Vets, what is your opinion on the Syrian pullout?

[Lord of Planar]

Post the video or its link.

I quickly found this.



Later in the video, it's lit up enough to see the trees. Do those trees grow in Syria, or Knob Creek Kentucky?

It was a training exercise at a military firing range in Kentucky...

 

[Lord of Planar]

I quickly found this.



Later in the video, it's lit up enough to see the trees. Do those trees grow in Syria, or Knob Creek Kentucky?

It was a training exercise at a military firing range in Kentucky...

Maybe we should withdraw our forces out of Kentucky...

 

[swing_voter]

And, well, the Iraqi government wants American troops out of Iraq because the Iraqi government is allied with Iran...Which may be a reason why Trump is keeping American troops in Iraq...to thumb his nose at Iran.

Not true.

While the current Iraqi government is Shiite, they are not friendly with Iran. Iran wants to take over Iraq, something that Iraqis don't want.

 

[Sampson Simpson]

How touchy feely of her to send such a sweet letter.

On the other hand, I never read anything from you about Obama's betrayal of the massacred Iraqi civilians after he pulled out. ISIS wasn't very kind after they moved in.

So here is a little lesson for you. It's a quick read.

How the 2011 US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq Led to the Rise of ISIS | Small Wars Journal

Deflect deflect deflect. Typical right wing bull****. Obama didn't pull out, he followed a timeline already put in place by Bush. And in no way are the situations the same. Nobody let an external country come and invade Iraq and kill their troops

God damn you people are pathetic with your constant avoiding the topic. It's what happens when you have absolutely no facts

 

[cabse5]

And you believe the media?

ABC recently announce a slaughter in Syria, using video of military training in Kentucky.

The fake news never ceases to amaze me.

I believe Trump's state department and the Pentagon are at odds over American troop withdrawal. I believe Trump's state department clearly has an end-game for American troops in that part of the world and the Pentagon does not.

 

[Lord of Planar]

I believe Trump's state department and the Pentagon are at odds over American troop withdrawal. I believe Trump's state department clearly has an end-game for American troops in that part of the world and the Pentagon does not.

Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't.

All I'm saying is we cannot trust the media. They are chronic liars.

 

[smallvoice]

Ham handed and without any thought to what was going to happen next.....

It was stupid when Obama did it, and it was stupid when Trump did it. If we are going in, we need to do what it takes to finish it.

 

[smallvoice]

Fox News | Trump 'went off script' during call with Erdogan, senior military source reveals



Pretty much says it all. Trump conferred with no one and simply pulled this disastrous move out of his ass to appease his dictator friend Erdogan.

Now our Kurdish allies in Syria are paying a high price for Trumps impulsive betrayal.

Yet you think the same procedures were just fine when Barry did them.

 

[RetiredUSN]

Deflect deflect deflect. Typical right wing bull****. Obama didn't pull out, he followed a timeline already put in place by Bush. And in no way are the situations the same. Nobody let an external country come and invade Iraq and kill their troops

God damn you people are pathetic with your constant avoiding the topic. It's what happens when you have absolutely no facts

Obama screwed up Syria and made it beyond repair.............period!

You are the one with a lot of ranting and zero facts.

Hyperventilate much?

 

[smallvoice]

Trump’s blunder in Syria is irreparable | The New York Times

Turkey allied Islamist militia forces prepare to attack Manbij, where Trump removed the US blocking force.



Says it far better than I ever could. The damage Trump has wrought is unprecedented and indeed irreparable.

Yeah, except the NYT has lost all reason for anyone to care what they think, even when they are right.

 

[smallvoice]

Have to change the topic don't ya?

What Trump did here is indefensible so the best you can muster is a diversion to .... wait for it .... Obama.

Whooda thunkit?

No, he was merely pointing out how duplicitous the Left is.

 

[smallvoice]

Your knowledge leaves a lot to be desired if that's the best you can do. Sad.

and we already know how little you know of the subject. Pathetic.

 

[Moot]

and we already know how little you know of the subject. Pathetic.

Who is "we?"

Your posts are stupid and add nothing to the debate. Pathetic, indeed.

 

[smallvoice]

Who is "we?"

Your posts are stupid and add nothing to the debate. Pathetic, indeed.

Just so you won't stay confused, the "we" is EVERYONE reading this thread. Stupidity oozes from your keyboard, and you don't recognize your failures. THAT is pathetic.

 

[oneworld2]

Noticeably no option with which to support the idea that the US military and the US leaders should not be the " worlds police " at all and leave other countries to their own devices

Trump is an autocrat so it's no surprise that he appears to have made the call himself without much in the way of intelligent thought , like most other things he does.

That said the Turks have been allowed by another US administration to stick it to the Kurds only at that time it was Iraqi Kurds.

Under Clintons tenure the Turks carried out a few major military attacks on the Iraqi Kurds living in the , ridiculously named , " safe haven " . I recall British pilots complaining that their flight missions had been stopped so as to allow the Turks a free hand to attack them and torch their villages.

Bearing the above in mind and considering the absolute chaos in the region since the US led invasions and regime change wars over the past few years I think everyone should be calling for an end to the US hegemony and imperialism. Even if you don't care for the millions of people whose lives have been ruined or taken by these horrific actions care for those who are sent their to do the bidding of these global psychopaths.

 

[oneworld2]

Wow, talk about a biased poll. As usual in these things, I just voted "Other".

First and foremost, our purpose of being in Syria was primarily in response to the Chemical Weapon attacks that both ISIS and Syria were doing. It was not to try and stop the war, or to pick one side over another. It was primarily to stop the use of chemical weapons, and secondly to try and protect civilians caught in the crossfire.

Well, the main part has been accomplished. Neither Syria nor the other combatants are using chemical weapons anymore. Therefore, mission done.

We are not there to pick one side or another in the civil war. One that is one of the most confusing messes I had ever seen, with at least 8 major factions, both fighting for and against Syria, and some even wanting to expand the conflict into Turkey, Iraq, and the rest of the region.

So yea, I say it is time to move out. However, in saying that I also believe we should keep a strong force nearby, prepared on short notice to return if needed. But a continual presence? Not anymore.

If people think we should still be there, and permanently try to put an end to this conflict, then I have an answer for you. Bring it up with the UN. Petition them to demand a cease fire, and put UN Peacekeepers in place to separate the sides and find some kind of solution. After all, is this not why we have the UN in the first place?

But funny, I have not heard many of those screaming that the US should stay asking for that. Is almost like they simply want yet another reason to lash out at the President, and really could not give a damn about those killed or the fighting in reality. To them it is just another excuse. And I am positive if he had instead ordered 10,000 troops in to try and end it they would have condemned that as well. And if he had done nothing and let things continue as they were, they would have condemned that also.

The US involvement may have been portrayed as being aimed at "protecting civilians caught in the crossfire" and/or stopping the use of chemical weapons but the real reason was obviously to help those trying to oust Assad.

I can't believe how any serious analysts can constantly fall for this BS everytime and/or justify it to themselves.

 

[MSgt]

Absolutely amazing how the Conservative Vets have decided to rationalize what men like General Mattis and so many others have rightfully condemned. Clearly, your "opinions" are absolutely only based on defending your personal need to be loyal to Trump.

- Trump argued that he’s "pulling US troops out of endless wars" in the Middle East; and that he is "bringing soldiers home!” Um...ok...this must be why they were just sent to Iraq after others were sent into Saudi Arabia. Defend away, loyalists.

Those few troops not being enough to stop a Turkish invasion avoids the point. Turkey is a NATO member and those few American troops, along with a White House order, were enough to tame Turkey. It's conduct against NATO allies betrayed NATO and the U.S. Not only did Trump more or less allow it, he did so while lying about his motives. No, they are obviously not simply coming home. They went to Iraq. And when they do come home, others will replace them (unless he really wants to wreck what better men have sweat and bled for). Months ago, he chastised Turkey for buying rockets from Russia. And in the meantime, he has given Russia and Iran complete liberty to shape the region's future. This made no sense and the fact that the SECDEF, the State Department, and the Pentagon were immediately scratching their heads when he announced it means that he made this decision based on none of their guidance and with no real understanding. Even the SECDEF was scrounging around for excuses to cover this idiot's decision.

Once again, we see yet another boneheaded decision from Trump, which, once again, betrayed his own 2017 National Security Strategy. I linked it in the hopes that at least one or two of you will actually read it so that you can see for yourself just how pathetic this populist's ego-driven decisions have been and just how badly he has conducted our foreign policy. As military members, this should not be alien to you.

And with 128 Republicans joining Democrats to condemn the latest Trump dip****tery, you all look like sheep.

 

[braindrain]

Ham handed and without any thought to what was going to happen next.....

Agreed. Done exactly like most things trump does

 

[braindrain]

Trump’s blunder in Syria is irreparable | The New York Times

Turkey allied Islamist militia forces prepare to attack Manbij, where Trump removed the US blocking force.



Says it far better than I ever could. The damage Trump has wrought is unprecedented and indeed irreparable.

How exactly is this different then when we left and Saddam murdered thousands of them.
Oh thats right.

Trump.

 

[MSgt]

No, he was merely pointing out how duplicitous the Left is.

And in doing so he merely displays how duplicitous the Right is. No, he was defaulting to the very false notion that our population is divided neatly between "the left" and "the right," thus excusing his own bias opinions and hypocrisies. By focusing on the actions of a past Democrat President, he declares that "the left" is being hypocritical, but really he is only showing how low his standards are because this only serves his need to avoid and accept the current Republican in Office.

These are truths:

- Bush ****ed up Iraq because he allowed Rumsfeld (the worst SECDEF in American history) to sell the war on the cheap. Bush went on to **** up First Fallujah by making a popular decision instead of a tactical decision, which undermined missions, reduced trust, and emboldened our enemy. He is why there even was a Fallujah II.

- Obama ****ed up Iraq because after obtusely following Bush's timeline, he pulled the troops out with complete disregard as to what was going on. He made the popular decision instead of the tactical one; thus dismissed guidance on the ground. We had Iraq's political system exactly where we needed it and we needed to keep the pressure on. However, Obama pulled the troops, leaving Malaki free to start shoving Sunni representation out of government, and this kicked off widespread sectarian violence. The result was great instability throughout, political and national division, and vast amounts of space that gave IS room to establish. He is why IS became an issue.

- Trump has ****ed up now too. But this time, Trump made what he hoped would be the popular decision over the tactical one; and the only reason for it appears to be just an attempt to move thought away from his Ukraine scandal. With the State Department, the Pentagon, and 128 Republicans in the House condemning the idiot's unilateral call, this was not popular. And with the current SECDEF scrambling about trying to create excuses for Trump, we can see clearly that our military is in the hand of political yes-men to a draft-dodging, ignorant piece of ****. By asserting that this was a matter of "fulfilling a campaign promise" he exposes this lie because the troops merely moved to Iraq and other troops have stupidly been deployed to Saudi Arabia. Of course, with Russian troops now in the area and Iran having greater political voice for Syria, Trump has only managed to hand the effort over to the other side. Tie in Trump's former idiotic decision to walk away from the Iran deal so that he could introduce no deal, and we have a situation where neither American nor Israel's interests were at the center. We will find out soon enough what he gets blamed for.


Picking and choosing from these truths in a way that would have one denigrate "the left" so that we can ignore the right is foolish. None of this supports the troops, who have been ordered to task since 9/11, then yanked back and forth before accomplishing that task so that politicians way up in comfortable Washington can play popularity games for bunch of constituents that consistently prove to be just as ignorant.

 

[smallvoice]

And in doing so he merely displays how duplicitous the Right is. No, he was defaulting to the very false notion that our population is divided neatly between "the left" and "the right," thus excusing his own bias opinions and hypocrisies. By focusing on the actions of a past Democrat President, he declares that "the left" is being hypocritical, but really he is only showing how low his standards are because this only serves his need to avoid and accept the current Republican in Office.

These are truths:

- Bush ****ed up Iraq because he allowed Rumsfeld (the worst SECDEF in American history) to sell the war on the cheap. Bush went on to **** up First Fallujah by making a popular decision instead of a tactical decision, which undermined missions, reduced trust, and emboldened our enemy. He is why there even was a Fallujah II.

- Obama ****ed up Iraq because after obtusely following Bush's timeline, he pulled the troops out with complete disregard as to what was going on. He made the popular decision instead of the tactical one; thus dismissed guidance on the ground. We had Iraq's political system exactly where we needed it and we needed to keep the pressure on. However, Obama pulled the troops, leaving Malaki free to start shoving Sunni representation out of government, and this kicked off widespread sectarian violence. The result was great instability throughout, political and national division, and vast amounts of space that gave IS room to establish. He is why IS became an issue.

- Trump has ****ed up now too. But this time, Trump made what he hoped would be the popular decision over the tactical one; and the only reason for it appears to be just an attempt to move thought away from his Ukraine scandal. With the State Department, the Pentagon, and 128 Republicans in the House condemning the idiot's unilateral call, this was not popular. And with the current SECDEF scrambling about trying to create excuses for Trump, we can see clearly that our military is in the hand of political yes-men to a draft-dodging, ignorant piece of ****. By asserting that this was a matter of "fulfilling a campaign promise" he exposes this lie because the troops merely moved to Iraq and other troops have stupidly been deployed to Saudi Arabia. Of course, with Russian troops now in the area and Iran having greater political voice for Syria, Trump has only managed to hand the effort over to the other side. Tie in Trump's former idiotic decision to walk away from the Iran deal so that he could introduce no deal, and we have a situation where neither American nor Israel's interests were at the center. We will find out soon enough what he gets blamed for.


Picking and choosing from these truths in a way that would have one denigrate "the left" so that we can ignore the right is foolish. None of this supports the troops, who have been ordered to task since 9/11, then yanked back and forth before accomplishing that task so that politicians way up in comfortable Washington can play popularity games for bunch of constituents that consistently prove to be just as ignorant.

I didn't "pick and choose" from your truths, and the only denigration was caused by the poster who was taking pot-shots at the R's. I merely pointed out what you posted, albeit in greater detail than I. We haven't had a CinC who could crap between a pair of combat boots without soiling himself since Eisenhower, and he had other problems. We need the draft back, then we might get some congress critters who have a big enough picture to legislate, and stop wasting their time and our money on playing gotcha.

 

[Oozlefinch]

The US involvement may have been portrayed as being aimed at "protecting civilians caught in the crossfire" and/or stopping the use of chemical weapons but the real reason was obviously to help those trying to oust Assad.

I can't believe how any serious analysts can constantly fall for this BS everytime and/or justify it to themselves.

No, it should be obvious it was not really about removing the Syrian government by simply looking at the number of forces we sent there. Because if that was our intent, we could easily have sent enough troops and equipment to do exactly that. And of course possibly kick off a war with Russia.

No, at most we became a minor annoyance to Syria. This is obvious by their even agreeing to "allow the US" to operate from their territory, not that it really mattered as that territory had not been under his control for years.

But please, explain to me as a "serious analyst", how you come to that conclusion. Give me some factual reason to accept your conclusion.

The US has been involved in the Syrian Civil War for over 8 years now. Most of that, providing non-military aid. That changed in 2014 when the US (and also most of NATO) started going after what was believed to be chemical weapon stockpile and distribution facilitates. Both Syrian and ISIS both.

Later air strikes by more than a 4/5 margin were against ISIS targets, not Syrian Government targets.

And when President Obama ordered US forces on the ground to assist, it was never more than 500 individuals. Primarily US Army Special Forces and US Navy SEALs. And they are not there to fight themselves, but to instruct those on the ground who are actually fighting.

So air strikes against another target, and 500 service members. This is apparently your "proof" of an attempt to overthrow the government.

Yea, not taking your claim seriously at all, have a nice day.

 

[dave8383]

.........................Those few troops not being enough to stop a Turkish invasion avoids the point. Turkey is a NATO member and those few American troops, along with a White House order, were enough to tame Turkey. It's conduct against NATO allies betrayed NATO and the U.S. ..........................

Exactly.

 

[joko104]

So most are voting that yes, we need to pull out of Syria - but no, not if Trump ordered it. That is how truly absurd the TDS psychological disturbance is for most progressive Democrats. Nothing on earth matters except hating our President.

 

[joko104]

Understand what the Democratic Party of war and death and the war mongers for profit want.

Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Russia - plus the Kurds and ISIS along with some other factions all are fighting in and over Syria.

They are all in that region, if not bordering Syria. Syria is on the other side of earth from us.

They want to put US troops in the middle of a 10 way fight that has been going on for centuries in their claim that the USA is the police force of the entire world for which we must be in the middle of every possible conflict everywhere all that time forever.

Do you LOVE watching WAR on TV? Really LIKE reading about all the death and destruction of wars? Then vote Democratic - the Party of perpetual wars and death. Over 90% of all American war deaths and deaths caused by the American military of others has been under Democratic Party leadership. The Democratic Party exists for destruction as the party of the racist, bigoted hate and fear mongers.