley) that post WW2 the USA gave Eastern Europe to Russia, who promptly killed about 100 million innocent non-combatant civilians in Eastern Europe and Russia? (Apparently the cost to the world to make an alleged safe haven for Jews called “Israel.”)
Boy, it gets only harder and harder to remain so naïve.
The fact that evil things happen every day does not mean it’s the USA’s fault or responsibility to fix it. The Kurds should have asked Native Americans how honest is the USA before they hopped in bed with Satan in the first place.
Thank the hapless idiot Woodrow Wilson for inventing one of the world’s most wrong and evil memes: “Spreading democracy around the world makes the world better and safer.” Hog poop it does! It has directly caused the deaths of multiple millions of innocents, and the US military in Syria isn’t gonna make it stop.
ou mean unlike the Al Saud family crime syndikat, whose bed we share, the most unholy, blood thirsty military dictatorship extant, who annually beheads more people than ISIS?
Executions in Saudi Arabia typically number about 100 per year. The homicide rate in Saudi Arabia bounces around 0.8 per 100,000, or about 250 a year with the population the size it is now.
We have ordinary diplomatic and trade relations with Saudi Arabia. Military equipment sold to the Kingdom each year by American manufacturers is typically under $1 bn.
Nothing Saudi Arabia does should bother a self-professed ‘non-interventionist’. It does because almost all soi-disant non-interventions deceive themselves or are deceiving others.
Thanks for the laugh, MIC spokesperson! “Kingdom?” You mean like King Arthur’s Round Table?
Next you’ll say OBL was unjust to declare war on the USA, directly because the US military occupied the two most holy lands in all Islam, including Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Hey, dope/Israel firster: do like spending US tax dollars in a country that builds madrasas school, where Saudi Arabian teachers instruct Islamic children to bow down several times per day chanting “DEATH TO AMERIKA!!!?” Do you deny such? Is there any lie you won’t tell to spread death and suffering via the MIC?
You want a war? Tell Congress to vote for one.
I dont think this was addressed to me but I’ll address it:
“that post WW2 the USA gave Eastern Europe to Russia, who promptly killed about 100 million innocent non-combatant civilians in Eastern Europe and Russia? (Apparently the cost to the world to make an alleged safe haven for Jews called “Israel.”)”
First about the issue of the under-appreciated civilian losses to the Soviets. I think this number you say is way, way exaggerated, and this story is a little known one, and you do it no service by exaggerating.
I say: there is a book called “other losses” by James Bacque that alleged a million axis POWs were slow starved to death or died from exposure shortly after the war. The claims are disputed but no doubt the US did not treat them kindly and their losses were officially not a subject of concern. I don’t know where you get 100 million
in another book Alfred Maurice de Zayas a human rights lawyer and professor claimed one to two million volksgenossen (ethnic germans) died in the immediate years after the collapse of the Axis, due to retribution from Soviets. some claim that number is “only” about 500,000 or so.
There was another book called Eye for an Eye about attacks by commissars on Axis “collaborators” in the time immediately after the Axis retreat, that kind of elaborated on this theme.
But take those books together and you get at most like 1- 3 millions. At most. I don’t know where you get 100 million. You can’t count China as part of this. Even Diktotter’s claims about the famine don’t reach up to that wild number.
Now about how you said the US “gave” eastern Europe and Russia:
This is not factual. Russia already “Belonged” firmly to the Soviets. And Soviets may have gained lots of ground by the outcome in the war, but if you forgot, it was Germany that started it. Odd notion that the US “gave” USSR an outcome that was victory in a defensive war that the Russians paid for more dearly than any of the other combattants, in blood.
But If you meant to refer to China — that’s not in Eastern Europe nor Russia. Moreover, the failure of Chinese Nationalists to oust the Communists and their loss in 1949, 70 years ago this week, was a failure all of their own making in too many ways to describe. It had nothing to do with the US “giving” anything to the communists. The US gave aid to the Nationalists and plenty of it and they still got stomped, badly.
Likewise, turning back to Eastern Europe, it’s pretty close to impossible to think that the US was going to do what Patton supposedly suggested and turn the troops right around and attack the Soviets. It’s questionable that such an attack would have been successful. The Red army was massive, well equipped, and far more battle seasoned than the Allies were, with all due respect to our own country. And they were at the end of logistical supply trains across Eurasia that were a lot more robust than whatever we could do shipping stuff across the Ocean. No, the US had to accept the “Iron Curtain” because at the time it could not have stopped it. They don’t teach us that in history because it kind of goes against the “greatest generation” superman stuff, but, yeah, the Red Army was huge, fierce, and well equipped to force facts on the ground as Stalin did.
Now last thing: US policy of acquiescing to the Soviet presence in Eastern Europe had probably zero, zilch, zed, to do with whatever happened with the declaration of Israel. You’re connecting dots that are way too far away and not causally related. Really those words in parentheses are just a gratuitously negative remark.
“that post WW2 the USA gave Eastern Europe to Russia,
This is a bizarre fantasy.
who promptly killed about 100 million innocent non-combatant civilians in Eastern Europe and Russia?
This is a bizarre fantasy.
(Apparently the cost to the world to make an alleged safe haven for Jews called “Israel.”)”
This is a bizarre fantasy.
“…Germany…started (WW2)…?” It must be fun sitting their typing, after about 100 million died in WW2, and the end of the British Empire, that the Versailles Treaty ending WW1 was just in saddling Germany with debt it could never repay. And that it was just peachy keen for France and Europe to forcibly starve as punishment over one million innocent German civilians? And that it was OK for Churchill to lie to Poland telling them that GB could and would defend Poland (strictly and absolutely impossible) if Germany invaded Poland to repatriate a couple million Germans held captive in Poland as further punishment for WW2? And that the US naval blockade killing thousands of Japanese had nothing to do with Japan attacking the US? (Sound familiar? Look at US sanctions against Iran today, an ally of two nuclear powers China and Russia.)
As do many Brits today, I hold Churchill, France, and Poland responsible for WW2, not just Germany alone.
People like you promote war because A) you simply love war and death and/or B) you make money off it.
New Testament: “Those who hate me (God/Christ) love death.” War mongers love death.
If one were to be follow independent news sites like Infowars.com/show etc., a year or decade or so they would know far more are constantly being killed then by Hitler, Stalin, etc…. right now.
To me I’m more then a bit shocked by how most people so totally unconcerned they are about their & their kids, family/friends lives. Oops another just died at the hands AMA/Big Pharma’s hand, the current leading killer.
Well, I guess another mass die off of the gen pop will cleanse Wallst/Globalist b/Wankers of their Ponzi scheme Pension Plans & their Global unpayable Debt Bubble.
Regardless, Wallst/Globist bankers need you to get another vaccine & 2 or 3 at a time for your kids. sarc off
TRANSLATION
DEEP STATE MEDDLERS AND WAR HAWKS SAD THAT TRUMP DECONFLICTS WITH RUSSIA, AGAIN
did it occur to anybody that Trump may actually be doing something wise?
oh wait I bet CIA is mad…. or rather still mad, madder yet!
Must America care (and fund) what happens to the Kurds, the Uighurs the East Timorese and every other “abused” faction and sect while America degenerates into the “dictatorship of the proletariat” and adheres strictly to every principle in the Communist Manifesto – Central Planning, Control of the Means of Production (i.e.regulation), Redistribution of Wealth (“from each according to his ability, to each according to his need”), Social Engineering (affirmative action privilege, quotas, Fair Housing laws, Non-Discrimination laws, forced busing, etc.)?
You can’t handle the truth! You can’t see the forest for the trees.
The American Founders provided maximal freedom to individuals and severely limited and restricted government through the absolute right to private property, the Article 1, Section 8 constraint on Congress to tax only for “…general Welfare…” not individual welfare and the proscription on Congress to regulate anything other than “money” and “…commerce among the several States…”
The entire American welfare state is unconstitutional including, but not limited to, affirmative action, quotas, welfare, food stamps, rent control, social services, forced busing, minimum wage, utility subsidies, WIC, TANF, HAMP, HARP, Dept.’s of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Labor, Energy, Obamacare, Obamaphones, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Social Security Supplemental Income, Medicare, Medicaid, “Fair Housing” laws, “Non-Discrimination” laws, etc., but America must mind the store for every rathole on the planet.
If the vote is corrupted, the corrupt are elected. Oops, there it is! America was established as a restricted-vote republic, not a one man, one vote democrazy. Democracy was created with a restricted vote by the Greeks and perpetuated with a restricted vote by the Romans. The Kurds are not America’s problem. Voting communists and communism are. Parameters must be set at the border and the “manifest tenor” of the parameters of the Constitution and Bill of Rights must be rigorously re-implemented. It’s not the Kurds America has to worry about, it’s America; if there’s anything of America left.
No matter what you do, how you do it can be as important as what you do. Trump is using his “great and unmatched wisdom” to threaten Turkey if Turkey does something Trump considers untoward.
Between the great and unmatched wisdom of Trump and great and unmatched wisdom of Lindsey Graham, I wonder how long it will be before we are blown to smithereens. What. A. Freak. Show. (Not that any Democrats have articulated any cogent plans for that region. )
Love the use of the word “caved”. Because Trump is not in favor of perpetual global war, he “caved”.
No, professor, sometimes other folks just have to work out their own issues, and our young men and women need to be kept whole and sane.
“Love the use of the word “caved”. Because Trump is not in favor of perpetual global war, he “caved”.”
That was my first impression as well. The Professor didn’t state the requsite information for anyone to draw a reasonable opinion and then used that phrase that should never have been used without a strong rationale.
IMO all of this focus’s on one country, Iran, and one area, a relatively small contiguous area shared by the Saudi Peninsula, Iraq and Iran. What is done in this present situation greatly impacts the other and we don’t know the deals or even the realities on the ground. Solve the basic problem and much of the rest falls into place.
One thing that should have been learned. One doesn’t go to war unless one can face the pressures of the press and public opinion in the long run so that one is able to do *everything necessary* and even then they require endings. We need regional strength based on regional allies not our ground troops.
“The United States will also be handing over prisoners to Turkey, which now has a green light to wipe out the Kurdish forces.”
Professor Turley, is it a green light? Are you sure it isn’t a yellow light, a blinking red light, a detour?
Precious! Thanks for the laugh, really!
The more I read Turley, the more I think he is primarily a deep state tool, and not much else. This turd of a pro-war article is a prime example.
I don’t think anyone can achieve Turley’s exalted state without bowing down to the gods of war, death, misery, and destruction called the MIC. I suspect Turley is just another spokesperson for the MIC, couched in an image of reason and thoughtfulness.
The fact that he has NEVER once to my knowledge addressed the fact that abortion has killed 60 million (10x the alleged holocaust) unborn babies speaks loudly of his position.
Turley and/or Darren Smith: what separates your humanity from that of a one-celled human being AKA a zygote?
Like everything else Princess you confuse things, Turley with Darren Smith. I won’t bother with the rest of what you wrote. I will say that Turely is a mild disappointment. Darren is not.
Darren perceives himself as a fighter of just causes. What’s more just than correcting/stopping the death of 1 million unborn innocent babies annually?
You Trohar wish to fight. I don’t think Darren wants to see those deaths and I am not certain of his position, but a totally black or white solution doesn’t necessarily lead to the best results.
“Like everything else?” Hyperbole, much?
Trohar, I think hyperbole is the major structural support for most of your arguements.
There is a real Deep State consisting of an entrenched federal bureaucracy, which has an overlap with what was called the “MIC” — but to say that some law professor with moderate opinions on constitutional law is an “agent of the Deep state. ” That’s kind of silly.
Right now when rogues from CIA appear to be enacting a slow moving coup against the POTUS it’s a bad time to toss around groundless insults. also bad form to attack the host.
and i disagree with Turley, I welcome Trump’s decision to withdraw. Differences of opinion should be taken in good faith, in general. at least that makes for nicer conversations!
We should not abandon the Kurds. This is wrong. While some Kurdish factions support Socialism, they do not govern all Kurdish groups. In any case, let the politicians set goals and reasonable parameters, and let the military carry out military objectives.
“We should not abandon the Kurds.”
Does that mean we should support the creation of an independent Kurdish state? If so, Turkey would attack it. The only answer I see that works involves Syria regaining official control of the areas currently held by the Kurds/SDF. In order for this to happen the Kurds first need to invite the Syrian government in. The Kurds have refused to do this so far and the previous result was their annihilation in Afrin. It’s the Syrian government that should protect the Kurds, not the US. It’s important to note that the Kurds and the Syrian government have not been at war with each other. All that’s happened is that the Syrian government has refused to save the Kurds from Turkey until the Kurds agree to be part of Syria. It’s our very presence in Syria that has allowed the Kurds not to compromise with Assad.
In any case, let the politicians set goals and reasonable parameters, and let the military carry out military objectives.
Then congress needs to carry out their constitutional duty and vote on a declaration of war.
You war mongering dopes actually make me laugh out loud! Associating the term “reasonable” with a people following a religion steeped in thousands year old tribalism, racism, and clan thinking is quite precious!
Nothing except your supreme comfort and convenience stops you from going to Syria and joining the Kurds to fight whatever you want to fight. Please go immediately and take all your war mongering friends/family with you, and if you prefer, don’t pass go, don’t collect $200, etc.
Please, what part of the US Constitution refers to the USA fighting wars in foreign countries for the Kurds? Why don’t you stop posting, read who has the power to declare war in the Constitution, and read how/why the founding fathers wanted to insure the POTUS could not act like the British King to declare war for any fanciful reason (there’s always a good reason), even something as stupid and wrong headed and failure prone as “spreading democracy around the globe” (thanks Woodrow Wilson, and rot in hell).
Earth to Karen: Islam is a religion steeped in thousands year old unenlightened philosophies and traditions. They are at least several centuries behind the West in their outlook, and guns and bombs ain’t gonna bring them into the 21st C. Let them figure out on their own timetable.
Hey Turley, do you also work for the CIA? Turkey is an actual NATO ally, unlike the Kurds.
ha ha ivan yeah go figure this one out. but they never miss a chance to henpeck Donald
PKK, werent they a terror group acc to the State Department?
“TODAY WE ARE AT WAR WITH OCEANIA….” 1984
Yes, our Kurdish “friends” includes a terrorist, marxist group. Our “friendship” with the Kurds is all about destabilizing Syria and Iran. But just as we use the Kurds for our own purposes, so do they use us for their own purposes- namely, getting their own state which will never happen…at least not without WWIII.
The charade in Syria must end. We should pull all our forces from Syria. The Kurds would then have to put their areas under the control of the Syrian government so that Turkey does not invade. This is both logical and just. Syria must be reconstituted for there to be stability.
The only area where jihadist(Al Qaeda, not ISIS) forces maintain control is in Idlib province. Each time the Syrian government makes moves to retake this jihadist stronghold, the US establishment talks about bombarding the Syrian government. We have been on the side of the jihadis against Assad and the government since the beginning of the war- this must end.
It’s time to end the refugee camps inside the Turkish border – 7 years is already too long.
The Kurds are divided among themselves about goals. The most hardened fighters are fighting to establish a socialist regime, while more conservative Kurds know this is a recipe for poverty and enslavement under a dictator.
What’s hard to judge is the motives and plans of the other actors. Do the Turks have other goals besides repatriating the 3M refugees? Are they in some secret pan-Islamist alliance with Iran to weaken and destroy Israel?
Trump the Disrupter is changing the game, and setting the stage for the next moves. As he says, we can always re-engage militarily if needed.
The last time I checked, there are 28 NATO allies, including Turkey. Why should the United States remain committed to this never-ending international welfare policy using our taxpayer dollars and our military to aid these nations when we have our own domestic issues to deal with?
top Pentagon officials were “completely blindsided” and “shocked.”
Bullsh!t! There’s just no impeachable offense some whistleblower (rat-bastar*) was able to leak to the press.
Now the professor is citing un-named sources quoted in a publication he does not himself name.
If military sources proclaim public disagreement with POTUS (Olly, please correct/confirm), they can be tried for treason or something similar.
“The authoritarian president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is of course delighted and is expected to invade Syria now that U.S. troops are pulling back. … It is hard not to see how this is not a betrayal to our allies and a further erosion of the faith in U.S. commitments.”
****************************
Funny, Turkey as a member of NATO is our ally, too. Yeah we oughta stay in this tribal war against them until every drop of American blood and every ounce of American treasure is expended to protect the Kurds. We’ve been there for 5 years and fighting the Syrian government for them for 3 of them. Civil wars are always quick, right?
Wonder how many hawks we’d have if the reconstituted the draft and sent upper and middle class men and boys into war?
It’s the Middle East; there are no good guys with the possible exception of Israel, sometimes.
All it probably took was a few more bookings at some Trump place somewhere.
Crocodile tears. Think before going into the usual anti-Trump mode.
The U.S. has been a lousy ally for many years.
Ask the British what Roosevelt demanded for Lend Lease; ask the British about Suez; ask the Kurds about Nixon’s betrayal; ask the Taiwanese. To paraphrase Palmerston: “Nations don’t have friends; they have interests.”
So, business as usual? No need to be better than our past selves? Everyone else is unreliable too?
The very foundation for our presence in Syria was a lie. We’re there to take down Assad and disrupt the Shia crescent from Iran to Lebanon. The Kurds have been a tool towards that end, as were the Sunni jihadist groups including Al Qaeda and ISIS which we happily armed and trained. The Kurds know all of this- they are not fools. They have had their own goal of carving out an independent state from pieces of Syria, Turkey, and Iran regardless of the reality that it would take WW3 to do it.
Prior wrongs don’t make it right.
Really??? 😉
“Nations don’t have friends; they have interests.”
*********************
So very, very true. And the exact quote is even better: ““Nations don’t have permanent friends or allies; they only have permanent interests.”
Yes, including Israel, a nation of zero national interest to the US.
All nations are of national interest to the US. You would just like Israel struck from the map. Congratulations. That makes you as bad as many of the terrorists we have read about.