U.S. Forces Will Remain in Syria After Battle With ISIS Ends

Newsweek ^ | 9/24/18 | James LaPorta

[McGruff]

American forces will remain in Syria even after the last remnants of the Islamic State militant group are eradicated, signaling a shift in U.S. policy that further complicates the political climate in Syria amid its seven-year civil war

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday that U.S. forces will stay in Syria to provide training to local forces in an effort to ensure stability within the region, a decision that seems to run counter to past statements from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to withdraw American forces from the region.

The news out of the Defense Department comes on the same day that John Bolton, the White House national security adviser, told reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York that U.S. forces will remain in Syria as a deterrent to Iranian aggression.

[BenLurkin]

What kind of training do these “local forces” need?

[Lurkinanloomin]

We have no business in Syria.

Training for Jordanians can take place in Jordan.
Training for the Kurds can take place in Iraq.

[Zhang Fei]

I’m guessing this is a prelude to a kind of American protectorate for Kurdish forces in Syria. A key difficulty is the lack of access to the sea. The Kurds in Syria are almost literally surrounded by enemies. I think I’ve figured out where their “port” is - Iraqi Kurdistan. As part of Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan offers Syrian Kurds a friendly route to the outside world.

[lurk]

Under the sponsorship of the late senator from AZ, our personnel were there to arm and train the neck cutters of al queda.

So now that they are mostly dead, another generation of neck cutters will need training.

[mrmeyer]

Conversation to Christianity?

[TADSLOS]

McCain is smiling from hell.

[Zhang Fei]

[We have no business in Syria.

Training for Jordanians can take place in Jordan.
Training for the Kurds can take place in Iraq.]

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There’s always a quid pro quo involved in these things. Syrian Kurds had the alternative of fleeing to Europe and elsewhere, where they could credibly claim to have been persecuted. To get them to stand and fight, and take the ~6,000 KIA they have, including the rape and mutilation of their womenfolk on the front lines, I expect sub rosa agreements were made to help them achieve autonomy within Syria. Trump’s public statements are red meat to some of his supporters, but I expect he has been informed of some of these non-public quid pro quos. The idea behind using them as the anvil in these hammer and anvil operations is to reduce US casualties. If Trump lets the Kurds go under, that will really put a damper on our ability to recruit local allies in future foreign operations.

[zeestephen]

No!

Get out now.

Not one penny more for that cultural and economic wasteland.

[Trumpisourlastchance]

Unlawfully. Exactly the opposite of what I voted for.

[Pollster1]

Why? What can they possibly accomplish that outweighs removing the issue of removing “infidels” from their country? When both sides want us dead, it’s time to stop helping either side, especially when you can’t tell which side is less terrorist or less anti-American.

Go home. Let Assad take full control of his own country, completely without our help or our interference. Stop destabilizing a country that was better off stable.

[Trumpisourlastchance]

We are illegally occupying Syria. Fixed it.

[dfwgator]

What happened to this Trump?

[Sacajaweau]

Bolton makes sense. We’re not stupid.

[Psalm 73]

We're staying there because it pisses off the Iranians. And we don't even have to break a sweat.

I am aware it also pisses off a lot of Americans. Don't know the correct answer (this really is a matter of opinion unless one is making foreign policy - I don't think any of us are).

[zeestephen]

Re: “The idea behind using them as the anvil in these hammer and anvil operations is to reduce US casualties.”

Pull out USA military forces, and we won’t have any casualties.

If the Kurds don’t like Syria, they can move to France and wage war against the Islamic Army stationed in Paris.

[sailor76]

What happened to this Trump?
=================

Excellent question on this and a lot of other issues.

They got to him around march/april 2017.

[M Kehoe]

I’d prefer we not be over there.

If the Persian patriots can get their shit together, and eliminate the ayatollahs and certain mullahs and imams, we won’t have to spend a dime or lose one of our own.

And Erdogan will take notice.

5.56mm

[The Toll]

This makes it hard to complain when people fly planes into buildings.

[Zhang Fei]

[Re: “The idea behind using them as the anvil in these hammer and anvil operations is to reduce US casualties.”

Pull out USA military forces, and we won’t have any casualties.

If the Kurds don’t like Syria, they can move to France and wage war against the Islamic Army stationed in Paris.]

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The 90’s-era Taliban takeover did not involve any US casualties in Afghanistan. They occurred in New York City. The military’s job isn’t to avoid casualties. It’s to protect American civilians from harm, whether economic or threat to life and limb.