Trump Just Screwed Up the One Thing He Did Better Than Obama

[Rogue Valley]

Trump Just Screwed Up the One Thing He Did Better Than Obama

12/19/18
The Trump administration has unexpectedly decided to rapidly withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, where they have been fighting ISIS. This decision, which demonstrates that the president’s National Security Strategy does not govern his policies, will have deleterious effects across the strategic waterfront: throwing Syria policy into chaos; rewarding Iranian regional destabilization and Russian intervention; alarming Kurdish forces and American allies fighting in the region, as well as countries to which jihadists might return; and calling into question America’s commitment to stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan. The president explained himself on Twitter as follows: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” But that is at wide variance with National-Security Adviser John Bolton, who only three months ago publicly affirmed that the administration would remain indefinitely to prevent Iran from gaining further influence and posing greater threats. Kurdish forces in Syria, Iraq, and Turkey will be immediately and negatively affected by the decision. The contradiction inherent in the previous policy was that the United States armed and relied on Kurdish military forces that the Turkish government considers terrorists. But the U.S. has not been able to find common cause with Turkey in six years. By abandoning the Kurds—who do share American objectives—the U.S. leaves them to the mercies of Turkey even as it leaves Syria to Iran and Russia. Erdogan, Putin, Assad, Khamenei, and Soleimani must be drunk with their good fortune.

The president’s national-security strategy states, “*The campaigns against ISIS and al-Qa’ida and their affiliates demonstrate that the United States will enable partners and sustain direct action campaigns to destroy terrorists and their sources of support, making it harder for them to plot against us.” President Trump’s decision yesterday proves that irrelevant. It also makes irrelevant the Trump administration’s only persuasive claim to having improved on the Obama administration in the realm of foreign policy: It lifted the time constraint imposed on U.S. operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The Trump administration had admirably insisted that achieving American objectives should drive the timeline of its wars, not vice versa. Now the only distinguishable difference between the retrenchment of American power practiced by President Barack Obama and the retrenchment practiced by President Trump is that Trump behaves so erratically that the cost to the U.S. and its allies is even higher.

This decision leaves the 78 nation anti-ISIS coalition on its own with perhaps tens of thousands of ISIS fighters remaining in Syria. Seeing the US pack-it-in will certainly increase ISIS recruitment substantially. This is a substantial victory for Islamist's, Putin, the brutal Assad regime, Tehran and its Hezbollah proxy. No US soldier I talk to echos Trumps claim ... that ISIS is defeated. Degraded certainly, but not defeated and such radical groups have a definite propensity to metastasize in a vacuum. This Trump decision, a temporary feel-good decision, cannot sustain against a determined foe and will cost the US exponentially in blood and treasure down the road. The Kurds of northern Syria (Rojava) that have fought on the ground with US forces against ISIS and have suffered many thousands of dead and maimed since 2014 are now abandoned by Trump. These brave people will be slaughtered wholesale by the psychopath rulers Assad and Erdogan. And if Trump has no qualms about suddenly and inexplicably deserting our ME allies, I would be getting nervous indeed if I were a NATO nation in Putin's expansionist path.

 

[NeverTrump]

Trump Just Screwed Up the One Thing He Did Better Than Obama

This decision leaves the 78 nation anti-ISIS coalition on its own with perhaps tens of thousands of ISIS fighters remaining in Syria. Seeing the US pack-it-in will certainly increase ISIS recruitment substantially. This is a substantial victory for Islamist's, Putin, the brutal Assad regime, Tehran and its Hezbollah proxy. No US soldier I talk to echos Trumps claim ... that ISIS is defeated. Degraded certainly, but not defeated and such radical groups have a definite propensity to metastasize in a vacuum. This Trump decision, a temporary feel-good decision, cannot sustain against a determined foe and will cost the US exponentially in blood and treasure down the road. The Kurds of northern Syria (Rojava) that have fought on the ground with US forces against ISIS and have suffered many thousands of dead and maimed since 2014 are now abandoned by Trump. These brave people will be slaughtered wholesale by the psychopath rulers Assad and Erdogan. And if Trump has no qualms about suddenly and inexplicably deserting our ME allies, I would be getting nervous indeed if I were a NATO nation in Putin's expansionist path.

Trump should just go away and not come back. While gone I predict a 50/50 chance Republicans install Pence as President.

 

[Helix]

i agree with getting out of the Middle East. enough is enough.

 

[Common Sense 1]

Trump should just go away and not come back. While gone I predict a 50/50 chance Republicans install Pence as President.

:lamo Not a chance on that happening!

 

[Common Sense 1]

ISIS has been militarily defeated in Iraq and Syria

Nov. 21, 2017, 1:21 PM
https://www.businessinsider.com/isis-military-defeat-iraq-syria-2017-11

The leaders of Iraq and Iran both declared the terrorist group ISIS defeated militarily in Iraq and Syria.

Iraqis and Syrians, with assistance from the US and other regional militias, took their countries back from the terror group that declared its sovereign territory in the summer of 2014.

ISIS still has territory in countries around the world but has been brutally disrupted by a US-backed bombing campaign and advancing ground forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Hadir Al-Abadi declared military victory over the Islamic State in Iraq on Tuesday, just hours after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that Iranian-backed forces had driven the terror group out of Syria.

ISIS's last Iraqi town of Rawa fell on Friday, and Abadi only awaits the clearing of a patch of desert along Iraq's border with Syria to declare final victory. Iran posted pictures of one its most famous military leaders in a Syrian border town, indicating Iranian-backed forces had driven the terror group out of the country.

 

[Pedestrian]

Trump Just Screwed Up the One Thing He Did Better Than Obama

This decision leaves the 78 nation anti-ISIS coalition on its own with perhaps tens of thousands of ISIS fighters remaining in Syria. Seeing the US pack-it-in will certainly increase ISIS recruitment substantially. This is a substantial victory for Islamist's, Putin, the brutal Assad regime, Tehran and its Hezbollah proxy. No US soldier I talk to echos Trumps claim ... that ISIS is defeated. Degraded certainly, but not defeated and such radical groups have a definite propensity to metastasize in a vacuum. This Trump decision, a temporary feel-good decision, cannot sustain against a determined foe and will cost the US exponentially in blood and treasure down the road. The Kurds of northern Syria (Rojava) that have fought on the ground with US forces against ISIS and have suffered many thousands of dead and maimed since 2014 are now abandoned by Trump. These brave people will be slaughtered wholesale by the psychopath rulers Assad and Erdogan. And if Trump has no qualms about suddenly and inexplicably deserting our ME allies, I would be getting nervous indeed if I were a NATO nation in Putin's expansionist path.

Here we go with this Obama crap again. It was a CIA op from way back and for pipelines. It still is.

Plus, it was Obama who ordered the 28,000 sortees (2015-2016) that reduced ISIS and their Bush II-given Toyotas to dust.

trump takes the last mile without doing anything really There was little left to do, except ceade Syria to Russia.

Way to go CIA and repubs.

America is now deeply ensconced in her warmongering stage, needing war everywhere and with anybody.

The American right needs enemies to scare you into voting for them for security. Sound familiar ? It should.

 

[Moderate Right]

Trump Just Screwed Up the One Thing He Did Better Than Obama

This decision leaves the 78 nation anti-ISIS coalition on its own with perhaps tens of thousands of ISIS fighters remaining in Syria. Seeing the US pack-it-in will certainly increase ISIS recruitment substantially. This is a substantial victory for Islamist's, Putin, the brutal Assad regime, Tehran and its Hezbollah proxy. No US soldier I talk to echos Trumps claim ... that ISIS is defeated. Degraded certainly, but not defeated and such radical groups have a definite propensity to metastasize in a vacuum. This Trump decision, a temporary feel-good decision, cannot sustain against a determined foe and will cost the US exponentially in blood and treasure down the road. The Kurds of northern Syria (Rojava) that have fought on the ground with US forces against ISIS and have suffered many thousands of dead and maimed since 2014 are now abandoned by Trump. These brave people will be slaughtered wholesale by the psychopath rulers Assad and Erdogan. And if Trump has no qualms about suddenly and inexplicably deserting our ME allies, I would be getting nervous indeed if I were a NATO nation in Putin's expansionist path.

LOL. The US, under Trump, drove ISIS out. Obama didn't do that.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Take your pick of chaos and mayhem.....

Thursday US briefing: Trump allies condemn Syria withdrawal 'blunder'

Trump's Syria withdrawal hurts Netanyahu, US reputation, Israelis say

Joint Chiefs chairman was in the dark about Trump Syria pullout

Trump declares victory over ISIS in Syria. The Pentagon disagrees.

Trump bugging out in Syria

After Trump Announces Syria Withdrawal, Turkey Says Kurdish Militants Will Be Buried in Ditches

Fox News Analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane: Trump Syria Decision a ‘Serious Strategic Mistake’

 

[Grokmaster]

Trump Just Screwed Up the One Thing He Did Better Than Obama

This decision leaves the 78 nation anti-ISIS coalition on its own with perhaps tens of thousands of ISIS fighters remaining in Syria. Seeing the US pack-it-in will certainly increase ISIS recruitment substantially. This is a substantial victory for Islamist's, Putin, the brutal Assad regime, Tehran and its Hezbollah proxy. No US soldier I talk to echos Trumps claim ... that ISIS is defeated. Degraded certainly, but not defeated and such radical groups have a definite propensity to metastasize in a vacuum. This Trump decision, a temporary feel-good decision, cannot sustain against a determined foe and will cost the US exponentially in blood and treasure down the road. The Kurds of northern Syria (Rojava) that have fought on the ground with US forces against ISIS and have suffered many thousands of dead and maimed since 2014 are now abandoned by Trump. These brave people will be slaughtered wholesale by the psychopath rulers Assad and Erdogan. And if Trump has no qualms about suddenly and inexplicably deserting our ME allies, I would be getting nervous indeed if I were a NATO nation in Putin's expansionist path.

Yeah...right.

Here's the ONE THING Obama did better than Trump:

 

[Barnacle]

...
This decision leaves the 78 nation anti-ISIS coalition ...

Maybe someone can provide us with a list of who those 78 nations are and how many of their soldiers are on the ground in Syria ...

Surely missing one nation out of 78 should not even affect the "war" in Syria.

 

[jnug]

We get good value out of the 2,200 troopers we have in Syria. This blind adherence to vacating US leadership in the world is laughably naive and destructive to the United States.


What is worse is that if Trump would leave the 2,200 in Syria alone, he could probably draw down many more troops from Afghanistan without doing that much damage to US power and prestige in the world. But if he pulls us all the way out of Syria then he is immediately costing the US AND making it more difficult to draw down troopers in Afghanistan without doing us even more damage.

We will need Russia's and Assad's permission to go back into Syria for any reason if we pull out completely now. HOW DOES THAT TASTE?

We should stop questioning whether Trump IS the Manchurian Candidate. He could not do more damage to this country regardless of whether he is or is not.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Trump tweets Mattis retiring in February. Nicely done Donald you horsesass.

Now at an outside guess, Trump is tempting both Impeachment and Removal.

 

[Barnacle]

We get good value out of the 2,200 troopers we have in Syria. This blind adherence to vacating US leadership in the world is laughably naive and destructive to the United States.


What is worse is that if Trump would leave the 2,200 in Syria alone, he could probably draw down many more troops from Afghanistan without doing that much damage to US power and prestige in the world. But if he pulls us all the way out of Syria then he is immediately costing the US AND making it more difficult to draw down troopers in Afghanistan without doing us even more damage.

We will need Russia's and Assad's permission to go back into Syria for any reason if we pull out completely now. HOW DOES THAT TASTE?

We should stop questioning whether Trump IS the Manchurian Candidate. He could not do more damage to this country regardless of whether he is or is not.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Trump tweets Mattis retiring in February. Nicely done Donald you horsesass.

Now at an outside guess, Trump is tempting both Impeachment and Removal.

What should ever be the reason for our military to go into Syria?

Talk about Mattis leaving goes back to September. It was already in the works, except now we have an actual "departure" date.

 

[jnug]

What should ever be the reason for our military to go into Syria?

Talk about Mattis leaving goes back to September. It was already in the works, except now we have an actual "departure" date.

Obviously because we might want to keep our Kurdish allies from being slaughtered for one. To deal with ISIS again which is where this is all going because Territory is never the issue with irradiating ISIS.

BS on there being no linkage between Trump tweeting on the Mattis retirement today and leaving Syria yesterday. You can't possibly be that naive.

 

[ultmd]

Here we go with this Obama crap again. It was a CIA op from way back and for pipelines. It still is.

Plus, it was Obama who ordered the 28,000 sortees (2015-2016) that reduced ISIS and their Bush II-given Toyotas to dust.

trump takes the last mile without doing anything really There was little left to do, except ceade Syria to Russia.

Way to go CIA and repubs.

This is all correct.

It's akin to the blame and fake outrage directed at President Obama for "leaving Iraq", when in FACT it was Obama who inherited a binding legal arrangement to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq that was signed by the previous POTUS (i.e. "W")....and it was Iraqi president Maliki who refused efforts by the Obama administration to extend the U.S. military presence any longer in Iraq.

But none of that doesn't matter to the Fake News crowd.

 

[SonOfDaedalus]

LOL. The US, under Trump, drove ISIS out. Obama didn't do that.

The battle for Mosul began 4 months before Trump took office. And most of the bombs dropped on ISIS happened under Obama.

The campaign to defeat ISIS took shape in September 2014 under the name of Operation Inherent Resolve. According to U.S. Air Force Central Command data, coalition forces engaged the enemy nearly 33,000 times between the launch of the operation and September 2017. (The Air Force includes strikes taking place in August 2014.)

Counting only sorties in which at least one weapon was released, about three-fourths of the action took place during the Obama years.

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-...p/trump-takes-full-credit-gains-against-isis/

Trump just continued what was already going on. The tactic for handling ISIS was created and began before Trump got into office.

At what point are you going to start thinking rationally. It's like saying the war against Japan was won by Truman ignoring everything that FDR did before he died.

Trump hasn't even visited the troops.

 

[ultmd]

Trump hasn't even visited the troops.

Reportedly because he's afraid.

Why Hasn?t Trump Visited Troops in a War Zone? ?He?s Afraid?

"Trump has spoken privately about his fears over risks to his own life, according to a former senior White House official, who has discussed the issue with the president and spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about Trump’s concerns

“He’s never been interested in going,” the official said of Trump visiting troops in a combat zone, citing conversations with the president. “He’s afraid of those situations. He’s afraid people want to kill him.”

But he's an "alpha-male" to the Trump acolytes out there, :lamo

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Here we go with this Obama crap again. It was a CIA op from way back and for pipelines. It still is.

Plus, it was Obama who ordered the 28,000 sortees (2015-2016) that reduced ISIS and their Bush II-given Toyotas to dust.

trump takes the last mile without doing anything really There was little left to do, except ceade Syria to Russia.

Way to go CIA and repubs.

America is now deeply ensconced in her warmongering stage, needing war everywhere and with anybody.

The American right needs enemies to scare you into voting for them for security. Sound familiar ? It should.

What's wrong with ceding Syria to Russia? Syria has every right to make it's own foreign policy decisions. We need not intefere if they want to be closer to Russia

 

[veritas1]

So, if a "78 nation coalition" actually exists, are we supposed to believe it cannot defeat ISIS without the US? That's rather amazing. If it can't it's because about 74 of them do nothing.

 

[jnug]

What's wrong with ceding Syria to Russia? Syria has every right to make it's own foreign policy decisions. We need not intefere if they want to be closer to Russia

That does not even deserve an answer? When will Libertarians grow up and act like adults...never I guess.

 

[jnug]

So, if a "78 nation coalition" actually exists, are we supposed to believe it cannot defeat ISIS without the US? That's rather amazing. If it can't it's because about 74 of them do nothing.

Irrelevant to the central issue of US leadership in the world.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

That does not even deserve an answer? When will Libertarians grow up and act like adults...never I guess.

A sentence that is not a proper sentence, or a question, or an argument.

 

[veritas1]

Irrelevant to the central issue of US leadership in the world.

But it was Jim Dandy when Obama pulled most of our troops out of Iraq with ISIS still in full bloom in the region. Assuming the "coalition" can defeat what's left of ISIS, the US has nothing to gain by becoming mixed up in the Syria mess for the long term. We should have learned our lesson about forcing regime change by now. If we haven't, I guess we never will.

 

[jnug]

But it was Jim Dandy when Obama pulled most of our troops out of Iraq with ISIS still in full bloom in the region. Assuming the "coalition" can defeat what's left of ISIS, the US has nothing to gain by becoming mixed up in the Syria mess for the long term. We should have learned our lesson about forcing regime change by now. If we haven't, I guess we never will.

Already answered by another poster in the same thread I believe.

 

[jnug]

A sentence that is not a proper sentence, or a question, or an argument.

Sorry about that...checking the nonperishable supplies in my home bomb shelter while posting is a real chore.

 

[Barnacle]

Obviously because we might want to keep our Kurdish allies from being slaughtered for one. To deal with ISIS again which is where this is all going because Territory is never the issue with irradiating ISIS.

BS on there being no linkage between Trump tweeting on the Mattis retirement today and leaving Syria yesterday. You can't possibly be that naive.

Following the September speculations that Mattis will be leaving, the WSJ printed this comment from Trump in October:

WSJ - Oct. 14, 2018 – "President Trump said that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis could be considering whether to step down from his post and that he sees the Pentagon chief as “sort of a Democrat,” a veiled critique of one of his most popular cabinet secretaries.

“I have a very good relationship with him. I had lunch with him two days ago,” Mr. Trump told “60 Minutes” in an interview being aired Sunday. “It could be that he is” leaving, Mr. Trump said, responding to a question about whether he wants Mr. Mattis to leave.

“I think he’s sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth,” the president continued. “But Gen. Mattis is a good guy. We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves. Everybody. People leave. That’s Washington.” ..."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-...4PKf-k87tRj40LU7YLV_N13x-P0rzqGRCGRtY-XG03etQ


So, Mattis considered the Syria troop exit announcement as a good time for a "payback" to Trump's comment. (grin)