Trump wants to get the U.S. out of Syria’s war, so he asked the Saudi king for $4 billion

The Washington Compost, News Rotten to the Core ^ | March 16, 2018 | Paul Sonne and Karen DeYoung

[Navy Patriot]

In a December phone call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, President Trump had an idea he thought could hasten a U.S. exit from Syria: Ask the king for $4 billion. By the end of the call, according to U.S. officials, the president believed he had a deal.

The White House wants money from the kingdom and other nations to help rebuild and stabilize the parts of Syria that the U.S. military and its local allies have liberated from the Islamic State. The postwar goal is to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian partners from claiming the areas, or the Islamic State from regrouping, while U.S. forces finish mopping up the militants.

The Saudis, whose crown prince arrives in Washington on Monday for extensive meetings with the administration, are part of the anti-Islamic State coalition but have largely withdrawn from the fight in Syria in recent years. They are questioning the eye- popping sum even as U.S. officials at one point were drawing up line items totaling $4 billion.

[Navy Patriot]

What a Great Idea, rent out the US Military to the Saudis to protect them while they build Saudi controlled Mosques and civil authority in Syria.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks so much for your support to this point... I personally apprecaite it...
FReepers, it's far beyond time to wrap up this FReep-a-thon.  Lets do it today.  Please chip in.

President Donald J. Trump and the Free Republic of the United States of America
President Donald J. Trump's address to the United Nations on 09/19/2017.

Ramirez political cartoon:  Elizabeth Warren LARGE VERSION 03/15/2018: LINK  LINK to regular sized versions of his political cartoons (archive).
Garrison political cartoon:  the Fall of Hillary LARGE VERSION 03/15/2018: LINK  LINK (scroll down) to regular sized versions of his political cartoons (archive).

FReepers, 91.477% of the First Quarter FReep-a-thon goal has been met.  Click above and pencil in your donation now.  Please folks, lets end this FReepathon.  Thank you!
...this is a general all-purpose message, and should not be seen as targeting any individual I am responding to...

Just $460.00 dollars to 92.00%

[Rob the Ugly Dude]

This new Saudi king just extorted tens of billions of dollars from his relatives. We provide security, so where’s our cut?

[gaijin]

It’s a Civil War with “Stay Out America” written alllll over it.

Ya know SOME things in the world just ain’t our biz, ya know..?

[McGruff]

I hope this is Fake News. The Washington Compost has a history of it.

[Bogie]

Well, let us not forget about the ongoing mosque building right here in the US.

[9YearLurker]

I’d rather see the $4B go to removing every single Wahhabist mosque that Saudi Arabia built here in the US.

[Bogie]

Agreed!

[Navy Patriot]

Curse those Alawites, for Four Billion Dollars, All American Military should be given the ord, ... er, opportunity to Martyr themselves for Sunni Islam.

[Navy Patriot]

I have a bad feeling about this one.

[Bogie]

Yeah, it’s a screw job on steroids.

[Navy Patriot]

It was probably a bunch of Syrians sent by that guy Assad, ...he's been really mean to a lot of those Muslim Brotherhood charity workers.

[Haddit]

In this article Gen. Joseph L. Votel admits that Assad has already won.
It’s Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), Tillerson and Nikki Haley that say Assad has to go.
The U.S. commanders have said their military mission in Syria remains limited to defeating the Islamic State.
… U.S. troops in Syria were points of contention between Tillerson and Trump, starkly different views about prospects for Assad and the peace process remain within the administration.

In another article:
When our troops were attacked early February, Mattis said: “It was self-defense, we are not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war. We are there to fight Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, that’s what those troops were doing in that position:.
Coordinating strikes against ISIS.”

That last statement is reassuring that we are not fighting the Syrian regime, we are fighting ISIS.

[BBell]

How can you have peace without Bashar al-Assad and the Alawites ? Who will protect the religious minorities? Certainly not the Saudis.

[Trumpisourlastchance]

The Saudis are the terrorists, not the Syrians. This is back asswards.

Trump promised to get us out of Syria. It’s time to leave.

[Trumpisourlastchance]

Looks like more Christian genocide coming. For the NeoCons, not for America.

[Balding_Eagle]

More straight, honest reporting from the Post I’m sure.

[Karliner]

The only dog we have in the ME is Israel. Forget choosing sides on the islumic tribalism.

[shanover]

Obama, Clinton and McCain owned the Syrian policy of America overthrowing sovereign states and thought it would fall as fast as Libya. Why would President Trump even step a toe into this fiasco?

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

That extortion was seed money for the Saudi nuke plan I bet