Via Zerohedge.com
update: It’s official, within an hour after the first headline the president tweeted “We have defeated ISIS in Syria” and in reference to reports of a planned US troop withdrawal from Syria which unnamed officials say is to be initiated “immediately,” he added that the terror group’s defeat was “my only reason for being there”.
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
Minutes after the WSJ first broke the story, The Washington Post confirmed the following through a defense official:
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that has not yet been announced, said the decision would include the entire force of more than 2,000 U.S. service members. It was made on Tuesday, the official said.
President Trump has long promised to conclude the campaign against the Islamic State and has questioned the value of costly and dangerous military missions overseas.
***
The WSJ just reported a monumental and historic reversal in White House policy on Syria, revealing Wednesday morning the Pentagon is preparing to withdraw all forces from northeastern Syria “immediately”:
In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a move that throws the American strategy in the Middle East into turmoil.
U.S. officials began informing partners in northeastern Syria of their plans to begin immediately pulling American forces out of the region where they have been trying to wrap up the campaign against Islamic State, the people said.
The WSJ notes the complete 180 reversal in policy, which just days ago was reiterated by officials as an “indefinite” American presence in Syria in order to “counter Iran” while bolstering Kurdish and Arab SDF forces in the East (the YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces), comes following a phone call last week between President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
For the past week Erdogan has threatened to launch a full-scale cross border assault on US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria, which Turkey has long considered an terrorist extension of the outlawed PKK. This would potentially bring American troops and advisers under fire, who’ve found themselves in the awkward position since entering Syria of training Syrian Kurdish militias on the one hand, and coordinating broadly with a NATO ally on the other.
Perhaps Trump finally took full stock of the fact that the prior planned “indefinite” presence of some 4000 American troops was recipe for a quagmire sure to be Washington’s next Afghan or Iraq style “endless war”?
As one recent intelligence study put it: “The prospect of US being militarily involved in Syria, caught in middle of one of most complex conflicts in recent memory, with shifting objectives & ambiguous endgame, has been met with congressional indifference and public apathy.”
Will America finally exit Syria? Is Trump belatedly making good on his campaign promises?
Because they are going to move them to Ukraine?
I thought Russia defeated ISIS and saved Syria from total destruction.Learn something new every day.
Good grief.
You don’t want to mess with the DPR and LPR.
because of the SA-300, delivered to Syria, from Russia, there is no more air support for US ground troops.
Time for another false flag (e.g., poison gas attack) to force Trump to keep the troops there?
I wouldn’t be too surprised if a fake Russian-flagged drone mock-up of a Russian fighter took off from an Israeli base (or wherever), and bombed an American target in Syria before getting shot down over the ocean.
Another one of those “burials at sea” huh?
If we withdraw from Syria it is a good thing. I’ll believe it when I see it.
MC, I agree with you. We are going to have a repeat of the Ukrainian Atomic World War of 2014.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Just the other day they were saying that the US would be in Syria indefinitely. In another article US was going to stay to straighten out the Syrian govt.
Very encouraging comments thus far. After the non-stop bullshit stories we’ve gotten over the years how can anyone believe bare headlines? We’ll see and redeploying them into an even bigger shit storm-Ukraine-Iran are good thoughts. One thing we can rely on is that they’re going to do whatever they want. Civilian control has long since gone the way of an actual military victory somewhere. My guess is that following his decision to admit The Wall was always a bullshit story he wants a bone to throw to those poor saps who feel let down about it. Chicken feed thrown in the hen house.
We’re all on the same page here …..
1) Russia played a FAR BIGGER role in defeating ISIS in Syria than the USA!USA!USA!
2) I neither believe, nor disbelieve, this latest update. It is undeniable that at this point in the Trumpworld Reality Show that you simply can’t take him at his word. Today it’s Get-Out-Of-Syria Day. Tomorrow we might build 10 more Military Bases.
I’ll take “10 more Military Bases” for 100, Alex.
The game plan is to occupy all of the ME. Retreat is not an option. A Vietnam exit plan didn’t work out well for JFK.
Loving the “homage.”
Since the USA!USA!USA!, along with Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE, et al has been funding, arming, training, and medevacing ISIS and al Qaeda the entire time, and probably still is, just less visibly, it’s not hard to agree that Russia played a far bigger role. They would have if they had done nothing.
Yeah! right after the wall is built. Lying sack-o-shit.
Do you really think Russia got ISIS out of Mosul? Sheesh, Russia has about two dozen fighter bombers in Syria and the US, UK and France conduct over 15,000 sorties to destroy ISIS and you credit … Russia. You are a total idiot.
We created ISIS you idiot. We had no intention of destroying ISIS until Russia called our bluff and supported Assad in destroying our fighters. The stupid it burns.
Oh and the Russian’s took Raqqa? I don’t think so. Russia’s puny air and ground power was deployed to take Alleppo from al Qaeda’s fighters. They weren’t near the ISIS strongholds in Eastern Syria and NW Iraq. Get a map and some geography lessons!
The US had no intention of getting rid of ISIS (who we fucking created) until Russia intervened.
Ground troops win wars idiot. Russia had 63,000 troops on the ground. US – 2,000.
Again, the stupid it burns. Stick your map up your ass.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45284121
Oh, the US took Raqqa with 2,000 boots on the ground. Bullshit. The total Americans killed in Syria was 3. We did fuck all to defeat ISIS (who we created and armed).
The stupid continues to burn bright.
We used the Kurds as our infantry and Russia never had anywhere near 60,000 ground combat forces in Syria. The Syrian civil war wasn’t the kind of war where division sized elements fought pitched battles. It was the kind of war where a couple of thousand Hezbollah troops turned the tide at Qusayr in 2014 and saved Assad who was on the ropes at the time.
Say it slowly – You can’t defeat an army you created and armed. The U.S. defeated fuck all in Syria. The US and Israel goal was to overthrow Assad – it’s so simple, even you could understand. Assad is in control, with Russia at his back. The U.S. lost and is properly retreating.
You can’t teach these concepts to senior citizens. They grew up with Leave it to Beaver and Walter Cronkite. They believe Trump tweets and Fox News. They will go to their grave thinking Trump was really going to build a wall, jail Hillary and that there was no Russian collusion.
“The U.S. lost and is properly retreating.”
A scared government fights back with a ton of paper. Old Pangloss
An embarrassed government attacks its own people. Old Pangloss
Incoming. Stop
472 It was not a Civil War, it was a Coup attempt and an invasion by ours and Israels Proxies.
Syria, w/ Russia’s support, did the groundwork.
Unit…
You have got to be the most brainwashed, braindead, Bill Kristol clone Neocon I have ever encountered in real life or on the net.
Trying to talk to you is maddening.
I at least know the geography of Syria and why Qusayr was the turning point in the war.
I got a question for you; why the fuck are we even there? Is there any room for those of us who don’t give a fuck what happens in fucking Syria? Let the jews and sorry arabians battle it out.
Oh and BTW please tell me about the 21 TRILLION in DoD transactions unaccounted for. Can your geographic genius figure that one out?
“Do you really think Russia got ISIS out of Mosul? …. You are a total idiot.”
Yet, YOU are the one who gets massive thumbs down EVERY time you open your pie-hole about Russia.
Despite all the evidence other posters give you, you continue to shove your head up your ass shouting “nah!nah!nah!nah!”. This makes you WILLFULLY ignorant …. one of the worst traits that can afflict the human brain.
To summarize, YOU are the total fucken idiot. Fortunately, virtually everyone here knows this.
Another ” Mission Accomplished” Moment?? John
It’s just the tip, we still have the rest of the iceberg to go.
We may yet put his portrait next to the Virgin’s
Good grief!
That is proof positive that Rand is full of shit.
Repositioning some chess pieces is not “bringing troops out of a war”.
Rand ain’t Ron. Yes, Rand is full of shit! He’s a poli TIC ian.
Israel will not be amused. Like it… If CNN goes ballistic it’s the right move. Very big and very right.
As Dan said, we created ISIS. Since then we’ve changed their name more than once. However, they are doing our dirty work in plenty of other places now.
We must’ve killed the ISIS Second in Command …
Sounds great. I am fairly certain the goat humper Erdogan is going to start a major shitshow. We should leave piles of weapons for the Kurds and book. I personally wouldn’t want to be closer to that place than the control console of a Global Hawk.
Don’t fall for it!
This is just window dressing to make up for the bumpstock ban, no promised shutdown, no promised wall, and rewarding pedo-protectors with jobs in his cabinet (Acosta), etc, etc.
Plenty of troops will remain in Jordan, Afghanistan, etc, etc.
Israel has more than enough military power to deal with any eventuality in Syria. The only reason for the US to stay would be to protect the Kurds but the Kurds always get sold out in the end and this time is no different.
The Kurds are good fighters. We have overweight Ritalin-raised asthmatics in our forces
take the good news as it comes & don’t be too cynical about it–
if trump really wants us out of syria but he’s being pressured by dc insiders,he needs to know that the public supports him–how many of you will call him & say thank you & don’t backtrack?
you can say what you want about the wall but trump has tried,it’s the republican congress that has not funded the wall,even when there was $ in the budget for it–
also,i’m a lurker on moveon.org–apparently they don’t think the wall is dead–they have an email out to their list telling people to call schumer because they’re afraid he’ll cave to trump,so there’s probably some negotiating still going on–
bump stocks-bad news for us because it looks like we lost a 2a battle but it’s largely symbolic as long as we draw a line here–trump can reverse the ban at any time & this takes a distraction off the table–
always trumper, no matter how frustrated i become–
Well there is one middle east shit hole we are finally getting our convoluted military dick beaters out of now let’s get out of a couple more abandon NATO send an eviction notice to the U.N. and then pull everything US Military out of Europe and Asia . Now just man our border with our military a big green and brown camo living breathing wall with night vision and automatic weapons .
Let the rest of the fucking world go shit in their hats pull it down over their ears and let their own shit run down their fucking.necks !
Screw everybody but us . Tend to Americans and Americans needs and let the rest of the world continue their thumb sucking with one hand with the other hand up their collective asses and CNN can join in a world wide switching of hands !
Let them all eat their own shit !
You beat me to it, Boat Guy. For some reason, my computer’s loading of TBP took a quite a long time and your entry didn’t show until after I’d hit enter. Great suggestions, with which I agree with you 100%.
Thanks Big A : Fuck the rest of the ass wipe nations of the world with a burning log most are either shitholes , soon to be shitholes or shithole wannabes ! Notice Hungry and Poland are having nice Christmas gatherings because they either barred entry or put those former shithole dwellers on notice : Behavior seen as unacceptable will not be tolerated and we can and will beat your nonconforming asses to a pulp with impunity !
Their women and children are enjoying the seasons festivities without fear . We as Americans must restore our nation in a similar manner !
OK, so The Man From Queens makes a great call: victory in Syria and withdrawal from that quagmire. What did Tricky Dick Nixon call it? Yes, I remember – “Peace with honour”. Give him some credit with all the scandals engulfing the administration; staff bailing out by the score; Mueller’s harsh breath on his neck; Hillary cackling the whole time…
If DJT really wanted to make a grand gesture to thrill the world; make him a hero at home and really piss-off the Evil Fuckers (TPTB), he might want to consider doing the same thing in SHitholistan – sorry Platformers, I mean Afghanistan. Yup, declare mission accomplished; peace with honour; U.S. troops are coming home from the grave of empires and will be stationed on the border with Mexico with the U.S. Navy doing the same with the Bahamas and Haiti. Until the wall is built or a minefield, cordon sanitaire…a big ditch with crocodiles.
Then, should any impeachment hearing coincide with the seating of the 116th Congress, he could merely throw down all the cards and declare that all U.S. troops will be coming home. Defend yourselves, everyone, that includes you Angela Merkel. Then announce the immediate implementation of the new policy of the use of perfected neutron bomb technology should anyone care to get frisky.
Finally, to ice the cake, Trump could let fly all information available to him on the Grey and Saurian Federation! Yes, the real Aliens with flying saucers and everything, who it just so happens he will be entertaining at a White House reception sometime in early 2020.
Then I woke up.
Most likely this is just a bluff from the master negotiator to catch a few days break from the media. The odds of us actually pulling out of Syria are about even with Trump’s reelection odds right now.
Russia puts in the advance S-300 system, and all of a sudden nobody wants to fly missions over Syrian territory, especially Israel…Amazing how many lives are saved by finally laying down the law to the lawless Israelis and their allies.
There isn’t going to be a full withdrawal of the troops.