Posted on 04/27/2017 5:43:11 AM PDT by huldah1776
The White House is giving the Pentagon greater flexibility to determine the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, in another move by President Trump to shift greater power to his military leaders.
The decision will give Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the authority to send more forces into Syria, to assist U.S.-backed local troops as they move to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State group, which has used the city as a de facto capital.
It will also let him adjust the force numbers in Iraq, in the ongoing fight to oust ISIS from Mosul and stabilize it as the rebuilding begins.
snip
The change, however, could trigger concerns — particularly in Iraq, where there are political sensitivities about the footprint of American and coalition troops and fears about occupation forces. Officials worry that if they publicly acknowledge there are thousands more troops there, it could fuel opposition and problems for the Iraqi government.
Trump's decision applies only to the two countries, and so far does not affect Afghanistan, although that change has also been discussed.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
What U.S. troops in SYRIA and under what congressional act?
The ghost of Obama.
Bush doctrine 3.0
Nation building with weapons
Except this time most of the urban population has voted multiple times for the president they want
Bashar al Assad
Are you the last person who is supposed to be paying attention with, or without myopia, who did not know this?
They’ve been there for months now.
Haven’t seen any congressional authorization or oversight
Is this a NATO mission?
Why is Turkey bombing our proxies?
Get back to me when Mattis decides s he needs 50k troops in SYRIA and oh by the way we’re not going to coordinate anything with the Russians or Iranians who have been fighting ISIS and Al Qaeda in Syria since 2015
And regime change is our mission
And Trump says “ I left it up to the generals to decide”
Yes it appears we got busted by the Russians on supporting ISIS so now our alphabet warriors are wooing Nusra and its associated tribal radical militias - aka Al Qaeda - and expecting them to fight against the syrian army along with the Kurds, who,are getting whacked by Turkey as they get further from their promised independent federation lands - in which we have also established a forward operating base flying the flag of “ Rojava”
But not to fear, once Mattis stops bombing civilians hospitals and mosques by mistake and ordering carriers to,sail the wrong direction, I’m sure we’ll create a fine bastions of democratic stability in the rubble of Damascus and Pyongyang and Donbass
So you WANT Trump to break this campaign promise about wiping out ISIS. Good to know.
Thanks for losing the Vietnam war again. You guys always want to prevent generals from winning.
So, like obama, Trump has put a General in charge.
Unlike obama, Trump has given that General the authority and the access to the resources to actually, oh, I dunno, DO THE FREEEEEAKING JOB!
The Vietnam model is the only war fighting model the left recognizes.
Makes sense, really, it was a stunning victory for them!
“And I hope Mattis relaxes the ROE if he does expect his boots to fight in Afghanistan.”
I think this has already happened.
It is so much easier to hate Trump than to fight the Dems. The last person you want in a fox hole with you is a Conservative purist.
I believe they might still have to ask permission to shoot back but whoever decides is lower on the totum pole.
Trump (on the advice of his generals) spent at least $60 million sending 59 cruise missiles onto a nearly empty Syrian airfield
How many ISIS did he kill?
WTF are we doing? Two soldiers were just KIA in Afghanistan fighting ISIS and yet we still have this asinine pivot that started when we dropped Afghanistan off the priority list and started the little adventure in Iraq, which blew the Mideast up and eventually created ISIS. Bush and Obama “doctrines” are pure insanity and what I see now is a hybrid of both under this administration with the US actually HELPING ISIS! I never thought my offspring would ever see this war if they decide to join the military. Might as well give my gear to them and say good luck and keep your ass down. They will be eligible in 2018! So from 2001-2020 what will have been accomplished? What is the future mission? I joined in 1988 and the perspective is sobering to say the least.
If he didn’t kill a single one, the message it sent was a shot heard round the world. Cheap.
BTW, patriots at Lexington did not kill a single Brit, but changed the world.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.