Posted on 12/23/2018 12:43:36 PM PST by SeekAndFind
NBC News is reporting – based on anonymous sources – that President Trump decided on the pullout of forces from Syria during a telephone call with Turkish leader Recep Erdogan. They are clearly appalled that a deal maker would make a deal, especially when the positions of his support staff were ignored.
President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national security team or allies, and over strong objections from virtually everyone involved in the fight against the Islamic State, according to U.S. and Turkish officials.
Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world with the move by rejecting the advice of his top aides and agreeing to a withdrawal in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, two officials briefed on the matter said.
The Dec. 14 call, described by officials who were not authorized to discuss the decision-making process publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, is a view into a Trump decision with profound consequences, including the resignation of widely respected Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
The anti-Trump narrative remains intact with this overview. He is impetuous, stubborn, and ignorant. Evidently, it is appalling that he would ignore the advice of the foreign policy establishment because they know far more than he does, and deserve to be obeyed (because their track record is so outstanding?).
The details of the story as recounted by the unauthorized sources claiming knowledge of the affair, however, can be viewed very differently if one makes different assumptions, staring with the view that Trump campaigned on a promise to withdraw troops from Syria, is suspicious of never-ending commitments of troops to troubled foreign lands,
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I am on board with Trump getting Turkey to finish up the job with ISIS in Syria. Take whatever you want while you are at it. The one thing that concerns me is where this leaves the Kurds. Trump needed to tell Erodgen that attacks by Turkey on the Kurds would be met with attacks by the U.S. on Turkey. Perhaps he did so.
Let's assume he didn't offer to give up the barbaric practises of the area...
Look at it from Syria's POV.
Kurds hold southern oil, are eager to defend NE Syria from Turks, and want to remove Turks from the Syrian province of Afrin.
This is the best bargaining position they've ever been in with Syria
Large US bases are across the IRAQI border to keep things from getting out of hand, anyway. But the removal of Turkey from Syria will provide a common cause between Kurds and Syria for a long time. It will be a long process.
Be very interesting to see what happens with Syrian and Russian air assets in the coming battle!
Interesting article.
Trump was saying in April he wanted to get out of Syria. ISIS was losing ground from early 2017 onward and hardly controlled any territory by last June. What they have left now can be dealt with by everyone else.
It looks like Mattis and the Joint Chiefs were trying to slow walk getting out, so Trump got out on his own.
Which proves, of course, that Im posting from Russia.
On direct orders from Putin.
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Yes and something that few people know...Ferris Bueller was ethnically Volga German. Were on to you Ferris, you Russian troll!
President Trump surprised Turkey by taking their offer to finish off ISIS. Best President Ever!
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Dont think so, the Kurds and their Christian & Arab allies are well on their way toward accomplishing that.
Youre not a fan of the Islamist Erdogan by any chance, are you?
This is coming from Ben Rhodes
He is bringing troops home from a variety of places to enforce martial law...... it is all over youtube so it must be right
So you think that Assad will just let the Kurds keep the part of Syria they have captured, including the oil fields, without their making a deal with him? Well, we’ll see.
First -- it was reported that Erdogan of Turkey asked Trump a question that Trump couldn't answer -- namely why are we still in Syria? Then Trump asked Bolton. If you believe the reports etc. Who knows?
I find the report hard to believe that Trump would not know why we are in Syria and would have to ask Bolton.
figures...I also just noticed the NBC article is an Associated Press article ?
Yep - and he did allude to some deal being made but this wasn’t a snap decision as the article tries to imply....he made a decision to do the right thing then decided to see what he could leverage from it ....his plan was going forward regardless of any new deals.....which probably also had a hint of a really big stick in the mix.
Funny, but real.
Because I supported pulling out of Syria, I've been accused of being an actual Russian, but one who lives in the USA and is just fooling everyone around him... including all the people on FR who know me in real life, on Facebook. I also fooled the military into enlisting a Russian to fight in American wars...three of them.
The person was serious. I'm pinging him.
More important and unmentioned is the secret previous agreement for Saudi Arabia and the GCC to take a strong stand after we rmove our troops from Syria.
Also not noted is American Air power operating from a base in Kurdish Syria. It might still be available at the call of the commander who is a Saudi should it be required. Or, Saudi/UAE forces might move in and occupy the base in due course.
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