Trump’s decision to remove troops from Syria is like a double-edged sword. On one hand, he is right in saying that we cannot be the policeman of the world and it is time for countries like Turkey, Russia, Iraq and Iran to take over. “We shouldn’t be the policeman of the world,” Trump tweeted. That was the rallying cry by liberals during the Vietnam war too. Now liberals are criticizing Trump for leaving. This was also a promise Trump made during his campaign to get us out of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. On the other hand by leaving I fear we are setting up the Kurds to be slaughtered as I don’t trust Iran and Iraq or Russia to take up their slack. Also Trump by losing his top generals and strategists like H.R. McMaster, James Mattis and now special envoy Bret McGurk he is losing his top strategists that was keeping ISIS at bay.
Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, had been planning to exit his post in February 2019. But sources tell CBS News that he informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he will accelerate his departure due to a strong disagreement with President Trump’s snap decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, effectively abandoning U.S. allies in the region.
McGurk submitted his resignation on Friday, just one day after Defense Secretary James Mattis quit his post citing fundamental disagreements with the commander-in-chief — including one over the importance of honoring U.S. alliances.
The special envoy was publicly left in the lurch by the president’s sudden declaration on Wednesday that he was pulling U.S. forces out of Syria, against the advice of his top national security advisers and without consulting U.S. allies.
As leader of the counter ISIS mission, McGurk had been in the region to meet with coalition partners including Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani last week when Mr. Trump made his sudden decision to pull U.S. support. According to Barzani’s office, he had raised concern about the fate of Kurds in Syria including the Kurdish-led group of fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). They have been the ground troops in the fight against ISIS and receive help from U.S. advisers, weapons and air strikes.
On Saturday night Trump tweeted “Brett McGurk who I do not know was appointed by President Obama in 2015 .He was supposed to leave in February but he just resigned prior to leaving. Grandstanding. The Fake News is making such a big deal about this nothing event.”
Trump also tweeted about Mattis leaving saying, “When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t. I thought I should. Interesting relationship—but I also gave him all of the resources he never really had. Allies are very important, but not when they take advantage of the U.S.”
The president agreed to the withdrawal during a December 14 phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, two officials told NBC News, but the original purpose of the call had been “for Trump to tell Erdogan to back off” threats to attack American supported Kurdish rebels, NBC reported.
But Trump went off-script during the call and agreed with Erdogan, particularly when the Turkish president asked Trump, “Why are you still there?” when the Islamic State had been 99 percent defeated. Erdogan reportedly told Trump that his country could handle what was left.
However, national security advisers and senior military leaders argue – with seeming unanimity – that ISIS still has the ability to metastasize, as it did under President Obama, and has more than enough firepower to massacre our Kurdish allies.
On Saturday Trump reiterated the claim that Turkey and other countries could take over saying. “We were originally going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago — we never left,
When I became President ISIS was going wild. Now ISIS is largely defeated and now other countries like Turkey should be able to easily take over whatever remains. We’re coming home.”
Meanwhile, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta strongly criticized President Trump’s announcement of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and Syria – saying the move sends “a terrible message” to the United States allies around the globe and threatens the country’s national security.
“I’ve never seen a situation like this,” Panetta said. “The step to suddenly withdrawal of the troops from Syria has sent a terrible message to the world about where we stand.”
Liberals have always claimed to be anti-war & supporters of World Peace, yet you would have thought President Trump started World War 3 with how they reacted to him denuclearizing North Korea & bringing our troops home from Syria.
In doing some research for this article I found some interesting comments that make a lot of sense:
Educating Liberals @Education4Libs Dec 21
The Defense Department was expected to spend roughly $15.3 billion in Syria next year. But the war is now over & our troops are coming home. So why don’t we just allocate that money into funding the border wall?
This makes perfect sense and I agree wholeheartedly with that decision.
Golf*Oscar*Delta*Delta*Yankee @big_goddy Dec 21
All the #WhiteNoise about the Syria pull out is worth $15.3 Billion! Now we understand why they are so upset, Trump’s just messed up seriously with their business model! There’s going to be a $15 Billion short fall in revenue for some military hardware contracto
Joe Pientka @Based_4_Trump Dec 21
I’ve been overseas with the DOD for 33 years and you’re right. Back then, each Battalion Finance clerk deployed with bags and bags of cold, hard cash. We bought our way on the ground thru every village for most of the war, both Iraq and Afghanistan. And that’s just a small piece. We were originally going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago — we never left,”
“SecDef Mattis will work with Deputy [Patrick] Shanahan and department leadership to ensure the DOD remains focused on the defense of the nation during this transition,” Dana White, the assistant to the Secretary of Defense for public affairs, wrote in a tweet.
The statement came after President Donald Trump said that Mattis will leave his position on January 1, two months before he previously planned to depart, and that Shanahan, Mattis’s deputy, will serve as acting chief of the Pentagon.
Mattis announced his resignation last week after Trump said he would withdraw American troops from Syria.
A former Boeing executive, Shanahan has a perspective on U.S. military obligations overseas that more closely resembles the president’s – as opposed to retired generals.
Here are some career highlights for Shanahan, according to his bio on the Defense Department website:
*Shanahan has two advanced degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
*He enjoyed a three-decade career at Boeing, ascending to the position of senior vice president.
*He also served as vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems and Boeing Rotorcraft Systems.
*President Trump appointed him 33rd Deputy Secretary of Defense on July 19, 2017.
