well if i’m stupid
and you’re not, tell
me why another nation can’t pony up and put a few dozen troops there. why is it always us, and only us?
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Jim I agree as the historical lead nation and peace keeper of the free world, at times we all wonder why does that burden fall on us, well it is because we WANT to be the leader. This withdrawal using your thought process might possibly have been accomplished with a president who valued our European allies and sought the UN and our allies to tag in and give our troops a respite. That is a giant stretch for Trump and I really believe he couldn’t care less about our Kurd or European allies, this was either about trying desperately to distract from the impeachment, fulfill a campaign promise or worse; protect family financial interests in Turkey.
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It’s not always us, that is you buying Trump’s lies.

Jim, we have a NATO member violating the charter with Trump’s approval. Who came to our aid after 9/11? It’s insane what is going down.
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"we WANT to be the leader"

We DID lead in Syria. We were there by ourselves for years. If we take a 3 year hitch, then ask someone else to take a turn (after the heavy fighting against ISIS is behind us), does that mean we aren't the leader anynore? I don't think so. I can't think of any definition of "leader" that precludes the leader from ever receiving assistance.

"That is a giant stretch for Trump and I really believe he couldn’t care less about our Kurd or European allies"

You may be right. I'm not trying to read his mind, just evaluating the pros and cons of the withdrawal.

You made some good points in this post, points I agree with 100%.

I'd really like to know who the good guys are in the Kurd-Turkey feud. I still have no idea how to feel about it. I see pros and cons on both sides.

If they're violating the charter, why isn't NATO responding? And what standards are the Kurds violating, if they're in fact supporting terrorism in Turkey, which you made it sound like they were.

Whos calling you stupid ? That above statment was from Trump

Why us.. isolationism is dangrous .. how about letting China fill our void .. let them take a turn. Or Russia. how many Syrian refugees have NATO countries taken and how many have we ? 50 or 1000 troops seems like a fair compromise
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US joins Russia to scuttle UNSC action on Turkey’s invasion of Syria
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one thing that people on both sides do when they have a weak position and know it, is accuse the other side of extremes.

i’m not an isolationist. i’m suggesting that an argument can be made that if we’re in syria long enough to complete the mission against ISIS ( and i haven’t heard anyone say that isis still has a meaningful presence there), that maybe it’s time for someone else to take a turn.

just because i don’t necessarily want to be there forever, doesn’t make me an isolationist. does it?
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But yet you complain that Obama pulled out of Iraq and caused isis
How long were you willing to stay there hindsight is always 20/20

Yet now as if by magic Isis is defeated .And once again Trumps getting picked on. Talk about a weak position

ISIS IS also an idea the west hasn't killed that and Trukey is relighting that candle.. And Trump has destroyed the idea that the US is a dependable partner .. that decades of treasure and American lives were used to forge such an image. Even some Republican have have spoke out against Turkey.. the country not the T in the oval office
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Trump constantly boasts how savvy a businessman he is, yet clearly he doesn’t understand you don’t give up on an investment with an ROI that’s out of the park. A very small personnel investment at the boarder was holding back what will now be a devastating outcome and lead to yet another humanitarian crisis. If you think those men and women aren’t upset they have abandoned there partners I think you are kidding yourself.
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Saw this on FB from duffel blog:rotflmao:

He pulled out 50 people and flushed an ally down the tube with no plan or consultation other than to pull out.

Trump is always transactional, what did he get for letting Turkey do that without a fight and when did he really know Erdogan was going to invade?
This operation was not planned between the phone call on Sunday and Monday when the attack started. Trump's shadow minister met with Erdogan after meeting with MBS in late February, Erdogan went silent on Kashoggi.

Trump Tower Istanbul, Kashoggi, MBS, Kushner the shadow minister and his funding from the Middle East.
They are all connected.

Your father should have pulled out.
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Ive said it here already there is no way The US wasn't aware of the build up prior to the phone call .. this operations was months in the planning and execution... it takes a year of planning and coordination for 1 national Guard unit (less than 1000 men )in the States to plan and conduct their 2 week annual Training .. it's only fast in the Movies

FYI Turkey, which incidentally was also not at Normandy in WWII. not sure if Trump was aware

America actually is not locked into pointless “endless wars” in the Middle East. We have troops there for the same reason we keep troops in other parts of the world — to preempt threats to our homeland, deter aggression and protect America’s far-flung interests. Their mission is counterterrorism, not war, in support of Afghan and other local forces that are doing most of the fighting on the ground.

It’s been 74 years since Japan surrendered unconditionally on the battleship USS Missouri, but the United States still has 56,000 troops there. About 65,000 active duty U.S. troops are stationed in Europe (including NATO ally Turkey). We have over 25,000 troops in South Korea. And the U.S. Central Command overseas between 60,000 and 70,000 troops in the Middle East, most of whom are not engaged directly in combat.

Endendlesswars
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We can protect known killers

Amid Pres. Trump's decision to remove US troops from northern Syria and his vocal criticisms of US military presence in Middle East, the Pentagon announces the deployment of more US troops and weapons to Saudi Arabia “to assure and enhance the defense of Saudi Arabia.”

Trump said that the Kurds had gone their own whey.... that’s why he abandoned them
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This will be studied for years as an example of how to shoot yourself in the foot.

fixed it :tooth:

Look who met 3 weeks ago to discuss and make plans for Syria – Putin, Erdogan, and Rouhani

For the poorly informed they are the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran.

Ironically, we have to turn to the Kremlin’s English-language website for information on the Trilateral summit on settlement in Syria held in Ankara, Turkey on September 16, 2019.

http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/61540

At the link, there are additional links onward to press statements and a 14-point Syria plan agreed by Putin, Erdogan, and Rouhani at the meeting.

The Kurds weren’t invited to the summit and they weren’t mentioned directly but it’s clear that the three leaders agreed to deal with them in some unspecified way to guarantee Syria’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

From the 14-point statement released jointly by Putin, Erdogan, and Rouhani:

2. Emphasized their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic . . .

4. Discussed the situation in the northeast of Syria, emphasized that security and stability in this region can only be achieved on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and agreed to coordinate their efforts to this end.

5. Rejected in this regard all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism, including illegitimate self-rule initiatives, and expressed their determination to stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as threatening the national security of neighboring countries.

The full statement can be found at the link here: http://en.kremlin.ru/supplement/5439

In his speech at the summit, Putin also said:

Naturally, the situation in the northeast of Syria is a source of concern. Problems of security in this area and other parts of Syria should be resolved based exclusively on preserving its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We consider it unacceptable to divide Syria into spheres of influence.

http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/61541

In Q&A with reporters at the summit, Putin was even asked about the US presence in Syria. Here’s what he said:

Question: With due consideration for the US presence in Syria, I would also like to ask how you assess the US presence on Syrian territory?

Vladimir Putin: Regarding the presence of the US Armed Forces, it is common knowledge that their presence on Syrian territory is illegal. And we hope that the decision to withdraw US service personnel from Syria, made by President of the United States Donald Trump will be implemented completely.

http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/61542

What was Trump doing during the Trilateral Summit? He was bellowing about the drone/missile strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil processing facility and blaming Iran for it which is all but forgotten now.

None of it makes much sense until you realize that Putin is calling the shots. Everywhere.

A contingent of U.S. Special Forces has been caught up in Turkish shelling against U.S.-backed Kurdish positions in northern Syria, days after President Donald Trump told his Turkish counterpart he would withdraw U.S. troops from certain positions in the area.

Newsweek has learned through both an Iraqi Kurdish intelligence official and senior Pentagon official that Special Forces operating on Mashtenour hill in the majority-Kurdish city of Kobani fell under artillery fire from Turkish forces conducting their so-called "Operation Peace Spring" against Kurdish fighters backed by the U.S. but considered terrorist organizations by Turkey.

The senior Pentagon official said that Turkish forces should be aware of U.S. positions "down to the grid." The official could not specify the exact number of personnel present, but indicated they were "small numbers below company level," so somewhere between 15 and 100 troops.

When an ISIS terrorist attacks one of our allies or us, please remember Trumps false claim that ISIS has been defeated.
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Thanks for your unyielding efforts PeteF. Even if you are just responding to yourself.
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Already one Isis jail break, Trump is delusional if he thinks Isis is defeated and done, all that effort and loss of life to undo over Money and politics.
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I think you meant in the head.
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Wouldn’t he have written head instead of foot Jeff? Is it possible you just don’t think?
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Who wanted Trump to withdraw U.S. troops and abandon the Kurds? Not the Defense or the State Department. Not the foreign policy establishment or the American people. Not Republicans or Democrats.
Who wanted Trump to abandon the Kurds and withdraw U.S. troops? Erdogan, Rouhani and Putin
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Blah blah blah
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Reported 700-900 Isis prisoners are now on the loose, just unreal that this result wasn’t easily predictable, so you want the endless wars to start, guess what the war on Isis part two is about to get going. Trump is so corrupt and such an idiot, he should be impeached for stupidity.
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