[nathanbedford]

I agree. I’d like to know who advised the administration to do this.

I'd like to know whether any of this was vetted?

I cannot maintain that this is what happened but the reports I read tell me the president got off the phone with Erdogan and surprised the world by announcing this policy. Yes, I know that this had been part of his campaign and I know that he had mooted the subject of withdrawing troops from Syria some time ago, but how was this vetted?

Was the president apprised fully of the effect it would have on Congress? Was the president advised about the damage to the Kurds? Was the president advised about the possible damage to him in the impeachment fiasco? Was the president advised about the potential consequences of securing other allies, especially Muslim allies, to fight our battles for us? Was the president apprised of the rather large political and geopolitical downside consequences of his decision and the relatively paltry upside advantages to his decision? Was this the right place and the right time to effect his stated policy (with which I agree in general terms) of withdrawing American forces from endless, fruitless wars?

[MrEdd]

Again, was war ever declared and funded by congress?

None of the bovine excrement you are dropping has any validity of any kind unless that has happened.

[ScottinVA]

Well said; I completely agree. I certainly understand and appreciate the need to extricate from needless wars, but the Kurds (especially the Peshmerga of Northern Iraq) have been our steadiest allies over there, and I don’t support actions that yank the rug from under them. I’m hoping there’s a contingency plan in place that hasn’t been made public that’ll forestall a disastrous result.