Posted on 10/19/2019 7:13:42 AM PDT by Kaslin
Democrats, talking heads in the media, and even most establishment Republicans are united in their condemnation of President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the border area between Syrian Kurdistan and Turkey. Trump has “betrayed” a faithful ally, they say, destabilizing the region and emboldening dictators in Turkey, Syria, and Russia. How dare he?
The fact is, however, that the conventional wisdom in Washington, D.C. is wrong. U.S. intervention is not a panacea that can fix any international problem, and the time has come for U.S. forces to leave Syria and let the Syrian people decide their own destiny.
President Trump's only mistake lies in the timing of his decision. A phased withdrawal from eastern Syria, begun when Trump first announced his decision to pull out in December 2018, would have mitigated some of the negative consequences we see now. But that America does not belong knee-deep in Syria's civil war has been clear from the start.
First, we should consider the disingenuousness of many of the arguments advanced against Trump's withdrawal. Democrats and Republicans are saying that it is wrong to pull support from a trusted ally. Many of these Democrats, and some of the Republicans, were opposed to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War...and yet the U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam precipitated a bloodbath, and consigned many of America's closest friends to a miserable fate, sometimes worse than death!
Moreover, the U.S. was fighting alongside the South Vietnamese for years, on a much greater scale than we ever fought in Syria, and almost 60,000 Americans died in the conflict. Surely, then, our moral obligations to the South Vietnamese, and to fallen American soldiers, greatly exceeded any duty we may now feel to help the Kurds maintain their autonomy on Syrian soil. But the cacophony of voices criticizing President Trump sees no hypocrisy in its support for withdrawal from Vietnam — and in many cases for the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq as well — versus its determination to stay put in Syrian Kurdistan.
Consider also that the media is showcasing civilian casualties in Turkey's new “safe zone” in northeastern Syria, in order to justify U.S. intervention to protect the Kurds. The fact is, though, that as many as half a million people have died in Syria's civil war. Over 12 million have been displaced. In terms of scale, therefore, what is happening right now on the Syria-Turkey border is a sideshow compared to the tidal wave of misery and death that has washed over Syria since 2011. The D.C. establishment and the media know-it-alls, however, never advocated large-scale U.S. intervention in Syria's civil war to end the bloodshed. That is because human suffering is not the real reason for intervention, either now or then. The powers-that-be are ganging up on Trump, and critiquing his decision to leave northeastern Syria, not to “save women and children,” but because it is a convenient way to buttress the agenda of interventionism, which many D.C. politicians and reporters believe in implicitly and unthinkingly. It is also a fun and easy way to make Donald Trump, super-villain, look bad. In other words, for the Washington elite, it's a twofer.
As weak and self-serving as the arguments against President Trump's decision to withdraw may be, we have to acknowledge that ending U.S. protection of the Kurds does subject them, and the region, to certain risks. Americans must weigh these risks, though, against the risks borne by U.S. servicemen every day in Syria, where a handful still serve. The battlefield in Syria is complex and extremely dangerous. ISIS was our principal enemy there, and it was — and is — notorious for its extreme brutality. Many of the other forces in Syria, however, including the Kurds, can be just as unsavory.
Moreover, every second that U.S. forces remain in Syria creates more potential opportunities for conflict between our servicemen and women and the armies and air forces of the Syrian government, of Iran, of Turkey, and of Russia. The Syrian conflict, in short, is a tinderbox, and we have been fortunate that we have not yet been burned, in a major and dramatic fashion, by our decision to wade into that quagmire. Make no mistake — if we stay in Syria, and especially if we stay there indefinitely, as the D.C. elite wants, we run the risk of being pulled into a much wider and deadlier conflict, and one which ultimately advances no vital American interest whatsoever.
If they were to recognize Israel all bets would be off.
Kurdistan is an illusion, a pipedream, like “Raider Nation”, or even “Navajo Nation”. Its inclusion in discussions of high-stakes diplomacy in the nuclear age is fatuous. That is because it has no existence except at the whim and pleasure of outside forces which are superior to its own. It can occasionally be a thorn in some other competitive or geopolitical side, never much more than that.
America has had her share of inter-tribal wars, and yes, some we created. As to the Syria problem, that nation was a creation of Britain, so let THEM handle it!!
Yes but..... the new nation will include Sunni Moslems and that is for Arabs a worthy goal.
The current effort is to make right the detrimental efforts of France and the UK in 1918
When have Democrats ever cared about the Kurds? Did they care when Obama pulled out of Iraq, giving room for ISIS to grow? Absolutely not.
The democrats can’t scream “Quagmire! Quagmire!” if we leave the quagmire. They were hoping for a disaster to tie around Trump’s neck.
Kurdistan would be carved out of 4 nations. More wars-countries wanting their land back. Good thing?
The last eight words of the last sentence is the primary point which bolsters President Trumps position in this matter.
And, if the Dallas Rally is any indication the American People are with him. Telling the Dallas rally goers that he is bringing our troops home and we will no longer be the worlds Policemen got President Trump the loudest and longest applause of the evening.
Remember, FDR had to be pulled into the European War kicking and screaming. Even German U Boats attacking our Shipping Lanes to England didn’t merit our Declaring War.
It took Germany and Italy first declaring War against us four days after Pearl Harbor for us to go to War In Europe.
I guess all the Congress Critters attacking POTUS Trump had better get a War Declaration together ASAP. Frigging losers.
The VP Pence ceasefire deal involved agreements from both the Turks and Kurds according to the statement I heard at the time. If that is true what’s the problem??
Feed em allah fish heads! If they are slammies they are not allies of mankind!
If the idiots in Congress want a war, they can declare war!
If they don’t vote for war, they can STFU!
The above was posted by: posted on 10/16/2019, 2:59:53 PM by wildcard_redneck
If the idiots in Congress want a war, they can declare war!
If they don’t vote for war, they can STFU!
The above was posted by: posted on 10/16/2019, 2:59:53 PM by wildcard_redneck
“As to the Syria problem, that nation was a creation of Britain, so let THEM handle it!!”
Add France to the creation of Syria:
Syria is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a rich artistic and cultural heritage. From its ancient roots to its recent political instability and the Syrian Civil War, the country has a complex and, at times, tumultuous history.
Ancient Syria:
Modern-day Syria, a country located in the Middle East on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the most ancient inhabited regions on Earth.
The oldest human remains found in Syria date back to roughly 700,000 years ago. Archeologists have uncovered skeletons and bones of Neanderthals that lived in the region during this period.
Ebla, a city in Syria that’s thought to have existed around 3,000 B.C., is one of the oldest settlements to be excavated.
Throughout ancient times, Syria was occupied and ruled by several empires, including the Egyptians, Hittites, Sumerians, Mitanni, Assyrians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Arameans, Amorites, Persians, Greeks and Romans.
Ancient Syria was a region referred to often in the Bible. In one well-known account, the apostle Paul cited the “road to Damascus”—the largest city in Syria—as the place where he had visions that led to his Christian conversion.
When the Roman Empire fell, Syria became part of the Eastern or Byzantine Empire.
In 637 A.D., Muslim armies defeated the Byzantine Empire and took control of Syria. The Islamic religion spread quickly throughout the region, and its different factions rose to power.
Damascus eventually became the capital of the Islamic world, but was replaced by Baghdad in Iraq around 750 A.D. This change led to economic decline in Syria, and for the next several centuries, the region became unstable and was ruled by various groups.
In 1516, the Ottoman Empire conquered Syria and remained in power until 1918. This was considered a relatively peaceful and stable period in Syria’s history.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement:
During World War I, French and British diplomats secretly agreed to divide the Ottoman Empire into zones, as part of the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916.
Under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, most Arab lands under the rule of the Ottoman Empire were divided into British or French spheres of influence with the conclusion of World War I.
British and Arab troops captured Damascus and Aleppo in 1918, and the French took control of modern-day Syria and Lebanon in 1920. These arrangements put an end to roughly 400 years of Ottoman rule in the region.
The French reign led to uprisings and revolts among the people in Syria. From 1925 to 1927, Syrians united against the French occupation in what’s now known as the Great Syrian Revolt.
In 1936, France and Syria negotiated a treaty of independence, which allowed Syria to remain independent but gave France military and economic power.
During World War II, British and Free French troops occupied Syria—but shortly after the war ended, Syria officially became an independent country in 1946.
Excerpted
https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/the-history-of-syria
I believe it was the League of Nations that voted Kurdistan to be a nation made partly of Turkey, Iran, Iraq.
The US did not join the League of Nations.
President Trump is smart enough to realize that the US CANNOT resolve a several thousand year old tribal feud!
Eventually, they will sort it all out, and in the meantime, NO US soldiers will be wounded or die 7000 miles FRom home!
AMERICA FIRST!
Furthermore, why should the US be engaged in a border dispute with Syria and Turkey?
LET THEM WORK IT OUT!
We have our own border problems, and US soldiers should be on THE US border protecting Americans FRom the invading hordes seeking to illegally enter the USA!
SECURE OUR BORDERS FIRST!
AMERICA FIRST!
no problem
“...every second that U.S. forces remain in Syria creates more potential opportunities for conflict between our servicemen and women and the armies and air forces of the Syrian government, of Iran, of Turkey, and of Russia. The Syrian conflict, in short, is a tinderbox...
* * *
This guy is right on the money. Time to get out of this tinderbox.
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