Trump Orders Big Troop Reduction in Afghanistan

[Verax]

After all that has been sacrificed in Afghanistan it seems bizarre to pull out now. It will be back in total Taliban control shortly. Syria will soon be completely dominated by Russia and Iran. This is a disaster.

 

[Higgins86]

I understand that but at some point we have to prioritize our expenditures. We can't afford our own social welfare programs at home much less afford to be the world's police force on top of that. Some people seem to want everything at someone else's expense, it just simply isn't realistic.

I hate the term " worlds police" because Police would mean that you're keeping order and Peace but lets be honest America has made the world a much worse place since 2001, you're a hegemony plain and simple. No better or worse than the other powers that have done the same throughout history.

 

[Helix]

Who says Trump doesn't plan on bringing all of them home? The official announcement is that approx. half of them will be returning in the coming weeks.
Maybe the other half will be used to tie up some lose ends before logistics allow them to return home.

you support maintaining half troop strength in Afghanistan? for how long?

 

[RetiredUSN]

I hate the term " worlds police" because Police would mean that you're keeping order and Peace but lets be honest America has made the world a much worse place since 2001, you're a hegemony plain and simple. No better or worse than the other powers that have done the same throughout history.

Wrong answer.

Radical Muslims made the world a much worse place.

Or do you need another blown up subway for me to prove my point?

 

[MTAtech]

I am not an expert in this field or an armchair general, unlike our POTUS, that's why I defer to actual experts. This is from Foreign Policy Magazine:

most military experts say the Afghan military and police are not capable of taking on the insurgent Taliban by themselves, and a dramatic U.S. troop withdrawal would almost certainly undercut efforts by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to open up talks with the Taliban. It was not immediately clear what size withdrawal Trump is planning for Afghanistan. According to one news report, the president is considering pulling more than 3,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. There are about 14,000 troops currently on the ground in that country. NBC News reported that the White House has asked the Pentagon to look into multiple options, including a complete withdrawal. The New York Times later reported that the administration is planning to remove about 7,000 troops from the country.
...
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, praised the move. Trump tweeted in response: “Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS {who he previously said was destroyed} and others, who they hate, without us. I am building by far the most powerful military in the world. ISIS {who he previously said was destroyed} hits us they are doomed!”

 

[Higgins86]

Wrong answer.

Radical Muslims made the world a much worse place.

Or do you need another blown up subway for me to prove my point?

Bin Laden wanted to make the US and the West hated by forcing us into a war on his turf. He succeeded and we failed massively.

The US ( Britain to some extent) have caused mass instability in the ME, we invaded Iraq based on lies, we had no exit strategy and our actions have caused numbers of fanatics to swell around the world. It's similar to what happened in Northern Ireland during the troubles, for every civilian we kill 10 new IRA members pop up.

If you can't see that we've made the world a significantly worse place then I've got nothing for you.

 

[Barnacle]

you support maintaining half troop strength in Afghanistan? for how long?

Stop twisting my words.

 

[JustHanging]

I am not an expert in this field or an armchair general, unlike our POTUS, that's why I defer to actual experts. This is from Foreign Policy Magazine:

So according to the experts, Trump is doing what he does best: creating another cluster****. Who would have guessed?

I love where they quoted Trump talking about ISIS attacking the USA, after Trump has told us ISIS is destroyed. It seems everything he says is mindless drivel designed so the base will unthinkingly eat it up.

 

[AncientGeek]

you support maintaining half troop strength in Afghanistan? for how long?

@realDonaldTrump
Iraq in political turmoil one day after we leave---I told you so.
6:22 AM - 20 Dec 2011

 

[Helix]

Stop twisting my words.

that's not really an answer.

 

[Helix]

@realDonaldTrump
Iraq in political turmoil one day after we leave---I told you so.
6:22 AM - 20 Dec 2011

here's one of my favorite Twitiot hits :

 

[Nap]

Red:

• How can you you agree with me when, given the question you've asked me (black bold text in your above quoted post), you are unsure of what be my stance re: "[scaling] back military involvement overseas?"
• The point of my essay is that Trump's articulated themes and tactics are incoherent, thus unprincipled. I didn't proffer anything that even intimates as to what be my normative stance regarding the Trump paring back US military involvement overseas.
• Though I acknowledge that your question is a natural enough one to ask, I'm not going to answer it because the answer to it is irrelevant to the point of my remarks and because I could have chosen to express my dis-/approbation of Trump's decision and I deliberately opted not to.
  • You will note that I concluded my introductory paragraph writing: "Trump also portrays stunts such as these as catalysts to crafting a US military that "does more with less." Less what? Less coherent comprehensive cogent cogitation?"
    
    You are, of course, welcome to infer what may be my stance regarding "Trump's decision to scale back military involvement overseas," but be careful not to infer more than can be soundly/cogently inferred from that and my other remarks.

If you had read the entire sentence rather than just the red part you highlighted it would have been clear, assuming your post was showing displeasure at the fact that Trump was scaling back troops overseas while increasing spending.

The reason I prefaced my question with "out of curiosity" was primarily due to it's lack of relevancy to your essay. I merely wanted to know what your position was on that part of his actions irrespective of the spending.

 

[Xelor]

If you had read the entire sentence rather than just the red part you highlighted it would have been clear, assuming your post was showing displeasure at the fact that Trump was scaling back troops overseas while increasing spending.

The reason I prefaced my question with "out of curiosity" was primarily due to it's lack of relevancy to your essay. I merely wanted to know what your position was on that part of his actions irrespective of the spending.

Red:
I understood that to be the case...That is, after all, what "out of curiosity" indicates.

 

[RetiredUSN]

Bin Laden wanted to make the US and the West hated by forcing us into a war on his turf. He succeeded and we failed massively.

The US ( Britain to some extent) have caused mass instability in the ME, we invaded Iraq based on lies, we had no exit strategy and our actions have caused numbers of fanatics to swell around the world. It's similar to what happened in Northern Ireland during the troubles, for every civilian we kill 10 new IRA members pop up.

If you can't see that we've made the world a significantly worse place then I've got nothing for you.

You have nothing because you refuse to place the blame where it belongs, and also failed to mention that there are a dozen other countries involved with fighting these JV teams.

So please, don't hand me your standard line of blaming the USA when there are/were at least a dozen other countries involved over there.

 

[apdst]

Either wage total war, or GTFO.

 

[Higgins86]

You have nothing because you refuse to place the blame where it belongs, and also failed to mention that there are a dozen other countries involved with fighting these JV teams.

So please, don't hand me your standard line of blaming the USA when there are/were at least a dozen other countries involved over there.

Yeh I served in Iraq....

We broke the law and lied to the people. Fact you can't even admit that is sad.

If you don't realize that the US is the Worlds hegemony then you're in denial my friend.

 

[Atomic Kid]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-...substantial-afghan-troop-drawdown-11545341452

Wow, the hits keep coming. If he can get the rest of our boys and girls home and stop bombing people before 2020 then I couldn't care less what else he does he will have my vote. Is it possible that we are witnessing an end to these pointless endeavors in the middle east?

Most likely not. It will just devolve into further instability and the threat of greater and wider conflicts continuing to escalate.

 

[apdst]

you support maintaining half troop strength in Afghanistan? for how long?

You can't redeploy the entire force at once. A rear guard has to remain in place to maintain security. Once the main body is gone, then the rear guard can leave. It's basically an economy of force mission.

 

[apdst]

Yeh I served in Iraq....

We broke the law and lied to the people. Fact you can't even admit that is sad.

If you don't realize that the US is the Worlds hegemony then you're in denial my friend.

Fine, the. England can step up and take care of those assholes.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

The Syria and Af-Pak moves might just be part of a larger gambit to start a massive three front war just as the investigations begin to pick up steam. Call it a hunch but presidents start wars for a lot of reasons, some having nothing to do with enemies in a foreign land.

 

[apdst]

The Syria and Af-Pak moves might just be part of a larger gambit to start a massive three front war just as the investigations begin to pick up steam. Call it a hunch but presidents start wars for a lot of reasons, some having nothing to do with enemies in a foreign land.

Right! Leaving the theaters of operation is exactly how one starts a war.

 

[Helix]

You can't redeploy the entire force at once. A rear guard has to remain in place to maintain security. Once the main body is gone, then the rear guard can leave. It's basically an economy of force mission.

i don't see the advantage of leaving a significantly reduced force there for an extended period of time.

 

[Higgins86]

Fine, the. England can step up and take care of those assholes.

Terror attacked and activity has increased and spread since 9/11. Our approach hasn’t worked and has only created more enemies, maybe it’s time for a different approach.

 

[Higgins86]

i don't see the advantage of leaving a significantly reduced force there for an extended period of time.

It will only embolden the Taliban.

 

[Mr Person]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-...substantial-afghan-troop-drawdown-11545341452

Wow, the hits keep coming. If he can get the rest of our boys and girls home and stop bombing people before 2020 then I couldn't care less what else he does he will have my vote. Is it possible that we are witnessing an end to these pointless endeavors in the middle east?

No, it is not possible that we are witnessing an end to these pointless endeavors in the middle east.



I'd be nice to have something like an exit plan rather than "oh, **** it. Let's go". I guess we just have to wait to find out whether the Taliban sticks to oppressing its own people once we leave.

:shrug:




Kind of strange. Out of all the wars of choice we've fought, Afghanistan was both the most warranted and the most hopeless. So it goes.