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Trump's frontrunners for Pentagon job likely to share Mattis' views on Syria, Afghanistan
Fox News ^ | December 21, 2018 | Lukas Mikelionis

Posted on 12/21/2018 4:50:01 AM PST by familyop

...Gen. Jack Keane and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., are considered the frontrunners to replace Mattis...For Trump to nominate Keane, however, he would have to swallow Keane’s hawkish stance...and his recent criticism of the move to pull out of Syria, which the retired general called a “huge strategic mistake." “Clearly, we're repeating the Obama mistake of premature withdrawal, which got us ISIS,” Keane said on Fox News’ “America's Newsroom” on Thursday. “In my judgment, we need to stick to it and finish the job,” Keane added, noting that the withdrawal of American troops will give “a victory of strategic proportions” to the Iranian regime.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; US: Arkansas
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; arkansas; caliyork; cannabis; hippies; isis; jackkeane; keane; mattis; tomcotton; trumpdod; trumpgwot; uncleivan
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To: Old Teufel Hunden
The only ones in favor of our pullout to speak publicly so far is Putin in Russia and Erdogan in Turkey. Do you truly think they have America's best interests in mind?

And President Trump. How do you overlook him? Do you think HE has America's best interests in mind?

101 posted on 12/21/2018 6:09:07 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("I'm a cool dude in a loose mood! Hey -- two ginger ales for my girls!")
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To: familyop

Iran has been surrounded for literally years. Pulling 2000 troops out of Syria doesn’t change that.


102 posted on 12/21/2018 6:11:04 AM PST by yldstrk (My heroess obviously sick have always been cowboys)
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To: Rusty0604

Some of his men testified against him. He’s a good man, though. Just a bit of a loose cannon at times and an icon of libertarians. He also said as a politician, that men who get behind on their child support should be caned. Little example there.


103 posted on 12/21/2018 6:12:03 AM PST by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: familyop
Hysteria isn't a rational basis for foreign policy. Russia and China can already nuke us at any time and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. Iran is trying to acquire nukes, but it is this President, Trump, who at least put the kibosh on having the U.S. taxpayer fund it.

We have a porous border with MS-13 and islamic terrorists and chinese spies waltzing right through. That is the immediate threat. The global adventurism is pure military industrial complex masturbation. Selling pork and burning through the bacon.

104 posted on 12/21/2018 6:12:29 AM PST by Sirius Lee (In God We Trust, In Trump We MAGA)
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To: Jarhead9297

At least I was in platoons instead of sections (not a REMF).


105 posted on 12/21/2018 6:14:39 AM PST by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: central_va
Don’t buy off on the Posse Comitatus lie. The military CAN LEGALLY AND SHOULD defend our border

Those who invoke Posse Comitatus as a reason not to defend our border do so because they're looking for an excuse not to defend the border at all. Their claims are based on a complete distortion of what Posse Comitatus means (i.e. not using the military as a police force). It's just as specious an argument as the idiotic refrain we keep on hearing about illegal immigrants: "Well, we can't deport them all [so why bother deporting any of them]."

106 posted on 12/21/2018 6:17:57 AM PST by ek_hornbeck
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To: kabar

I fear that the status of “complete” is when the contractors and their paid-off elected and appointed officials have milked all the dollars out of an action they can and are ready to move to fertile pastures.


107 posted on 12/21/2018 6:18:56 AM PST by VietVet876
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To: ek_hornbeck
Those who invoke Posse Comitatus as a reason not to defend our border do so because they're looking for an excuse not to defend the border at all.

Worth repeating. You are a great wordsmith!

108 posted on 12/21/2018 6:21:03 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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To: familyop

Look, generals are soldiers. Ultimately, to a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. This is not bad, just reality. That’s why you have a department of STATE too. Even the pacifistic Jefferson had to send our ENTIRE armed forces to Tripoli to beat the crap out of the pirates.

But they don’t have to stay there. I’m even in favor of greatly reducing—though not removing-—the number of bases in Germany.


109 posted on 12/21/2018 6:24:01 AM PST by LS ("Castles made of sand, fall in the sea . . . eventually" (Hendrix))
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To: Sirius Lee
"Hysteria isn't a rational basis for foreign policy."

That's right. Anti-defense people shouldn't be hysterical or so disrespectful as to call men "chicken hawks," as is often issued from such sewing circles.

"Russia and China can already nuke us at any time and there's not a damned thing you can do about it."

Movies like "The Day After" (along with stories like "The Second After") are not good material for learning about nuclear war. Neither is propaganda from the left in the form of documentaries. Nuclear exchanges would be the beginning of a greater war--not the end. And yes, plenty can and should be done about it in advance, too. It would make survivability easier and more likely.


110 posted on 12/21/2018 6:26:44 AM PST by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: Alberta's Child
And President Trump. How do you overlook him? Do you think HE has America's best interests in mind?

It's a form of TDS. schumer and pelousey love it when RINOs get giddy about blowing stuff up in other nations and ignoring the actual, present invasion of America. The pols on both sides of the aisle who accept bribes from the K Street boys representing Mitre, Lockheed, Raytheon, etc., sure love it.

111 posted on 12/21/2018 6:26:47 AM PST by Sirius Lee (In God We Trust, In Trump We MAGA)
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To: familyop

preach on brother....

People on this site were rah, rah, rah when we tore up the Iranian nuke deal. Most were willing to give Trump space with the Khashoggi murder because Saudi is important for our Middle East plans against Iran, yet they can’t see how us pulling out of Syria takes away our leverage from constraining Iran in Syria.


112 posted on 12/21/2018 6:29:45 AM PST by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: LS
If General’s had their way we'd have troops in every country in the world ‘just to be on the safe side’...
113 posted on 12/21/2018 6:31:48 AM PST by GOPJ (TERM LIMIT DC SWAMP BUREAUCRATS - a permanent un-elected ruling class is a threat to freedom.)
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To: Alberta's Child
"WE are the invaders there. U.S. troops in Syria are the legal and moral equivalent of Chinese or Mexican troops in California."

I said nothing about Russia's right to be in Syria. I also agree that Obama was wrong in not getting Congress to authorize this. That is all in the past. I could go on and on about the correct way that this should have been resolved. If we handled it correctly in the first place, we would have never went into Syria. However, we have to deal with the present situation, in 2018. We are there and we have National Security Interests involved. They will not be served by us pulling out like this for a number of reasons that I already outlined.
114 posted on 12/21/2018 6:33:55 AM PST by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: Alberta's Child
"And President Trump. How do you overlook him? Do you think HE has America's best interests in mind?"

Even you would concede that he's not an expert on National Defense, correct? Can you name an American National Defense Expert that is in favor of it?
115 posted on 12/21/2018 6:35:27 AM PST by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: GOPJ

Well, precisely. As I say, that’s fine, hammers are made for nails and I’d hate to have a general who was afraid to go into combat. But they don’t make policy, as MacArthur found out.


116 posted on 12/21/2018 6:36:13 AM PST by LS ("Castles made of sand, fall in the sea . . . eventually" (Hendrix))
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To: familyop
Well, I, for one, am not anti-defense and would never call you a chickenhawk. I hope your feelings are not hurt if that was even implied.

The references to sewing circles and crappy made-for-television movies is non-sequitur. Whatever point you may have been trying to make is unimportant.

Rest assured that President Trump is doing the right thing for America. I trust him. Don't you?

117 posted on 12/21/2018 6:37:30 AM PST by Sirius Lee (In God We Trust, In Trump We MAGA)
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To: Old Teufel Hunden
"...they can’t see how us pulling out of Syria takes away our leverage from constraining Iran in Syria."

Israel has been blowing up every Iranian base, depot, observation station, barracks, and anti-aircraft installion in Syria that they could find. I'm more that happy to leave the Iran/Syria problem to them.

118 posted on 12/21/2018 6:41:45 AM PST by 10mm
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To: Old Teufel Hunden

The Arabs are, eventually, going to be ruled.

By Turks, by Russians, by Persians. Perhaps by some combination of the three.

Who they are not going to be ruled by is Americans.


119 posted on 12/21/2018 6:45:12 AM PST by Jim Noble (Freedom is the freedom to say that 2+2 = 4)
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To: familyop

Ahhhh yes squad, platoon, company, division


120 posted on 12/21/2018 6:47:37 AM PST by Jarhead9297
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