Posted on 10/26/2019 7:57:49 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
Russia's Defence Ministry has criticised the United States' decision to send armoured vehicles and combat troops into eastern Syria to protect oil fields, calling it "banditry."
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said the move is aimed at keeping the fields from potentially falling into the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group.
The decision was the latest sign that extracting the US military from Syria is more uncertain and complicated than President Donald Trump has made it out to be.
On Saturday, there were several troop movements in Syria as the various players adjusted to the US decision to withdraw troops from the northeast.
A US convoy of more than a dozen vehicles was spotted driving south of the northeastern city of Qamishli, likely heading to the oil-rich Deir Ez Zour area, or possibly to another base nearby. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, also reported the convoy, saying it arrived earlier from Iraq.
A large convoy of Syrian government troops was also spotted heading toward the M4 highway. Syrian state news agency SANA said troops have entered the region of Ras al-Ain, deploying to eight villages along the highway and close to the Syria-Turkey border.
Syrian government troops had not set foot in northeastern Syria since 2012, when the government pulled out to focus on the war elsewhere in Syria.
The SDF, spearheaded by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), took control of the area when it allied itself with the US in its battle against ISIL in the region. Since its founding in 2015, it significantly expanded its control across northern and eastern Syria and has sought to create an autonomous federation there.
But after Trump ordered his forces to withdraw from Kurdish-held
(Excerpt) Read more at aljazeera.com ...
Trump destroyed the caliphate. Or haven't you been listening?
Yes. Trump reformulated the Rules of Engagement, to take the gloves off of our military.
The Caliphate is gone.
Your implication proves you to likely be a NeverTrumper DeepStater. You support endless wars, I suppose.
We don’t need to have tens of thousands of boots on the ground . We have the capability to fight standoff wars against Terrorists and use selective Special Operations against high value targets when needed.
I personally find Trump’s ability to fight this war, with competence, and his strategy has depleted ISIS of revenue, as well as Iran and Russia.
Frucking Brilliant.
You're the one who wants troops in Syria guarding oil and I'm the one supporting endless wars? I think you have your wires crossed.
We don’t need to have tens of thousands of boots on the ground . We have the capability to fight standoff wars against Terrorists and use selective Special Operations against high value targets when needed.
So you're fine with endless wars, just itty bitty ones?
Last year Syria made great advances against terrorists by offering them safe passage from other areas to Idlib.
The terrorists would go instead of fight, maybe get some bucks too.
Russia acted as guarantors.
So now Idlib is full of terrorists groups all competing with each other.
So they tend to rat each other out.
Notice Badhdadi was killed on his way from a meeting with a competing group.
I think that’s what you’re seeing.
“So you’re fine with endless wars, just itty bitty ones?”
War comes to you. The WOT will be fought for generations.
Trump is a pragmatist, not an ignorant isolationist.
But, it is not required that we have thousands of boots on the ground in areas that have been fighting for centuries.
Who are you going to believe, the media or the President?
Trump has said he wants to bring the troops home, get out of the endless wars, and not fight for all that sand. Are you saying he's wrong?
I believe the President.
It’s you who support the Media position and attempt to insinuate we haven’t defeated the Caliphate.
I’m beginning to think, I’m dealing with fairly limited intelligence on your part.
I think you have that backwards. I fully support the removal of troops from Syria, and Iraq and Afghanistan for that matter, and I believe the President when he says he has totally destroyed ISIS. And given all that my original question was why do we need to keep troops in the Syrian oil fields since they don't belong to us, since we don't want to support the Kurds, since ISIS is destroyed, and since Syria and Russia seem like they can take on the Kurds and the take over Syria on their own.
I’m beginning to think, I’m dealing with fairly limited intelligence on your part.
I'm way ahead of you on that.
I’ll slow it down for you with one of our original exchanges.
Me: It is the oil that ISIS used to prop up their Caliphate. We will not allow them to gain access.
DD: Trump destroyed the caliphate. Or haven’t you been listening?
**Do you comprehend that the Caliphate refers to a physical Islamic State with territory ? Trump took all of their territory.
Do you also understand that there are still remnants of ISIS jihadists left? We just killed the leader, al Baghdadi the other day.
Finally, do you see Trump’s tactic of guarding an oil drilling site so that ISIS cannot attain the oil/money to start out again?
Who's been guarding it lately?
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