American Thinker:
By Lt. Col. Robert L. Maginnis, US Army Ret.
President Trump’s decision to withdraw our few troops from the Syria-Turkey border area earned him considerable criticism from allies. Senator Lindsey Graham said the decision is “a catastrophe in the making.” Representative Lin Cheney said it’s “a catastrophic mistake.” Former UN Secretary Nikki Haley said, “We must always have the backs of our allies.”
President Trump has answered these critics. The Kurds were engaged in a contractual relationship fighting the Islamic State (ISIS). They were well paid and equipped for their fighting, much like any mercenary group. Further, they were given three years to consolidate eastern Syria to feed their long-held desire to form an independent Kurdistan with other Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. They failed.
The Kurds’ problem, and by association that of the U.S., is that regional powers like Turkey and to a lesser extent Iran and Syria have long held the Kurds in disdain. In fact, Turkey considers the Syrian Kurds to be allies of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or (PKK), which are Turkish Kurds and terrorists fighting for independence for the last 35 years.
Basically, the Kurds hijacked our fight with ISIS to feed their regional civil war to earn independence.
President Trump is aware of that agenda and is also trying to constrain American hawks who want to use our military willy-nilly across the world. Remember that Trump frequently said during his 2016 campaign that he wants to escape from endless wars and bring our fighters home. read more
Mr. Trump is gifted with a prescience so subtle and far reaching, his enemies think him stupid; at first.
Remember the suicide bombing of the barracks in Beirut?
(I lost a Marine buddy there)
Same thing could’ve happened to our sitting duck troops in northern Syria.
Then everyone would be screaming that President Trump was guilty of leaving our troops vulnerable.
I agree it hasn’t been explained very well, why he pulled the troops.
I chalk it up in part to something he knows that no one else knows.
Syria, Turkey and Kurdistan have been fighting like Hillbillies for a couple hundred years. It’s none of our business. America has flip flopped on the Kurds ever since G. Bush Senior was president.
Obama did it too. One more time, it’s none of our business. No American life is worth this race related pissing match.
Trump isn’t stupid, he knows that when the US has control of the oil fields, the US won’t let go, EVEN WHEN THE US HAS NO RIGHT TO THE OIL! Syria asked Russia in, but did not ask the US in. The US is an illegal invader and occupier, just as it always is. Russia with Syria has the legal right to kick out the US military presence.
21.10.2019 –
US TROOPS WILL REMAIN IN SYRIA TO ‘PROTECT’ OIL FIELDS FROM ISIS
“The US is planning to keep control of oil fields on the eastern bank of the Euphrates despite the ongoing troops withdrawal.”
“However, it remains unclear how Washington is planning to exploit the seized oilfields when forces of the ‘bloody Assad regime’ deploy all around the US garrison. Most likely, the oil fields will become another bargaining chip in Washington’s Syrian strategy.”
https://southfront.org/us-troops-will-remain-in-syria-to-protect-oil-fields-from-isis/
US to Keep Troops in East Syria, Maybe to Control Syria’s Oil
200 US troops would have ‘dual-purpose’ mission
Jason Ditz Posted onOctober 20, 2019
“In puzzling comments earlier in the day, President Trump appeared to be declaring Syria a war about oil, and declaring victory, Tweeting “We have secured the Oil. Bringing soldiers home!”
The context wasn’t readily apparent, and it wasn’t true anyhow since comments from Defense Secretary Mark Esper made clear US troops are not coming home. Now, it turns out some US troops aren’t even leaving Eastern Syria, and the reason is the oil.”
https://news.antiwar.com/2019/10/20/us-to-keep-troops-in-east-syria-to-control-syrias-oil/
As Limbaugh has forever explained, the Middle East situation is nothing more than “the free flow of oil at market prices”. If there wasn’t any oil, not one Western country would be involved. They’d be free to slaughter each other ’til kingdom come & no one would give a damn.
Trump understands this, whereas his predecessor did not … he & his warmongering Sec/State, Clinton, were too worried about running guns & stinger missiles to various factions to keep the chaos going, in their dreams of the Brave New World.
PDT knows once we secure the oil, we control ‘the free flow’ of oil (at market prices). Trump has also shown the world that he’s not afraid of pulling the plug on the whole thing & take our troops out, & make the Europeans manage the situation … which they will not & can not. They know this, but better for the US, Trump has shown the world he knows this … he laid the groundwork when he allowed fracking, making the USA oil-independent & the leading exporter of oil in the world.
Very smart, shrewd man … we’re lucky to have him
It’s simple.
I don’t want my sons standing on a line at risk of life and limb to keep apart two crazed “allies” who have been fighting with each other for centuries. Period.
We have a history with the Kurds going back
to the 1st Gulf War. We helped them and they
helped us. A lot of Kurds died doing this.
This “we had a contract” and they are “mercs”
is bullshit. We made sure they never recieved
any US weaponry that could stop Turkish Armor
or high speed aircraft attacking them and then
we let them go hang. What we did is Dishonorable.
Who would trust us now once we gave one of our
few reliable allies over there the boot.
The United States has a History of Aiding People Who were not really
Our Friends…We trained and supplied Ho Chi Minh to fight the Japs..
He saved it all to fight the Vichy French…Then later, Us.
Cut the Cord on these eternal sh*tholes.