Trump says troop sacrifice meaningless

Here4money said:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...b5fab8-ec5a-11e9-a329-7378fbfa1b63_story.html

U. S.-allied Kurds strike deal to bring Assad’s Syrian troops back into Kurdish areas

BEIRUT — Syrian government troops began moving toward towns near the Turkish border Sunday night under a deal struck with Syrian Kurds, following a chaotic day that saw the unraveling of the U.S. mission in northeastern Syria.

Hundreds of Islamic State family members escaped a detention camp after Turkish shellfire hit the area, U.S. troops pulled out from another base and Turkish-backed forces consolidated their hold over a vital highway, cutting the main U.S. supply route into Syria.



By the time Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” to announce that President Trump had ordered the final withdrawal of the 1,000 U.S. troops in northeastern Syria, it was already clear that the U.S. presence had become unsustainable, U.S. officials said.

The announcement by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that they had reached an agreement with the Iranian- and Russian-backed government of President Bashar al-Assad further undermined the prospect of any continued U.S. presence in the country. The deal will bring forces loyal to Assad back into towns and cities that have been under Kurdish control for seven years.

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https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-russia-free-hand-syria-putin-cant-believe-luck-2019-10
Trump has delivered what Russia wants in Syria — at zero cost — and 'Putin likely can't believe his luck'


  • "Putin likely can't believe his luck" at Trump's withdrawal of US troops from the Kurdish region on the border of Syria and Turkey, a Western military official from the anti-ISIS coalition told Insider.
  • Syrian troops entering Kurdish-held Rojava represents a massive victory for not only Syrian dictator Assad, but also Putin and the Iranians, who had long demanded the Americans withdraw from the corridor that links northern Iraq to eastern Syria.
  • "Putin continues to get whatever he wants and generally doesn't even have to do much," a NATO official told Insider. "He got to sit back and watch the Turks and the Americans unravel five years of success and not only did it not cost him anything, he didn't even have to try to make it happen. Small wonder he'd interfere on Trump's side in an election."
The unlikely sequence of events began last weekend after President Donald Trump ended US opposition to a Turkish offensive into Syria during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan. The call ended both the US mission to fight ISIS and to reduce Iranian and Russian influence in war-shattered Syria. It left Tehran, Moscow and Damascus with a huge victory that required little more than watching the American presence disappear on its own.

"Putin likely can't believe his luck," said a Western military official from the anti-ISIS coalition who recently served in Syria. "A third of Syria was more or less free of ISIS and its security was good without any involvement of the regime or Russia, and now because of the Turkish invasion and American pullout, this area is wide open to return to government control."

Syrian troops and their Russian advisors were invited into the enclave that Kurds call Rojava by the head of the Syrian Defense Forces, a Kurdish dominated militia that with US assistance had driven ISIS out of northeastern Syria, after the realization that the Americans would do nothing to protect the group from an invasion of Turkish troops and Syrian rebel proxies along the border.

"We know that we would have to make painful compromises with Moscow and Assad," he wrote. "But if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people."
 
Here4money said:
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-russia-free-hand-syria-putin-cant-believe-luck-2019-10
Trump has delivered what Russia wants in Syria — at zero cost — and 'Putin likely can't believe his luck'


  • "Putin likely can't believe his luck" at Trump's withdrawal of US troops from the Kurdish region on the border of Syria and Turkey, a Western military official from the anti-ISIS coalition told Insider.
  • Syrian troops entering Kurdish-held Rojava represents a massive victory for not only Syrian dictator Assad, but also Putin and the Iranians, who had long demanded the Americans withdraw from the corridor that links northern Iraq to eastern Syria.
  • "Putin continues to get whatever he wants and generally doesn't even have to do much," a NATO official told Insider. "He got to sit back and watch the Turks and the Americans unravel five years of success and not only did it not cost him anything, he didn't even have to try to make it happen. Small wonder he'd interfere on Trump's side in an election."
The unlikely sequence of events began last weekend after President Donald Trump ended US opposition to a Turkish offensive into Syria during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan. The call ended both the US mission to fight ISIS and to reduce Iranian and Russian influence in war-shattered Syria. It left Tehran, Moscow and Damascus with a huge victory that required little more than watching the American presence disappear on its own.

"Putin likely can't believe his luck," said a Western military official from the anti-ISIS coalition who recently served in Syria. "A third of Syria was more or less free of ISIS and its security was good without any involvement of the regime or Russia, and now because of the Turkish invasion and American pullout, this area is wide open to return to government control."

Syrian troops and their Russian advisors were invited into the enclave that Kurds call Rojava by the head of the Syrian Defense Forces, a Kurdish dominated militia that with US assistance had driven ISIS out of northeastern Syria, after the realization that the Americans would do nothing to protect the group from an invasion of Turkish troops and Syrian rebel proxies along the border.

"We know that we would have to make painful compromises with Moscow and Assad," he wrote. "But if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people."
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Hey I just noticed (don't know why it slipped by me before)... but the title of your thread here.... "Trump says troop sacrifice meaningless".
What is this, a play from Shifty Schiff's's playbook? When did Trump say that? We need a link.
 
vanzandt said:
Hey I just noticed (don't know why it slipped by me before)... but the title of your thread here.... "Trump says troop sacrifice meaningless".
What is this, a play from Shifty Schiff's's playbook? When did Trump say that? We need a link.
More...

It's poetic license for "our boys would want us to cut tail and run"

From the OP:
"And I'll tell you, they're up there looking down on us, and there is nobody happier or more proud of their families, to put them in a position where they've done such good for so many people," Trump said. "So our boys, our young women, our men, they're all coming back. And they're coming back now. We won."

"And that's the way we want it, and that's the way they want it," Trump added, pointing a finger at the sky.

how the fuck does he know?


inb4 sanctions contingent on dropping the impeachment inquiry:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sancti...ion-to-block-trump-on-syria-tweet-2019-10-14/
Trump to authorize new sanctions against Turkey over Syria offensive

Washington — President Trump announced Monday he plans to sign an executive order authorizing new sanctions against Turkish officials over the country's incursion into northern Syria. He also ordered a hike on steel tariffs and immediately canceled negotiations over a $100 billion trade deal with Turkey.

"I am fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey's economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path," the president wrote in a lengthy statement.

The move represents the administration's first concrete effort to punish Turkey, a NATO ally, for its incursion into areas held by Kurdish allies of the U.S. after the president ordered a hasty removal of troops from northern Syria last week.

Mr. Trump said the executive order he plans to sign will "enable the United States to impose powerful additional sanctions on those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing disabled persons from returning home, forcibly repatriating refugees, or threatening the peace, security or stability in Syria."

The executive order will authorize financial sanctions, the blocking of property and barring entry into the U.S. for current and former Turkish government officials, according to the White House. It was not immediately clear when exactly the president will sign the order or when new sanctions would be imposed.

The sanctions announcement came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she and GOP Senator Lindsey Graham agreed Congress should pass a resolution to "overturn" Mr. Trump's decision to pull troops. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also released a statement Monday saying he's "gravely concerned" by what's happening in Syria "and by our nation's apparent response so far."

The withdrawal has sparked perhaps the strongest criticism of the president from Republicans of any issue since Mr. Trump's presidency, and at a time when he most needs Republicans' support during the impeachment inquiry. Republicans have been trying to talk the president out of the decision, as Turkey moves deeper into Syria, threatening Kurdish allies who helped the U.S. defeat ISIS fend for their lives.

"Pleased to have a conversation with Senator @LindseyGrahamSC this morning," Pelosi tweeted. "Our first order of business was to agree that we must have a bipartisan, bicameral joint resolution to overturn the president's dangerous decision in Syria immediately."

McConnell said he looks forward to talking with his colleagues in the Senate and with senior administration officials about "what the United States can do to avoid a strategic calamity." He went on to say that while Turkey is a NATO ally, its offensive against the U.S.' Kurdish partners "is jeopardizing years of hard-won progress in the fight against ISIS," and he argued that the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria now would "re-create the very conditions that we have worked hard to destroy and invite the resurgence of ISIS." More broadly, he said, withdrawal would create a power vacuum that Iran and Russia would exploit, which is "a catastrophic outcome" for U.S. strategic interests.

Graham, in an appearance on Fox News' "Fox and Friends," said the Trump administration would work with Republicans and Democrats to "crush" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and "break his economy" until he stops the bloodshed in northern Syria. The South Carolina senator also said he would be meeting with the president Monday afternoon. He told the Fox News hosts that Turkey would see a "united front," and said that in addition to Pelosi, he was talking with other Democrats — Senators Chris Van Hollen and Bob Menendez.

The U.S. was "preparing to evacuate" about a thousand U.S. troops from northern Syria, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told "Face the Nation" in an interview Sunday. The president said Monday that "a small footprint of United States forces will remain at At Tanf Garrison in southern Syria to continue to disrupt remnants of ISIS."

The Kurds, former U.S. officials and senior Republican lawmakers have warned that the U.S. pullout from the region could give ISIS room to rebuild and send a message that the U.S. is willing to abandon close allies when the political winds change.

Esper told "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan that the remaining U.S. troops were caught between Turkish forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS. Esper said that he had spoken with Mr. Trump Saturday after discussions with the rest of the national security team. Mr. Trump, Esper said, then ordered a "deliberate withdrawal" of forces from northern Syria.

The move comes a week after Mr. Trump announced the repositioning of several dozen American troops embedded with Kurdish forces in northern Syria, opening the door for a Turkish offensive against the SDF.

Esper also told "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan that over the weekend, the U.S. had learned that the Turks "likely intend to extend their attack further south than originally planned, and to the west." He added that "we also have learned in the last 24 hours that the ... SDF are looking to cut a deal, if you will, with the Syrians and the Russians to counterattack against the Turks in the north."

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 internally displaced people are fleeing the violence.

Shortly after the initial pullback last week, Turkey began its onslaught, attacking the northern part of the country. On Saturday, the fourth day of the offensive, Turkish forces captured a key border town from the SDF. ISIS prisoners were also able to escape imprisonment when Turkish artillery hit a prison compound.

Kathryn Watson, Rebecca Kaplan and John Nolen contributed to this report.
 
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tell you what, cunt knows how to play his base like a fiddle, ready to turn on a dime:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1183702529403695104

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/14/poli...ey-kurds-isis-prisoners-fact-check/index.html

Fact checking Trump's claim that Kurds are releasing ISIS prisoners on purpose

(CNN)In defending his decision to remove US troops from northern Syria, President Donald Trump echoed talking points from Turkish officials, suggesting that Kurdish forces might be purposely allowing ISIS detainees to escape camps and prisons.

"Kurds may be releasing some to get us involved," Trump tweeted Monday morning.

Facts First: Contrary to Trump's allegation, US officials have told CNN there are no indications that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have intentionally released any of the 10,000-plus ISIS prisoners they guard.

A senior US defense official tells CNN that President Trump "falsely claiming that the SDF Kurds are letting ISIS prisoners out of prison is wrong because they are the people that defeated ISIS, wrong because they are currently risking their lives to defend our forces and wrong because they are fighting a force that intends to eliminate their people because we green lighted their operation."

Due to the attack by Turkish forces on the SDF in northern Syrian, the Kurdish-led militia has had to remove troops guarding prisons and camps holding ISIS fighters and those displaced by the fight against ISIS.

"We already did not have professional jails or professional prisons to keep those prisoners in," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said last week. "The Turkish invasion to our region is going to leave a huge space, because we are forced to pull out some of our troops from the prisons and from the [displaced people] camps to the border to protect our people."
 
Remember when Obama ate all that shit for exchanging 4 terrorists for one of our men?

good shit:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/10/how-isis-returns/599581/
These local soldiers—the Kurds in Syria, the Iraqi military, and various other forces—have already suffered many thousands of casualties. Once the territorial caliphate was defeated, America could have focused on rebuilding them as well as the heavily bombed areas where they are now charged with keeping the peace. As The New York Times reported this summer, ISIS still has as many as 18,000 fighters across Iraq and Syria, many of them organized into sleeper cells and hit teams who carry out ambushes, kidnappings, and assassinations across both countries.
 
Mitt Romney sees what's blatantly transparent to most of us; that Trump's a pussy:

washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/17/mitt-romney-raises-very-troubling-theory-about-trump-turkey/
Sen. Mitt Romney raises a troubling theory about Trump and Turkey

“It’s been … suggested that Turkey may have called America’s bluff, telling the president they are coming no matter what we did,” said Romney, of Utah. “If that’s so, we should know it. For it would tell us a great deal about how we should deal with Turkey, now and in the future.”

“Are we so weak and inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America? Turkey!?” Romney said. “I believe that it’s imperative that public hearings are held to answer these questions, and I hope the Senate is able to conduct those hearings next week.”

To be clear, there have been suggestions that perhaps Trump got rolled by Erdogan, who has been pitching the idea that Turkey could take over the fight against ISIS in northern Syria for a long time. The possibility that Trump gave away the farm because Erdogan was particularly convincing or because of something else — Trump’s business interests in Turkey, his desire for Middle East withdrawals, etc. — is a well-trafficked theory among Trump’s opponents.

But here is a U.S. senator — and a Republican one — suggesting not just that Trump got out-negotiated, but that he basically got told what was going to happen and ran away. Romney is entertaining the idea that a relatively small country forced the hand of the United States and also dictated to the supposed dealmaker in chief.

It’s important to emphasize that this is speculation. But it’s also not that far-fetched.

Trump spoke with Erdogan the day he abruptly announced the withdrawal. He also may be entering his final year as president, and Turkey has long wanted to go after the Kurds in northern Syria. If you’re Erdogan, you know that the next president almost definitely won’t be so amenable to your plans for the region. You’ve also been pitching this idea more softly for two years without getting your desired U.S. withdrawal. So why wouldn’t you eventually play this card? It might be a bluff that Trump could call and you’d come to regret, but it might also be your last, best chance to get a compliant U.S. president. And this is an issue of major emphasis for Turkey, which views Syria’s Kurdish fighters as terrorists who constitute a clear and constant threat to it.
 
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