Trump says he agrees '100%' with keeping U.S. troops in Syria

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-he-agrees-100-percent-keeping-u-s-troops-n979466

In December he said he wanted all US troops out in 30 days- declaring ISIS had been defeated.


Two months after saying all U.S. troops are leaving Syria, the president wrote members of Congress that he agrees with keeping a U.S. presence in Syria.

A bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives wrote to Trump on Feb. 22, applauding his decision to keep a small residual force in Syria.

"We support a small American stabilizing force in Syria," the group wrote, adding that a force "which includes a small contingent of American troops and ground forces from our European allies, is essential to ensure stability and prevent the return of ISIS."

In a copy of the letter obtained by NBC News, Trump highlighted a paragraph in the letter about the U.S. goals in Syria, which said, "Like you, we seek to ensure that all of the gains made in Syria are not lost, that ISIS never returns, that Iran is not emboldened, and that we consolidate our gains and ensure the best outcome in Geneva for American interests."

I agree 100%. ALL is being done," President Trump responded, writing directly on the letter and signing it.

Since before he took office, Trump has promised to end the fight against the Islamic State, criticizing the cost to the U.S. in both blood and treasure. In a video message on Twitter posted Dec. 19, 2018, the president said: "Our boys, our young women, our men, they're all coming back and they're coming back now. We won."

The Syrian Democratic Forces continue to battle ISIS in the small area of land they still control in the Middle Euphrates River Valley in Syria. U.S. military officials say the battle to re-take the final part of the town of Baghuz still held by ISIS has been slowed by the exodus of thousands of civilians and the terror group's use of some women and children as human shields.

Late last month, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed that some U.S. troops will stay in Syria after the Syrian Democratic Forces finish clearing out Baghuz.

"A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time," Sanders said in a one-sentence statement. U.S. military officials have since confirmed the residual force could be double that and that some U.S. troops could stay in the northeastern part of the country, and others in southern Syria.

[AngryCanadian]

Backtracking his own promises to his own Mega Supporters will backfire.

[spudea]

So ~5000 to 400 to eventually zero when the Assad government regains full control and stability and kicks out all foreign troops. This is progress.

[AngryCanadian]

that Iran is not emboldened
Iran unlike can do whatever it likes in Syria as its near ally unlike America where we know what interests Syria is for America and that's the OIL. America doesn't understand how close Syria and Iran are together.

[juleswin]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-he-agrees-100-percent-keeping-u-s-troops-n979466

In December he said he wanted all US troops out in 30 days- declaring ISIS had been defeated.

After that, Rand prematurely said this


I have never been prouder of President Donald Trump. In today’s meeting, he stood up for a strong America and steadfastly opposed foreign wars. Putting America First means declaring victory in Afghanistan and Syria. President Trump is delivering on his promises.

Never been more disappointed in Rand when I heard he made that post.

[Swordsmyth]

So ~5000 to 400 to eventually zero when the Assad government regains full control and stability and kicks out all foreign troops. This is progress.
Yes, and the headline is a lie, he said he agreed with the goals, he didn't say he agreed with keeping troops there.

He has to play politics to keep the RINOs from jumping on the impeachment bandwagon but the troops are coming home, I predict there will be much more progress before the 2020 election.

[enhanced_deficit]

Trump says he agrees '100%' with keeping U.S. troops in Syria

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-he-agrees-100-percent-keeping-u-s-troops-n979466

In December he said he wanted all US troops out in 30 days- declaring ISIS had been defeated.


Granted he did promise immediate Syria withdrawl recently, perhaps folks should be bit more understanding when a course correction or even flip flop happens occasionally. Earlier some zealous hard right conservatives quickly jumped to conclusions and started calling 'America First' movement leader a 'fraud', 'scam', 'puppet' etc on first signs of some policy adjustments relative to pre-election promises.

Not a big fan of all of his foreign policies but do purists & isolationists have any idea what kind of pressures (from donors, foreign lobbies, special interest groups etc) a POTUS has to face when making final decisions on important wars/global interventions/foreign spending issues that have far reaching implications for our closest allies and our domestic businesses & national interests?
Sometimes political chess board is too complex for average voter to grasp the whole situation by just taking a two dimensional look at promises vs delivered policies metric.


From another discussion for detailed context on US Iran/Syria policy:



Wesley Clark on Trump’s Syria withdrawal: ‘Did Erdogan blackmail the president?'
12/24/18
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4...-the-president (https://thehill.com/policy/defense/422717-wesley-clark-on-trumps-syria-withdrawal-did-erdogan-blackmail-the-president)

Considering MAGA's fealess personality, Scaramucci's assessment seems more credible than Gen Clark's:
Loyal Trump supporter Scaramucci says Trump is "not blackmailable" (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?522595-A-shadowy-Israeli-firm-is-accused-of-trying-to-undermine-the-Iran-deal&p=6633643&viewfull=1#post6633643)


Also, despite Gen Clark's comments, any nefarious foreign lobbies/groups are very unlikely to use any tactics to initimidate or pressure MAGA using such tactics as may have been used to pressure other politicians with aim to influence US foreign policy in the past.


Publisher of the ‘Atlanta Jewish Times’ suggests Mossad should assassinate Obama over US Iran policy (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/publisher-of-the-atlanta-jewish-times-suggests-mossad-should-assassinate-obama.html)
Adam Horowitz on January 20, 2012


John Cook reports at Gawker (http://gawker.com/5877892/):

Andrew Adler, the owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, a weekly newspaper serving Atlanta’s Jewish community, devoted his January 13, 2012 column to the thorny problem of the U.S. and Israel’s diverging views on the threat posed by Iran. Basically Israel has three options, he wrote: Strike Hezbollah and Hamas, strike Iran, or “order a hit” on Barack Obama (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/284979-ajt.html). Either way, problem solved!
Here’s how Adler laid out “option three” in his list of scenarios facing Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu (the column, which was forwarded to us by a tipster, isn’t online, but you can read a copy here (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/284979-ajt.html)):

Three, give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States’ policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.
Yes, you read “three” correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel’s existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don’t you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles?
Another way of putting “three” in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives…Jews, Christians and Arabs alike?
You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.



https://images.gawker.com/18k1ashlchxoyjpg/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800.jpg (https://gawker.com/5877892/newspaper-editor-israel-should-consider-assassinating-obama)



Trump's top donor in 2013: US should drop atomic bomb on Iran (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?527899-Soros-vs-Adelson-whose-political-funding-is-better-for-cause-of-liberty&p=6700407&viewfull=1#post6700407)

American-Jewish billionaire blasts Obama over negotiations with Tehran; says US should show Iran nuclear capabilities.

By Maya Shwayder, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
October 24, 2013

https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/t_Article2016_Control/229168



https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Special-Features-Bolton-Declares-article-picture-6-INSTRUCTIONS-CROP-OUT-THE-PIC-OF-THE-MAN-ON-THE-FAR-RIGHT-IN-PHOTO_edited.jpg

Contradicting Trump, Bolton says no withdrawal from Syria until ISIS destroyed, Kurds’ safety guaranteed
(Reuters)
January 6
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...0a8_story.html





Related


Israel buys most oil smuggled from ISIS territory - report (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?486206-Israel-buys-most-oil-smuggled-from-ISIS-territory-report&)

Claim: ISIS's Rise Choreographed in Israel (http://iranian.com/posts/isis-s-rise-choreographed-in-israel-35928/jumpto/idcomment-60215)


Israel ‘Concerned’ US War On ISIS Will Temper Hostility Toward Iran

By Jason Ditz
September 12, 2014

The Israeli cabinet position of “strategy affairs minister” is primarily meant to focus around planning for a war with Iran. It’s a full time job, and it mostly involves pushing the US to threaten Iran more often.

http://news.antiwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/steinitz.jpegYuval Steinitz

The current minister, Yuval Steinitz, is at the forefront of Israeli officials expressing “concern” tonight at the new US war on ISIS, which they see as potentially getting in the way (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4570209,00.html)of long-term US hostility toward Iran.

Steinitz shrugged off ISIS as a “five-year problem,” while declaring Iran a “50-year problem with far greater impact (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/world/middleeast/focus-on-isis-stirs-fears-that-efforts-to-curb-iran-will-recede.html),” and that more moves to stop Iran’s nuclear program ought to come before the new war.
The White House has sought to assure Israel that the new war won’t make them any less unreasonable in their negotiations with Iran, which Israel didn’t want to take place to begin with, but they can take some solace in the fact that the US seems unwilling to make a final deal with Iran.

Other Israeli officials expressed further concern that the US and Iran are on the same side in the ISIS war, with Iran already deploying troops to help Iraq before the US arrived. The “concern” seems to center on the belief that Iran would benefit from ISIS’ defeat, the same reason Israel has long looked the other way on ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria.

http://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-...d-iran/196478/ (http://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-concerned-us-war-on-isis-will-temper-hostility-toward-iran/196478/)


Israel's plan was to bomb Western targets, make it seem as though Egypt was behind the attacks
Nov. 11, 2009
The Lavon affair - also known locally as esek habish, "the rotten business" - was a plan to discredit Egypt's government, then headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, by bombing theaters, post offices and U.S. and British institutions, and making it seem as though Egypt was behind the bombings. The thinking in Israel at the time was that if the British were to give up control of the Suez Canal, it would be left in Egypt's hands, putting Cairo in a better position to exert pressure on Israel.
The agents were told "to undermine the West's trust in the [Egyptian] government by causing public insecurity" while concealing Israel's role in the sabotage.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition...s-later-1.4385 (http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/mi-figures-out-what-went-wrong-in-lavon-affair-55-years-later-1.4385)

ISIS and Israel to attack Hezbullah in Lebanon (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?459389-ISIS-and-Israel-to-attack-Hezbullah-in-Lebanon&)

No need to panic ; Former CIA deputy station chief discusses ISIS with Iraqi Sunni leaders (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?454707-No-need-to-panic-Former-CIA-deputy-station-chief-discusses-ISIS-with-Iraqi-Sunni-leaders&)

[RonZeplin]

The troops must remain until Ayatollah Giuliani's MEK terrorists in Syria are completely crushed. :sarcasm:

https://dawm7kda6y2v0.cloudfront.net/uploads/2018/05/GettyImages-935892220_master-804x536.jpg

Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) :warning:

[enhanced_deficit]

Flashback:

https://hips.hearstapps.com/hbz.h-cdn.co/assets/17/14/1600x800/landscape-1491605053-hbz-trump-hypocrisy-index.jpg




Related

More US troops could go to Syria

By Ryan Browne, CNN
Thu September 12, 2019
Turkish and US military vehicles drive on a joint patrol in the Syrian village of al-Hashisha on the outskirts of Tal Abyad town on the border with Turkey, on September 8, 2019.
(CNN)The US military is weighing shifting a small number of additional troops to northeast Syria as part of ongoing efforts to establish a buffer zone along the Syria-Turkey border, a US defense official tells CNN.
The defense officialsaid no decision had been made, and that if any additional forces are sent to Syria they will likely be redeployed from elsewhere in the region. The troops would patrol the proposed buffer zone.
cnn.com/2019/09/12/politics/us-troops-syria-turkey/index.html

[enhanced_deficit]

Credit should be given where due, we're getting out now:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/images/icons/icon4.png Trump says Turkish offensive in Syria is 'not our problem' (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?540235-Trump-says-Turkish-offensive-in-Syria-is-not-our-problem&)

[TER]

The shills have awoken

[pcosmar]

Credit should be given where due, we're getting out now:


Unseeing is unbelieving.

Moving within Syria is not "leaving".

Credit for what?? Credit for a Hotel Deal in Turkey?

The agenda to provoke a larger war continues.

[Swordsmyth]

Unseeing is unbelieving.

Moving within Syria is not "leaving".


They are leaving Syria:

Trump said the approximately 1,000 U.S. troops who had been partnering with local Kurdish fighters to battle IS in northern Syria are leaving the country. They will remain in the Middle East, he said, to "monitor the situation" and to prevent a revival of IS — a goal that even Trump's allies say has become much harder as a result of the U.S. pullout.

American troops consolidated their positions in northern Syria on Monday and prepared to evacuate equipment in advance of a full withdrawal, (https://www.apnews.com/adb86acaaa664d28b3bd1ad8d7e851f0) a U.S. defense official said.
The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said U.S. officials were weighing options for a potential future counter-IS campaign, including the possibility of waging it with a combination of air power and special operations forces based outside Syria, perhaps in Iraq.
The hurried preparations for a U.S. exit were triggered by Trump's decision Saturday to expand a limited troop pullout into a complete withdrawal.


The only exception to the U.S. withdrawal from Syria is a group of perhaps 200 troops who will remain at a base called Tanf in southern Syria near the Jordanian border along the strategically important Baghdad-to-Damascus highway. Those troops work with Syrian opposition forces unrelated to the Kurdish-led fighters in northern Syria.
Esper said the U.S. withdrawal would be done carefully to protect the troops and to ensure no U.S. equipment was left behind. He declined to say how long that might take.


More at: https://news.yahoo.com/us-pulling-no...043158088.html (https://news.yahoo.com/us-pulling-northern-syria-full-043158088.html)




Credit for what?? Credit for a Hotel Deal in Turkey?
Credit for preventing multiple shooting wars and getting troops out of Syria while denouncing the MIC and saying we need to bring all the troops home from all the wars as a sitting POTUS.



The agenda to provoke a larger war continues.

And Trump is exposing and opposing it.

[pcosmar]

They are leaving Syria:

Trump said

And I call Bullshit..

He said it,, and he has said it several times.

It ain't happened..

More troops were deployed for Saudi Arabia... to make OPEC great again.

[tfurrh]

to make OPEC great again.

Those hats are racist

[enhanced_deficit]

Unseeing is unbelieving.

Moving within Syria is not "leaving".

Credit for what?? Credit for a Hotel Deal in Turkey?

The agenda to provoke a larger war continues.



More good news on the global interventions front.

The total number of U.S. troops the Pentagon has added to the Middle East since May 2019 = 14,000

And subtract 50 troops from Syria-Turkey border region and add 50 troops to another part of Syria.


Net Result = We're getting out of mideast!