Tag: Syrian withdrawal

Syria Withdrawal Enrages the Chickenhawks

Guest Post by Philip Giraldi

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President Donald Trump’s order to withdraw from Syria has been greeted, predictably, with an avalanche of condemnation culminating in last Thursday’s resignation by Defense Secretary James Mattis. The Mattis resignation letter focused on the betrayal of allies, though it was inevitably light on details, suggesting that the Marine Corps General was having some difficulty in discerning that American interests might be somewhat different than those of feckless and faux allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia that are adept at manipulating the levers of power in Washington and in the media. Mattis clearly appreciates that having allies is a force multiplier in wartime but fails to understand that it is a liability otherwise as the allies create an obligation to go to war on their behalf rather than in response to any actual national interest.

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The Inside Story Behind Trump’s “Shocking” Withdrawal From Syria

Via ZeroHedge

In a report that essentially confirms what Secretary Mattis only insinuated in his letter of resignation, the Associated Press offered an account sourced from anonymous US and Turkish officials that appears to confirm all of President Trump’s hawkish critics’ worst fears about his landmark decision to withdraw US forces from Syria: Namely, that it was made seemingly on a whim, without consulting his national security team, during a phone call with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The play-by-play of the call, which was strenuously denied by White House officials, who implied that the account had been planted by Turkish agents who were seeking to undermine the president (though they neglected to specify which details in the account were untrue).

It began by explaining how Trump’s aides had prepared detailed talking points for a Dec. 14 call with Erdogan. But Trump abandoned them shortly after it began after apparently being convinced by Erdogan’s argument that ISIS had effectively been defeated, given that the once-powerful faction now controls less than 1% of its former territory.

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Trump Pulls Fast One Pulling Out of Syria

Guest Post by Tom Luongo

I’ve been hard on President Trump recently. He’s deserved it. But, his decision to announce without any prearranged warning a complete pullout of all U.S. forces in Syria is something I can unreservedly applaud.

Whether he actually goes through with it or not is another story.

But even just his tweaking the D.C. establishment on this issue is enough for at least a golf clap. Nothing unites D.C. like the start of a new war or the threat of ending an old one.

And apparently Trump blind-sided nearly everyone on this. From the our NATO allies like France and the U.K. to his outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all of them found out when Trump took the bully pulpit and informed the world.

This is the guy we elected. This is Loki-like behavior, not the weak-kneed appeaser that we’ve seen since Helsinki, tweeting like a madman trapped in a cage of his own making.

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Will Trump Hold Firm on Syrian Pullout?

Guest Post by Patrick J. Buchanan

Will Trump Hold Firm on Syrian Pullout?

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there,” wrote President Donald Trump, as he ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Syria, stunning the U.S. foreign policy establishment.

Trump overruled his secretaries of state and defense, and jolted this city and capitals across NATO Europe and the Middle East.

Yet, Trump is doing exactly what he promised to do in his campaign. And what his decision seems to say is this:

We are extricating America from the forever war of the Middle East so foolishly begun by previous presidents. We are coming home. The rulers and peoples of this region are going to have to find their own way and fight their own wars. We are not so powerful that we can fight their wars while we also confront Iran and North Korea and face new Cold Wars with Russia and China.

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Trump Criticized For Breaking With Longstanding American Tradition Of Remaining In Middle Eastern Countries Indefinitely

Via The Babylon Bee

WASHINGTON, D.C.—After Trump announced that US troops would be pulled out of Syria, the President was quickly criticized by leaders on both the left and the right for breaking with the longstanding American tradition of remaining in Middle Eastern countries indefinitely.

Trump drew ire from both sides of the aisle for his “careless and reckless” disregard for the beloved American custom of meddling overseas without a congressional declaration of war and then hanging around for another few decades.

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