OT If you are or have been in the Military- what do you think about the withdrawal from Syria?

[CupWizier]

They've already paid for it, and then some.

Actually they haven't. Are you using trumpenomics? In other words, lying, lol

 

[jlprk]

Trump made no promise the Kurds directly, that was Obama's lie and Obama cruelly let the Kurds suffer for nearly 2 years without supplying the backup he promised...Trump came in with a real offensive and immediately laid ISIS to waste, as Obama promised but reneged on

Substitute "State Dept." for "Obama" or the "Deep State." To his credit, Obama resisted the State Dept. and refused to make it a bigger war. The State Dept. runs the intelligence agencies, which run the news media, which dislike Trump and like Hillary because...she ran the State Dept. like a submissive clerk by following advice from...the Deep State head honchos in the State Dept. motivated to make Israel a calm island surrounded by eternal chaos. Small world, ain't it? Tight little circle, small cast of characters.

 

[MARIS61]

Graham says 'I feel pretty good' about Syria after lunch with Trump

By Gregg Re, Samuel Chamberlain | Fox News

Sen. Lindsey Graham meets with Trump to discuss Syria and the partial government shutdown, says he left encouraged

Sen. Graham and the president discussed the importance of a deal with Democrats to end the shutdown and the U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria; Ellison Barber reports.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters Sunday that "I feel pretty good about where we're headed" in Syria after suggesting that President Trump is "reconsidering" the planned pullout which had drawn bipartisan criticism and forced the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Graham emerged from the White House after a two-hour lunch with Trump and said the president "told me some things I didn't know that make me feel a lot better about where we're headed in Syria."

"He promised to destroy ISIS. He's going to keep that promise," Graham said of Trump. "We're not there yet. But as I said today, we're inside the 10-yard line and the president understands the need to finish the job."

Earlier Sunday, Graham called on Trump to reverse his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria in a wide-ranging interview broadcast on CNN's "State of the Union."

"If we leave now, the Kurds are going to get slaughtered," Graham told host Dana Bash, adding that Trump had discussed the matter with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and was "reconsidering how we do this."

"He's frustrated. I get it. People should pay more. They should fight more," Graham said. "But we're not the policemen of the world here. We're fighting a war against ISIS. They're still not defeated in Syria. I'm asking the president to make sure that we have troops there to protect us. Don't outsource our national security to some foreign power. If we leave now, the Kurds are going to get into a fight with Turkey, they could get slaughtered."

Graham echoed that theme outside the White House, telling reporters that the Kurds "stepped up when nobody else would" to fight ISIS.

Is it possible for the Kurds to find common ground with Assad after the president withdraws US troops from Syria?
Former State Department senior adviser Christian Whiton says it’s not the job of the U.S. to create a Kurdish state in Syria.

"The last thing in the world we want is a war for Turkey and the Kurds," Graham said. "That takes pressure off ISIS. The last thing we want in addition to that is Iran to be the big winner here. So I think the president's going to finish the job when it comes to ISIS. I share his goal to withdraw our forces from Syria. I just want to do it in a smart way to make sure that Iran’s not the big winner."

In his interview with CNN, Graham also characterized former President Barack Obama's justification for pulling troops out of Iraq in 2011 -- a move widely credited with allowing the rapid rise of the terrorist group ISIS there -- as a "bunch of bullsh--, pardon my French."

Graham rejected the idea that the 2008 U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, signed by President George W. Bush, had forced Obama's hand. The agreement called for all U.S. forces to leave the country by the end of 2011.

“That’s a complete and absolute lie," Graham said. "I was there, talking to the prime minister of Iraq -- Obama wanted to get to zero. He got to zero. October 21, 2011, I said I hope the president is right, but I fear this decision will come back to haunt us. ISIS came about as a result of our withdrawal from Iraq."

Everything we're dealing with today falls on Obama's watch," Graham added. "He's the one that withdrew from Iraq."

U.S. defense officials tell Fox News that Russian-backed Syrian government forces have moved into the outskirts of a key strategic town in northern Syria after U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters invited Assad's forces to protect it from Turkey; analysis from Dan Hoffman, Fox News contributor and former CIA station chief.

After lunch with the president, Graham said that he thought Trump's post-Christmas visit to Iraq was "eye-opening."

"The commanders there told him that ISIS was in a world of hurt," the senator said. "Not completely destroyed but well on their way. I think operations to completely destroy and decimate ISIS are going to be ongoing and are going to be accelerated.

"So the president assured me that he's going to make sure he gets the job done and I assured him that nobody has done more to defeat ISIS than he has," Graham added.

Graham later tweeted: "I learned a lot from President @realDonaldTrump about our efforts in Syria that was reassuring. The President will make sure any withdrawal from Syria will be done in a fashion to ensure: 1) ISIS is permanently destroyed. 2) Iran doesn’t fill in the back end, and 3) our Kurdish allies are protected.

"President @realDonaldTrump is talking with our commanders and working with our allies to make sure these three objectives are met as we implement the withdrawal," Graham concluded.

In a video shot outside the White House and posted to his Twitter account earlier this month, Trump explained his sudden decision to pull troops out of Syria hours earlier in unusually personal terms, saying he has found it increasingly difficult to inform soldiers' loved ones that their kin had died in combat.

"We've been fighting for a long time in Syria," Trump said. "I've been president for almost two years, and we've really stepped it up. And we've won against ISIS. We've been them, and we've beaten them badly. And now it's time for our troops to come back home."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/graham-says-i-feel-pretty-good-about-syria-after-lunch-with-trump

 

[Lanny]

The DOD never lies?

Even if it doesn't, the contents of that tweet seem rather subjective.

But, if you are just saying that Fox reported on the contents of the tweet accurately, then ok.

barfo

Fox, ha ha ha ha ha ha

 

[Lanny]

Substitute "State Dept." for "Obama" or the "Deep State." To his credit, Obama resisted the State Dept. and refused to make it a bigger war. The State Dept. runs the intelligence agencies, which run the news media, which dislike Trump and like Hillary because...she ran the State Dept. like a submissive clerk by following advice from...the Deep State head honchos in the State Dept. motivated to make Israel a calm island surrounded by eternal chaos. Small world, ain't it? Tight little circle, small cast of characters.

Us progressive Liberals have the press in our back pocket. How do you think we squelched the reports that Elvis was alive and that we didn't really land on the moon and that Area 51 contains alien remains? Yes, we are that clever and that devious.
Oops, I've said too much. I think I hear a knock at the door. OMG, looks like the deep state is here to punish me for revealing secrets.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Us progressive Liberals have the press in our back pocket. How do you think we squelched the reports that Elvis was alive and that we didn't really land on the moon and that Area 51 contains alien remains? Yes, we are that clever and that devious.
Oops, I've said too much. I think I hear a knock at the door. OMG, looks like the deep state is here to punish me for revealing secrets.

 

[jlprk]

Us progressive Liberals have the press in our back pocket. How do you think we squelched the reports that Elvis was alive and that we didn't really land on the moon and that Area 51 contains alien remains? Yes, we are that clever and that devious.
Oops, I've said too much. I think I hear a knock at the door. OMG, looks like the deep state is here to punish me for revealing secrets.

Do you believe that any wars should ever end? How would you suggest that any war should be ended? Remember all the reasoning against ending the Vietnam War which prolonged the inevitable outcome for years? Same reasons the warmongers still give, war after war. Somehow the world always keeps spinning even after the invader just declares victory and leaves.

 

[riverman]

How would you suggest that any war should be ended?

 

[Lanny]

Do you believe that any wars should ever end? How would you suggest that any war should be ended? Remember all the reasoning against ending the Vietnam War which prolonged the inevitable outcome for years? Same reasons the warmongers still give, war after war. Somehow the world always keeps spinning even after the invader just declares victory and leaves.

I believe that we should never again suffer an attack as devastating as the one on 9-11. Don't you?

 

[jlprk]

I believe that we should never again suffer an attack as devastating as the one on 9-11. Don't you?

No. The only way to be certain is to enslave the world.

You sound like a monster with blood on your mouth, always assuming it's the other guy's fault, never looking for causes, just looking for excuses to kill millions. Other countries lose people, and don't destroy the world in revenge. Have you ever considered a non-war solution, like, to stop the ongoing colonialism which pisses off a billion Muslims?

 

[Lanny]

No. The only way to be certain is to enslave the world.

You sound like a monster with blood on your mouth, always assuming it's the other guy's fault, never looking for causes, just looking for excuses to kill millions. Other countries lose people, and don't destroy the world in revenge. Have you ever considered a non-war solution, like, to stop the ongoing colonialism which pisses off a billion Muslims?

Actually, if you had bothered to ask, I'm a relatively nonviolent person. I don't get in fights and many of my friends were conscientious objectors. I even appeared as a witness to a conscientious objector who underwent a court martial for refusing to fight in Vietnam. The kid was being railroaded.

Next time, find out before you give a false impression to others.

Is it being a monster when you object to allowing terrorists to murder thousands of Americans? That's truly a very very strange definition of monster.

 

[Lanny]

Do you believe that any wars should ever end? How would you suggest that any war should be ended? Remember all the reasoning against ending the Vietnam War which prolonged the inevitable outcome for years? Same reasons the warmongers still give, war after war. Somehow the world always keeps spinning even after the invader just declares victory and leaves.

Wars are ended when you have concurrence between the State Department and the Department of Defense, primarily. Another key element is the public's input. There is no single way, unless your opponent concedes.
The world kept spinning after the end of WWI but in actuality it set things up for an even more devastating WWII. The world was spinning when terrorists murdered nearly three thousand Americans. Some spinning is good and some not so good. I'd like to aim for the good spinning.

 

[MarAzul]

Wars are ended when you have concurrence between the State Department and the Department of Defense

 

[MARIS61]

I believe that we should never again suffer an attack as devastating as the one on 9-11. Don't you?

You don't believe that at all, or you'd be for a secure border which you are not.

 

[MARIS61]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States

 

[riverman]

You don't believe that at all, or you'd be for a secure border which you are not.

 

[Lanny]

You don't believe that at all, or you'd be for a secure border which you are not.

Oh goodie, if you tell me how I think or believe than I can tell you what you think or believe. Guess which one of us most in here will believe.

 

[oldfisherman]

Having spent 6 years as a Marine during a former gorilla war in Vietnam. This is what I have to say to those that want to keep our military in Syria.

The Army and Marines need you. Recruitment is below goals. Walk in and sign up, and be sure to tell them you want to fight in Syria.

They will hand you a rifle and fill you pockets with ammo. Then you get to travel around in a country that speaks a different language while you try to break their will to continue fighting.

The problem is, the #1 source of the fuel that feeds their will to fight is you being there telling them how to live. Catch 22.

One day the locals want you there to protect them. The next day they tell you to leave their country.

While in Syria, you will be a target for snipers, and bait for roadside bombs and boobytraps.

IF you make it back, let us know how much longer we should keep sending our kids over there to fight this gorilla war, that has been going on for centuries.

Good luck over there, hope you make it back in one piece, and with a sound mind.

 

[MARIS61]

 

[Lanny]

Having spent 6 years as a Marine during a former gorilla war in Vietnam. This is what I have to say to those that want to keep our military in Syria.

The Army and Marines need you. Recruitment is below goals. Walk in and sign up, and be sure to tell them you want to fight in Syria.

They will hand you a rifle and fill you pockets with ammo. Then you get to travel around in a country that speaks a different language while you try to break their will to continue fighting.

The problem is, the #1 source of the fuel that feeds their will to fight is you being there telling them how to live. Catch 22.

One day the locals want you there to protect them. The next day they tell you to leave their country.

While in Syria, you will be a target for snipers, and bait for roadside bombs and boobytraps.

IF you make it back, let us know how much longer we should keep sending our kids over there to fight this gorilla war, that has been going on for centuries.

Good luck over there, hope you make it back in one piece, and with a sound mind.

What's the alternative?

 

[oldfisherman]

What's the alternative?

None that will work.

The politics in the middle east is so muddy, there are no clear good guys, including the Kurds. Nothing is black and white.

Did you know the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the USA, and many other countries?

The PKK is a far left military and political party of the Kurds. The USA even has a bounty on three of its leaders.

So some of the Kurds are good, and some are bad.

 

[oldfisherman]

Early reports of a bomb attack in Syria. Possibly a suicide bomber.

Civilians and several USA military were killed, many injuries.

I'm not posting numbers of killed and injured because first number reports are seldom accurate.

 

[CupWizier]

You don't believe that at all, or you'd be for a secure border which you are not.

lanny is for a secure border as are most people. Majority of Americans are against a wall and the only reason that it's not an even further distance is because of die hard republican right wingers like yourself believe everything trump tells you. Did you believe him when he said Mexico will pay for the wall? lol

 

[CupWizier]

Early reports of a bomb attack in Syria. Possibly a suicide bomber.

Civilians and several USA military were killed, many injuries.

I'm not posting numbers of killed and injured because first number reports are seldom accurate.

Yep, and claimed by Isis. The group that trump said has been defeated.

 

[CupWizier]

Having spent 6 years as a Marine during a former gorilla war in Vietnam. This is what I have to say to those that want to keep our military in Syria.

The Army and Marines need you. Recruitment is below goals. Walk in and sign up, and be sure to tell them you want to fight in Syria.

They will hand you a rifle and fill you pockets with ammo. Then you get to travel around in a country that speaks a different language while you try to break their will to continue fighting.

The problem is, the #1 source of the fuel that feeds their will to fight is you being there telling them how to live. Catch 22.

One day the locals want you there to protect them. The next day they tell you to leave their country.

While in Syria, you will be a target for snipers, and bait for roadside bombs and boobytraps.

IF you make it back, let us know how much longer we should keep sending our kids over there to fight this gorilla war, that has been going on for centuries.

Good luck over there, hope you make it back in one piece, and with a sound mind.

I would sign up, but I have bone spurs.

 

[Lanny]

None that will work.

The politics in the middle east is so muddy, there are no clear good guys, including the Kurds. Nothing is black and white.

Did you know the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the USA, and many other countries?

The PKK is a far left military and political party of the Kurds. The USA even has a bounty on three of its leaders.

So some of the Kurds are good, and some are bad.

No, the alternative is another 9-11, perhaps even worse. This cannot be allowed.

 

[oldfisherman]

Having spent 6 years as a Marine during a former gorilla war in Vietnam. This is what I have to say to those that want to keep our military in Syria.

The Army and Marines need you. Recruitment is below goals. Walk in and sign up, and be sure to tell them you want to fight in Syria.

They will hand you a rifle and fill you pockets with ammo. Then you get to travel around in a country that speaks a different language while you try to break their will to continue fighting.

The problem is, the #1 source of the fuel that feeds their will to fight is you being there telling them how to live. Catch 22.

One day the locals want you there to protect them. The next day they tell you to leave their country.

While in Syria, you will be a target for snipers, and bait for roadside bombs and boobytraps.

IF you make it back, let us know how much longer we should keep sending our kids over there to fight this gorilla war, that has been going on for centuries.

Good luck over there, hope you make it back in one piece, and with a sound mind.

Wow, just noticed I used "gorilla" instead of the correct word, "guerrilla".

But you guys knew what I meant.

 

[jlprk]

For me, Trump is not all bad.

Bad news-small scale. American death squads are more active.

President Donald Trump loosened constraints on when the US military can take actions against alleged terrorists. Last month, the US military said it had killed 62 Shabaab militants in six air strikes in Somalia.

Good news-large scale. Trump is trying to decrease the big wars.

Trump is mulling a possible draw down in Somalia, where about 500 US personnel are deployed...Trump has ordered a US withdrawal from Syria and, according to US officials, wants to slash the troop presence in Afghanistan. "The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world," Trump said during a Christmastime visit to Iraq." We are spread out all over the world. We are in countries most people haven't even heard about. Frankly, it's ridiculous." The Pentagon in November announced it would trim about 10 percent of the 7,200 US troops in Africa as part of a broader shift in focus towards "Great Power" competitors such as China and Russia.

http://www.africadaily.net/reports/US_conducts_series_of_strikes_in_Somalia_999.html

 

[Lanny]

Wow, just noticed I used "gorilla" instead of the correct word, "guerrilla".

But you guys knew what I meant.

A friend of mine in college was in ROTC and called the Vietnamese guerrillas 'gorillas'. Turns out he was pulling our chains.
When I got to Vietnam, my CO was a former officer training Army ROTC officer candidates at my college, My friend was his favorite candidate.

 

[oldfisherman]

A friend of mine in college was in ROTC and called the Vietnamese guerrillas 'gorillas'. Turns out he was pulling our chains.
When I got to Vietnam, my CO was a former officer training Army ROTC officer candidates at my college, My friend was his favorite candidate.

Glad you made it back ok. A lot of my friends did not.