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Withdrawl of troops from Syria -- do you agree with the decision?

Do you agree with Trump's decision on Syria?


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Josie

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-mi...ts-forces-from-northeastern-syria-11545225641

WASHINGTON—President Trump ordered a rapid withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Syria, officials said Wednesday, marking an abrupt shift of the U.S.’s posture in the Middle East....

Please vote and explain your vote if you wish.

While I like the thought of disentangling ourselves from the whole region, the truth is the Kurds is Syria where a major supporter of our efforts against ISIS, spearheading the fighting and doing most of the dying. Abandoning them to their fate leaves a very sour taste in my mouth, and I think sends the wrong message to those who might want to help us in the future.
 
This is a tough one.

I think for most people, on the one hand, they are so sick of involvement in the Middle East that this would seem a good decision now that ISIS appears to be largely eradicated...

But on the other... There are geo-political games being played here so complicated, I am somewhat sure that the consequences of this decision won't be clear for some time.

I mean Syria is an unholy mess and it would seem there are no good guys in this conflict, but having said that to give Russia free reign in Syria and abandoning many regional allies doesn't sound like it's in Americas interests and the fact that a SoD of Mattis stature was fired or retired immediately after the decision was made, is worrying at best and horrifying at worst.

So, tough to say, while it sounds ideal for those sick and tired of American intervention, take all the partisan politics and emotions out of the equation, is it in Americas interests that this withdrawal occur?

Time will tell.

But one thing I will say, it isn't fair to bash those over the head with this that opposed the Iraq war, that was a full scale invasion that ended up costing massively in blood and treasure.

This is a largely support role action along with regional allies with a much smaller commitment against an enemy universally reviled that most people would agree, had to be dealt with.

Big difference.
 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-mi...ts-forces-from-northeastern-syria-11545225641

WASHINGTON—President Trump ordered a rapid withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Syria, officials said Wednesday, marking an abrupt shift of the U.S.’s posture in the Middle East....

Please vote and explain your vote if you wish.

I almost chose somewhat, but I find I mostly agree although I would prefer a phased pull-out from all three areas including Afghanistan, Iraq, and finally Syria.

We've been there too long, and if we don't pull out we could be there another 20 years.

I would have much preferred the old school way of assigning CIA search and destroy teams with maximum prejudice kill orders to our knee-jerk war in reaction to 9/11, followed by a 17 year occupation and then ISIS and involvement in Syria.
 
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If the Kurds were complicit with the genocide of the Armenians, then who gives a ****. I doubt many Druze are left in Syria.
 
I agree with Trump on Syria.

Every time we get involved in some conflict, it is suppose to be for just a few months and turns into several years. Syria is no different. And yes the Kurds have been real fighters against ISIS and the US has spent billions of dollars training them and providing them with the equipment to fight. At some point all we help need to stand on their own. If however Turkey double crosses and goes after the Kurds, or they are faced with insurgents from other countries, within 24 hours our troops could be redeployed and those involved will face grave consequences. Same with Afghanistan. How many years has it been? 17? We have been sacrificing our treasure, and so much money within that country for almost two decades. If they haven't a military troop strong enough by now with all the training they have been given along with weapons, when?


There are some who have the mindset that once we get involved we have to stay indefinitely. Sorry I think that is flawed thinking. To them no time is a good time to leave.
 
While I like the thought of disentangling ourselves from the whole region, the truth is the Kurds is Syria where a major supporter of our efforts against ISIS, spearheading the fighting and doing most of the dying. Abandoning them to their fate leaves a very sour taste in my mouth, and I think sends the wrong message to those who might want to help us in the future.

And furthermore his decision has been done as an impulsive political distraction and any strategical reason just isn't there. And of course he tells another bald faced lie that Putin was unhappy about the pull out. To the contrary Putin is ecstatic.
 
While I like the thought of disentangling ourselves from the whole region, the truth is the Kurds is Syria where a major supporter of our efforts against ISIS, spearheading the fighting and doing most of the dying. Abandoning them to their fate leaves a very sour taste in my mouth, and I think sends the wrong message to those who might want to help us in the future.

This. The Kurds in Iraq and Syria have been our staunchest allies in the region, and the fiercest fighters. We in turn have pledged them our support, our aid, and our loyalty. To simply pull out without warning, moments after the U.S. President spoke to Turkey's President Erdogan reeks of a deal: "Okay, you can slaughter the Kurds, just let us get our troops out first"

Erdogan has been encroaching in Syria for the express purpose of bombing and shooting artillery into Kurdish positions despite U.S. warnings to stop; now it looks like Erdogan, along with Putin and Al Assad, are getting exactly what they want, and the world wonders what the U.S. has received in return for betraying the trust of yet another loyal U.S. ally.

It will take decades, if ever, to regain the trust of any of our allies again. For those who are religious, please ask God to help us survive this as a country.
 
stupid poll.
 
While I like the thought of disentangling ourselves from the whole region, the truth is the Kurds is Syria where a major supporter of our efforts against ISIS, spearheading the fighting and doing most of the dying. Abandoning them to their fate leaves a very sour taste in my mouth, and I think sends the wrong message to those who might want to help us in the future.

Possibly a first -- I agree with you.

Trump thinks himself smarter than everyone else - including his generals. I don't see how this is the right decision in the war against ISIS.
 
Seems a lot of people are unaware of some important facts and that ignorance causes them to make bad judgements. I chalk that up to their dependence upon mainstream media, who do NOT give them all the facts.

For example, some people think we are abandoning the Kurds. Wrong.

The facts:

1. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar have placed their troops between the Kurds and the Turks in Syria...last month.

2. The US is sending massive amounts of armament to the Kurds.

I suggest Turkey think twice about making a move. Those Arab countries have no love for Turkey and the Kurds are ferocious fighters.

But more importantly, Trump is following through on a campaign promise: To defeat ISIS, which he's done for the most part and to bring our soldiers home.

The remaining ISIS? Guess what...they are Assad's and his Russian buddies' problem. That has been a money sink...and we won't be tossing our money down that drain. The Russians will.

If you remember back in 2017, when Trump went to SA, he told that coalition that he will support their efforts to stabilize the ME. He DIDN'T mean support them with troops. They knew that then, they KNOW that now and they go along with it.

Me? I think this is how it SHOULD be...Middle Eastern countries dealing with Middle Eastern problems...with our support. Seems to me that's what Trump thinks, as well.

I 100% support Trump in withdrawing the Troops from Syria.
 
Seems a lot of people are unaware of some important facts and that ignorance causes them to make bad judgements. I chalk that up to their dependence upon mainstream media, who do NOT give them all the facts.

For example, some people think we are abandoning the Kurds. Wrong.

The facts:

1. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar have placed their troops between the Kurds and the Turks in Syria...last month.

2. The US is sending massive amounts of armament to the Kurds.

I suggest Turkey think twice about making a move. Those Arab countries have no love for Turkey and the Kurds are ferocious fighters.

But more importantly, Trump is following through on a campaign promise: To defeat ISIS, which he's done for the most part and to bring our soldiers home.

The remaining ISIS? Guess what...they are Assad's and his Russian buddies' problem. That has been a money sink...and we won't be tossing our money down that drain. The Russians will.

If you remember back in 2017, when Trump went to SA, he told that coalition that he will support their efforts to stabilize the ME. He DIDN'T mean support them with troops. They knew that then, they KNOW that now and they go along with it.

Me? I think this is how it SHOULD be...Middle Eastern countries dealing with Middle Eastern problems...with our support. Seems to me that's what Trump thinks, as well.

I 100% support Trump in withdrawing the Troops from Syria.

Do you have a link (reputable) that shows where Saudi Arabia and Qatar have sent soldiers into Syria?

To get their they would have had to cross either Syrian territory, Iraqi territory or Turkish territory. Last but not least Turkey last year put soldiers in Qatar to deter Saudi Arabia from attacking Qatar I strongly doubt that Qatar is now working with Saudi Arabia against Turkey
 
This. The Kurds in Iraq and Syria have been our staunchest allies in the region, and the fiercest fighters. We in turn have pledged them our support, our aid, and our loyalty. To simply pull out without warning, moments after the U.S. President spoke to Turkey's President Erdogan reeks of a deal: "Okay, you can slaughter the Kurds, just let us get our troops out first"

Erdogan has been encroaching in Syria for the express purpose of bombing and shooting artillery into Kurdish positions despite U.S. warnings to stop; now it looks like Erdogan, along with Putin and Al Assad, are getting exactly what they want, and the world wonders what the U.S. has received in return for betraying the trust of yet another loyal U.S. ally.

It will take decades, if ever, to regain the trust of any of our allies again. For those who are religious, please ask God to help us survive this as a country.

Turkey is by far a more important ally than the Kurds. Turkey feels that an independent Kurdish state is a threat to Turkey. Given that Turkey has been fighting the PKK for decades, they do have a point. There was and is no way the US would support the Kurds over Turkey if and when it became an us or them issue. Turkey will have no issue with the Kurdish area of Syria being under direct Syrian government rule, but will not accept an independent Kurdish state
 
Seems a lot of people are unaware of some important facts and that ignorance causes them to make bad judgements. I chalk that up to their dependence upon mainstream media, who do NOT give them all the facts.

For example, some people think we are abandoning the Kurds. Wrong.

The facts:

1. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar have placed their troops between the Kurds and the Turks in Syria...last month.

2. The US is sending massive amounts of armament to the Kurds.

I suggest Turkey think twice about making a move. Those Arab countries have no love for Turkey and the Kurds are ferocious fighters.

But more importantly, Trump is following through on a campaign promise: To defeat ISIS, which he's done for the most part and to bring our soldiers home.

The remaining ISIS? Guess what...they are Assad's and his Russian buddies' problem. That has been a money sink...and we won't be tossing our money down that drain. The Russians will.

If you remember back in 2017, when Trump went to SA, he told that coalition that he will support their efforts to stabilize the ME. He DIDN'T mean support them with troops. They knew that then, they KNOW that now and they go along with it.

Me? I think this is how it SHOULD be...Middle Eastern countries dealing with Middle Eastern problems...with our support. Seems to me that's what Trump thinks, as well.

I 100% support Trump in withdrawing the Troops from Syria.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar... Wow, that must keep the Kurds feeling safe...:roll:
 
I'll be totally honest...I am more than a little bit conflicted on this because on the one hand, it is indeed high time we got the Hell out of the Middle East, because nothing we have done has accomplished much other than hurting ISIS or delivering brutal dictators to their end, but in the aftermath what we allowed to happen afterward might have even been worse for the societies involved.

On the other hand, we are leaving at the worst possible time. This is absolutely a big gift wrapped present to Erdogan and Putin both, and we are rewarding the Kurdish people with a kick in the teeth after they helped us countless times. And giving Syria to Vladimir Putin is inexcusable.
And I cannot put away my suspicions that this is something Trump is doing to curry favor with the Putin regime, otherwise he would have zero motivation to do it.
Add to that the fact that almost the ENTIRE State and Defense community is slack jawed with horror at the move, and so are many of our allies in the outside world. Those are big red flags. Something isn't passing the smell test for them, so it's not passing the smell test for me either.
And bear in mind, it's not just people on the Left, it's almost universal on both sides of the spectrum.

Mattis is a hardcore conservative. As a liberal, I am supposed to hate him, right?
Surprise, I might not agree with some of his values but as a military man I have always respected him very much.
Mad Dog Mattis is the kind of guy you can rely on, or at least he always used to be.
So when Mad Dog isn't happy, nobody should be. The guy is a bonafide war hero, a standup man in uniform.
 
Do you have a link (reputable) that shows where Saudi Arabia and Qatar have sent soldiers into Syria?

To get their they would have had to cross either Syrian territory, Iraqi territory or Turkish territory. Last but not least Turkey last year put soldiers in Qatar to deter Saudi Arabia from attacking Qatar I strongly doubt that Qatar is now working with Saudi Arabia against Turkey

Correction: Not Qatar or Jordan. It is Saudi Arabia and UAE.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181122-saudi-arabia-uae-send-troops-to-support-kurds-in-syria/

And, before anyone asks about the arms thing, here's that link:

https://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/...-pkk-pyd-after-syria-pullout-decision-3469878

I apologize for not posting the links beforehand. I knew y'all were unaware of this stuff and should have done the mainstream media job in keeping y'all informed.
 
I'll be totally honest...I am more than a little bit conflicted on this because on the one hand, it is indeed high time we got the Hell out of the Middle East, because nothing we have done has accomplished much other than hurting ISIS or delivering brutal dictators to their end, but in the aftermath what we allowed to happen afterward might have even been worse for the societies involved.

On the other hand, we are leaving at the worst possible time. This is absolutely a big gift wrapped present to Erdogan and Putin both, and we are rewarding the Kurdish people with a kick in the teeth after they helped us countless times. And giving Syria to Vladimir Putin is inexcusable.
And I cannot put away my suspicions that this is something Trump is doing to curry favor with the Putin regime, otherwise he would have zero motivation to do it.
Add to that the fact that almost the ENTIRE State and Defense community is slack jawed with horror at the move, and so are many of our allies in the outside world. Those are big red flags. Something isn't passing the smell test for them, so it's not passing the smell test for me either.
And bear in mind, it's not just people on the Left, it's almost universal on both sides of the spectrum.

Mattis is a hardcore conservative. As a liberal, I am supposed to hate him, right?
Surprise, I might not agree with some of his values but as a military man I have always respected him very much.
Mad Dog Mattis is the kind of guy you can rely on, or at least he always used to be.
So when Mad Dog isn't happy, nobody should be. The guy is a bonafide war hero, a standup man in uniform.

Couldn't agree more Chex on all points. This is not the time to be pulling out troops in this region for all of the reasons you pointed out. America made it's bones by being loyal to loyal allies. Dissing the Kurds is a major move that will most certainly backfire. bank it
 
Correction: Not Qatar or Jordan. It is Saudi Arabia and UAE.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181122-saudi-arabia-uae-send-troops-to-support-kurds-in-syria/

And, before anyone asks about the arms thing, here's that link:

https://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/...-pkk-pyd-after-syria-pullout-decision-3469878

I apologize for not posting the links beforehand. I knew y'all were unaware of this stuff and should have done the mainstream media job in keeping y'all informed.

How did they get their? It says a convoy but it would not have come from Iraq, or Syria (from Jordan in the south to the North east part of Syria) and if Turkey was concerned about a confrontation it would not have been from Turkish soil. The US could have air lifted them in, but supply lines without the US would be very restricted.
 
against an enemy universally reviled that most people would agree, had to be dealt with.

Big difference.

Genocide via chemical weapons counts, right? Institutionalization of rape (sentenced to it in court and government rape squads). Genocide (second) vs Marsh Arabs.
 
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Correction: Not Qatar or Jordan. It is Saudi Arabia and UAE.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181122-saudi-arabia-uae-send-troops-to-support-kurds-in-syria/

And, before anyone asks about the arms thing, here's that link:

https://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/...-pkk-pyd-after-syria-pullout-decision-3469878

I apologize for not posting the links beforehand. I knew y'all were unaware of this stuff and should have done the mainstream media job in keeping y'all informed.

Thanks for the links. You are right I was not aware of any of this but why? It wasn't reported in our MSM. So here we have Trump supplying the Kurds with truckloads of weapons and ammunition and brokered with two other Arab countries to send in troops to assist the Kurds before pulling out. That sure does paint a different story the MSM is telling. Like you I support the move to pull out of Syria and I also support the move to start pulling our troops out of Afghanistan.
 
Even a broken clock is right twice a day so President Trump actually made the right decision on Syria, probably for all the wrong reasons. Sec. Def. Mattis is a wise man but also a warhawk and a militarist. That they profoundly disagree on this issue is no surprise. Leave Syria to Assad and his Russian allies. The Kurds are a people who have always gotten the short end of the stick in history and this is just the most recent collective screwing over they are enduring. Let the Turks, the Syrians, the Iranians, the Israelis and the Russians spill their own peoples' blood in order to play their never-ending geopolitical games. There is no reason that American men and women should die or be maimed in this historical crucible of betrayal and misery. Walk away.

Cheers.
Evilroddy.
 
I voted somewhat agree. I think the U.S.A. should not be mired in the Syrian Civil War. I think we've done more damage than help there. And the rebels we fund are actually Islamic extremists, as well.

However, I would've voted against the Iraq War during the Bush years. Since I didn't get a say in that, my current view has to be altered.

I will almost always support bringing the troops home. However, The Trumpian pullout is a betrayal of the Kurds. There are strategic considerations there, as well as "Honest Actor" considerations. The Kurds will be slaughtered. There is no way around it. I believe the Turks are quoted saying, "We are going ditch by ditch" (to exterminate the Kurds.)

And that would make 2 genocides in the area America was an accessory to, the Kurdish one of 2019 and the ongoing Yemeni one.

Now, a foreign policy move I could 100% support is the Yemeni bill that failed in Congress. I wish we would tell the Saudi's to pound sand(literally). But, I think Trump is compromised by the Saudi's, probably financially.
 
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