Rand Paul: Trump Deserves Credit for Bringing the Troops Home

[Swordsmyth]

In 1988, a certain congressman from Texas ran for president on a platform of bringing home our troops from around the world. Even then, more than 30 years ago, U.S. troops were in over 100 countries, and tens of thousands were still in Europe.

That Texas congressman was my father, Ron Paul, who 20 years later ran again for the presidency and was still calling “to begin bringing American troops home from around the world—an absolute necessity if the budget is ever to be brought under control. We’re going broke and we still have 75,000 troops in Germany?”

In his best-selling book The Revolution, my father wrote: “We can either withdraw gracefully, as I propose, or we can stay in our fantasy world and wait until bankruptcy forces us to scale back our foreign commitments.”

This week, President Trump called for a modest reduction of American troops in Germany, reducing them from 34,500 to 25,000 (a great start that will hopefully lead to further reductions there). The Republican neocon caucus responded exactly as you would expect. You’d think the Berlin Wall was still in place and two million Russians were about to invade Germany. Utter nonsense.

With the Cold War now 30 years moribund, the hysteria over removing troops is ludicrous. Meanwhile the very real threat of bankruptcy and menacing debt grows each day. Just this year, the United States will add $4 trillion to the national debt. Can the Germans afford to defend themselves? Without question. Germany actually balances its annual budget every year.

Yet the U.S. still has about 170,000 troops in about 150 countries at great expense in both lives and treasure. Often that puts our soldiers on the front lines of civil wars whose origins we barely even comprehend. The U.S. also becomes allied with governments, such as Saudi Arabia, that are barbaric, despotic, and anti-American. And yet the cycle continues because the war caucus vows to never, ever let our troops come home.

President Trump is also advocating ending our nation’s longest war in Afghanistan. It couldn’t happen soon enough. The American taxpayer is paying $50 billion a year to build roads and bridges in that country, while our own nation’s infrastructure crumbles.

President Trump has also discussed having fewer troops in South Korea, and has actually forced Seoul to pay more for our presence. Possibly the best aspect of the Trump presidency, though, has been his willingness to challenge the bipartisan neoconservative consensus on forever war.

More at: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/trump-deserves-credit-for-bringing-the-troops-home/

[enhanced_deficit]

Then instead of Deep State, he would also get credit for sending 5000 troops surge to Afghanistan a year ago and bombing Syria, Iraq etc , expansion of US funded Israeli settlements.

But it's a good call in principle if there will be net reduction in troops close to election day.

[Swordsmyth]

Then instead of Deep State, he would also get credit for sending 5000 troops surge to Afghanistan a year ago and bombing Syria, Iraq etc , expansion of US funded Israeli settlements.

But it's a good call in principle if there will be net reduction in troops close to election day.
LOL

Trump is getting us out of Afghanistan as he always wanted, it was absolutely the deepstate that pressured him to try something else first, he bombed an empty airfield in Syria instead of declaring war on Assad like the deepstate wanted and he's getting us out of Iraq now too, and the expansion of settlements in Israel is absolutely an Israeli/deepstate issue.

I'm sorry to tell you but your spin won't work, the deepstate legitimately gets credit for all the bad things and Trump legitimately gets credit for all the good things.

Tell your ChiCom masters that Biden hasn't a prayer and that you are a waste of their money.

[nikcers]

Fuck you i'm going home.

[nikcers]

$#@! you i'm going home.

https://rmhcsc.org/slir/w273-h144-c273x144/app/webroot/assets/1972.jpg

[misterx]

$#@! you i'm going home.

Thanks to the lame ass security

[Anti Federalist]

good for rand!

[Swordsmyth]

Bump

[dean.engelhardt]

Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump gets credit for bring the troops home. Phillip Morris should get credit for curing cancer.

[Swordsmyth]

Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump gets credit for bring the troops home. Phillip Morris should get credit for curing cancer.
Trump is bringing the troops home.

[Swordsmyth]

This is what sensible people would refer to as “a good start.”– For starters, President Donald Trump (I still never tire of typing those three glorious words in that order) announced this morning that the United States of by-God America is pulling 12,000 troops out of Germany. For those keeping count, that is fully 3,000 more troops than Trump indicated he would be pulling out of that country when the topic was first raised a few weeks ago.
Even better is the reason the President gave for making the move:

"Germany's delinquent," said Pres Trump, asked about decision to pull 12,000 US forces out of Germany. "They haven't paid their @NATO (https://twitter.com/NATO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) fees…and they have no intention of paying it," he says of Germany. "Why why would we keep all of those troops there?" he asks. pic.twitter.com/6Iwj4UFWgN (https://t.co/6Iwj4UFWgN)
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) July 29, 2020 (https://twitter.com/markknoller/status/1288495564108242946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)


Beautiful. Wonderful. Absolutely glorious.
More detail from a report at Politico: (https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/29/us-to-pull-12-000-troops-from-germany-after-trump-calls-country-delinquent-386136)

The Pentagon on Wednesday laid out a plan to shift nearly 12,000 service members out of Germany after President Donald Trump repeatedly said the country was “delinquent” on defense spending.
Top defense leaders said the plan, which would bring 6,400 service members home and reposition nearly 5,600 to other countries in Europe, is part of the Pentagon’s broader effort to redistribute U.S. forces across the world to better compete with new threats from Russia and China. The move will leave 24,000 troops in Germany, where the United States has stationed a significant number of forces since the end of the Cold War.

More at: https://dbdailyupdate.com/index.php/2020/07/29/trump-yanks-john-brennans-security-clearance-and-12000-u-s-troops-from-germany/

[eleganz]

We don't need troops in Germany anymore, this is a great start. Something very few on RPF would give credit for.

[enhanced_deficit]

Are those troops coming home or just being sent to other places/midseast to support our closest allies in mideast?
How many net troops out of Afganistan and mideast in last 4 years (with his term ending in few weeks)?

This data suggests he may have actually increased troops there , though likey some missing data here.


Afghanistan

03 JULY 2020
Currently, the US has approximately 8,600 soldiers in Afghanistan, according to the latest reports.
tolonews.com/afghanistan/4000-us-troops-stay-afghanistan-post-election%C2%A0la-times

July 6, 2016: Saying the security situation in Afghanistan "remains precarious," Obama announces that instead of dropping the U.S. troop level to 5,500, he will keep it at about 8,400 through the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2017. He said his successor can determine the next move.


Mideast

President Trump recently deployed an additional 3,500 troops to the Middle East following the killing of Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
By USAFacts, Contributor Jan. 9, 2020
usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-01-09/after-recent-deployments-how-many-us-troops-are-in-the-middle-east

As U.S. Soldiers Deploy Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, They Fight Two Battles
June 17, 2020
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) —
The 34-year-old is among 2,200 paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team deploying to Iraq and Syria amid the coronavirus pandemic. They’ll be supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S military battle to defeat the Islamic State.
https://time.com/5854760/us-military...irus-pandemic/ (https://time.com/5854760/us-military-deployment-coronavirus-pandemic/)


Iraq's Parliament votes to expel U.S. military (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?542610-Iraq-s-Parliament-votes-to-expel-U-S-military&)

Trump threatens Iraq with crippling sanctions if US troops are expelled
6 January 2020
Donald Trump has threatened Iraq with "sanctions like they've never seen before" President Trump has threatened severe sanctions against Iraq after its parliament called on US troops to leave the country.
Speaking from the presidential plane, Mr Trump said that if Iraq asked US forces to depart on an unfriendly basis, "we will charge them sanctions like they've never seen before, ever. It'll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame."
bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51003159

US service member dies in Syria
July 21, 2020
armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/07/21/us-service-member-dies-in-syria/





We don't need troops in Germany anymore, this is a great start.

^This.

Our closest allies needing US taxpayers funded support these days are in mideast:

Pentagon deploys American troops in Israel (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?532464-Pentagon-deploys-American-troops-in-Israel&)
March 10, 2019

Trump: ‘We have to protect Israel,’ shifting again on Syria withdrawal (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?531107-Trump-‘We-have-to-protect-Israel-’-shifting-again-on-Syria-withdrawal&)

[Swordsmyth]

Are those troops coming home or just being sent to other places/midseast to support our closest allies in mideast?
Ho many net troops out of Afganistan and mideast in last 4 years with his term ending in few weeks?

This data suggests he may have actually increased troops there , though likey some missing data here.


03 JULY 2020
Currently, the US has approximately 8,600 soldiers in Afghanistan, according to the latest reports.
tolonews.com/afghanistan/4000-us-troops-stay-afghanistan-post-election%C2%A0la-times

President Trump recently deployed an additional 3,500 troops to the Middle East following the killing of Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
By USAFacts, Contributor Jan. 9, 2020
usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-01-09/after-recent-deployments-how-many-us-troops-are-in-the-middle-east

July 6, 2016: Saying the security situation in Afghanistan "remains precarious," Obama announces that instead of dropping the U.S. troop level to 5,500, he will keep it at about 8,400 through the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2017. He said his successor can determine the next move.





^This.

Our closest allies needing US taxpayers funded support these days are in mideast:

Pentagon deploys American troops in Israel (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?532464-Pentagon-deploys-American-troops-in-Israel&)
March 10, 2019

Trump: ‘We have to protect Israel,’ shifting again on Syria withdrawal (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?531107-Trump-‘We-have-to-protect-Israel-’-shifting-again-on-Syria-withdrawal&)

Try reading, or better yet try not deliberately deceiving.


Top defense leaders said the plan, which would bring 6,400 service members home and reposition nearly 5,600 to other countries in Europe


The United States said Thursday it would reduce troops in Iraq in the coming months as friction between the two countries eased under a new US-friendly premier in Baghdad.

In a joint statement, the United States said that the reason for its military’s return to Iraq in 2014 — defeating extremists from the Islamic State group — had made major headway.
“The two countries recognized that in light of significant progress towards eliminating the ISIS threat, over the coming months the US would continue reducing forces from Iraq,” a joint statement said.
“The United States reiterated that it does not seek nor request permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq.”
The coalition has already consolidated to just three bases in recent months, down from a dozen.

More at: https://www.breitbart.com/middle-eas...over-a-decade/ (https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/06/12/u-s-vows-to-reduce-iraq-troop-presence-in-first-strategic-talks-in-over-a-decade/)

The U.S. pointed out that they had already withdrawn half of their forces from Iraq since the start of the new year.

Reuters reports Friday:

Western military trainers are expected to remain in Iraq, but it is not clear how many. The United States has had around 5,000 troops stationed in the country, and coalition allies another 2,500.

An earlier newsflash by Iraq’s state news agency cited Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi as saying there would be a total withdrawal of troops. The article was later removed.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...ermanent-bases (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-signs-commitment-mass-troop-reduction-iraq-vows-no-permanent-bases)

Ruger, a Naval Reserve officer who served a year in Afghanistan a decade ago, is aligned with the president’s thinking about the U.S. footprint in the Middle East and the wars in Afghanistan and Syria, and has been especially vocal about getting out of Afghanistan.

“President Trump has correctly concluded that a full and speedy withdrawal of our troops is imperative,” he wrote in the American Interest in late May. “Our national interest isn’t served by continuing to wage a futile battle but by exiting it.”



The US is well ahead of its pullout schedule, down to about 8,500 troops in Afghanistan. Officials sayt hey want 4,000 by the election, and some are saying a complete pullout is possible by then.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/...edy-withdrawal (https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-considers-afghan-war-critic-ambassador-afghanistan-full-speedy-withdrawal)

[bv3]

Colonel Douglass MacGregor is a good choice, too. Still don't trust Trump.

[Pauls' Revere]

We don't need troops in Germany anymore, this is a great start. Something very few on RPF would give credit for.

I like the idea of troops out of the EU period. I'd like to see how their socialist system there functions without the US there to offset defense expenses. I still don't think its a net positive because they will redeployed but wth its something.

Maybe it will spark an idea in congress that this is the direction we should be going.

[Swordsmyth]

I like the idea of troops out of the EU period. I'd like to see how their socialist system there functions without the US there to offset defense expenses. I still don't think its a net positive because they will redeployed but wth its something.

Maybe it will spark an idea in congress that this is the direction we should be going.
More are coming home than will be redeployed.

[enhanced_deficit]

More are coming home than will be redeployed.

"More" is great but any specific numbers... at the end of his first term (ending in few weeks), how many total US troops will be in foreign countries globally .. 100K, 200K, 300K, 400K or even more?

Will there be a parade when troops return home?

RAND PAUL: Bring home our troops and throw a parade! (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?519216-RAND-PAUL-Bring-home-our-troops-and-throw-a-parade!&)

[Swordsmyth]

"More" is great but any specific numbers... at the end of his first term (ending in few weeks), how many total US troops will be in foreign countries globally .. 100K, 200K, 300K, 400K or even more?

Will there be a parade when troops return home?

RAND PAUL: Bring home our troops and throw a parade! (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?519216-RAND-PAUL-Bring-home-our-troops-and-throw-a-parade!&)

I just gave you the numbers for Germany and I posted an article that says half our troops have left Iraq and more are leaving along with all of our troops leaving Afghanistan.

Germany is one of the two places we have the most deployed troops and Iraq and Afghanistan are high on the list as well and Trump is not sending lots of new troops anywhere so our total footprint is obviously decreasing.

[eleganz]

I like the idea of troops out of the EU period. I'd like to see how their socialist system there functions without the US there to offset defense expenses. I still don't think its a net positive because they will redeployed but wth its something.

Maybe it will spark an idea in congress that this is the direction we should be going.

Its a net positive since half of the 12k are coming home.

Perhaps half are being spread throughout Europe as a way to not shock the party so there is a backlash against Trump. None of us have any insider information on how this all works and why certain numbers are chosen to be announced so its hard to say either way but its a result and a result I will gladly take with the hope for more results.

[Anti Globalist]

Hopefully those troops will stay home. Hate to see them get redeployed somewhere else.

[Swordsmyth]

Trump says we will leave Iraq completely:


https://youtu.be/eDuTZX-PCRM?t=308

[Swordsmyth]

United States-led international coalition troops withdrew from Iraq's Taji military base on Sunday and handed it over to Iraqi security forces, Reuters witnesses and the coalition said.

"The movement of coalition military personnel is part of a long-range plan coordinated with the government of Iraq," the coalition said in a statement, adding that Camp Taji has historically held up to 2,000 coalition members, most of whom have departed this summer.

Remaining coalition troops will depart in the coming days after finalising the handing over of equipment to Iraqi security forces, it added.

This was the eighth transfer of a coalition portion of an Iraqi base back to Iraqi forces, it said.

The withdrawal came days after U.S. President Donald Trump redoubled his promise to withdraw the few U.S. troops still in the country. The United States has had about 5,000 troops stationed in the country and coalition allies a further 2,500.

Iraq's parliament had voted this year for the departure of foreign troops from Iraq and U.S. and other coalition troops have been leaving as part of a drawdown.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/u-led-troops-withdraw-iraqs-083156723.html

[Swordsmyth]

After Sen. Rand Paul’s speech at the Republican national convention Tuesday night, which relied heavily on “America First” antiwar themes, he told Fox News that Republicans were now more open to his father Ron Paul’s foreign policy views thanks to the influence of President Trump.
Paul Discusses His Father’s Presidential Campaign

While discussing the 2008 presidential campaign of his father, antiwar Republican Congressman Ron Paul, Sen. Paul said of the GOP a the time, “It was a novel idea to think that we shouldn’t always be at war.”

Paul told Fox News’ Sandra Smith, “People still after 9/11 thought we should be everywhere all the time.”

“But now that they see that it’s not so much about war,” Paul said. “In Afghanistan, we’re spending $50 billion a year. We’re building roads for them and bridges and they get blown up again.”

“People see the futility in this, and I think the party that wasn’t ready for my dad in 2008, actually is much more accepting of the positions of less war and military intervention, but, largely because of President Trump expressing similar views,” Paul said Wednesday.

“I think it’s a clear distinction between President Trump and Joe Biden,” Paul said. “Joe Biden for decades voted for war up here — the Iraq war. I don’t think he has ever fully explained why the Iraq war was a mistake.”

“But if you listen to President Trump in rally after rally in year after year, President Trump says by destabilizing Iraq, by destabilizing the Middle East, you allowed Iran to grow stronger,” Paul noted. “So, we shifted the balance of power by getting rid of Saddam Hussein.”

The senator continued, “I’ve heard the president say many times as I have that Saddam Hussein was no great person, but he was a counterbalance to the Ayatollah and a counterbalance to Iran. But also with regards to Libya, Joe Biden was there with President Obama and decided to get rid of another not so great person, Qaddafi.”

“But when they did, they got chaos,” Paul noted. “And out of chaos springs more terrorism.”

“I think ISIS, I think the terrorism, the breeding grounds in Libya came from getting rid of a government with nothing to replace it,” Paul said, adding, “So, I think President Trump really gets this.”

“I’ve been with him at Dover to see the young men come home to be received by their families after their deaths in war, and it moves him,” Paul continued. “And I think he truly does want to end the Afghan war, and that’s why I’m supporting him.”

More at: https://thepoliticalinsider.com/rand-paul-republicans-werent-ready-for-my-dads-antiwar-views-but-they-are-now-thanks-to-trump/

[Swordsmyth]

Republican leadership at the RNC Convention this week talked a big game when it comes to "bringing the troops home" - something Trump has been promising since 2016 - but which has not yet ultimately been realized. But can he deliver now as part of a pre-election promise? It looks like the wheels are finally in motion.

Multiple reports citing Pentagon officials on Friday say up to one-third of all American soldiers will permanently return from Iraq over the next two to three months.

This would bring numbers down from 5,200 to about 3,500 according to Pentagon officials. Trump is in the meantime expected to tout an Iraq withdrawal as a success in ending the wasteful wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, Doug Bandow, says this time America's presence in Iraq is indeed finally shrinking. Writing in The American Conservative, he holds nothing back in terms of reminding the American public what's at stake:

Hubris, hypocrisy, and sanctimony are all constants of U.S. foreign policy. All came together in George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Most foreign policy analysts, other than the neoconservative war enthusiasts who dominated Bush administration decision-making, recognize that America’s unjustified aggression was a horrid bungle.

The U.S. broke international law, vilified European allies, wrecked Iraq, triggered sectarian war, victimized religious minorities, and empowered Iran. The human toll was hideous: Washington’s war killed thousands of Americans, wounded tens of thousands of U.S. personnel, killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, and displaced millions of Iraqis. The invasion spawned murderous al-Qaeda in Iraq, which morphed into the even more brutal Islamic State. Seventeen years later Iraqis are still dealing with their broken, sectarian government, bedeviled by powerful militias allied with Iran.

Bandow underscores that the Pentagon has pushed back at every turn on every attempt of the Trump administration to pull out.

The hotly contested November election, however, presents an opportunity where success in this is much more likely, however.

"The election-minded president desperately needs some foreign policy accomplishments. Three-quarters of Americans say they want the U.S. out of Iraq.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-reduce-troops-iraq-one-third-just-ahead-election


Trump said they will all leave sooner or later.

[Badnon Wissenshaftler]

I have to admit that Trump has done better than I thought he would do on this subject. It was my supposition that he was simply a "terminator", an infiltrator groomed by master psychological technicians to divide and weaken the "right", perhaps handing over the election to Hitlary, or keeping him under control if this failed. In any case, Neocons of both Democrat and Republican parties would ultimately remain in control.

Hitlary was just too horrible, of course, and the strategy failed partially, resulting in the contingent plan springing to action.

Trump had been malleable, and remains so, and his early vacillations, such as the Deep State "suggested" surge in Afghanistan and surrounding areas were evidence of that. But Rand Paul and "Freedom Caucus" (libertarian) types would be whispering in his ear. It was just a question of which faction would convince him first.

Some victories, such as those mentioned here (Germany, hopefully Afghanistan, Iraq) are to be celebrated. Others, such as the (now seemingly failed) outreach to North Korea, were a pleasant surprise. Few less audacious than Trump might have tried that, diplomacy be damned.

My suspicions of his terminator underlyings would occasionally be confirmed, such as when Soleimani was assassinated, and Trump actually proclaimed we "terminated him". I thought this a dire revelation, but luckily cooler heads prevailed.

I do worry that much of this is simply regrouping and rearrangement for alternative plans and schemes by warmongers, perhaps even more disastrous than we have seen so far. I've been waiting for them to go "hot" with Iran for some time, yet despite poking that Frankenstein's monster of our own creation, it has not yet happened.

Let us hope for simple continuation of these withdrawals, but perhaps, expect and be vigilant for ill tidings.

Playing Mad Max with Russians in Syria does not bode well, for example. (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/08/videos-russian-military-vehicles-ram-us-military-mrap-vehicle-in-syria/)

[Swordsmyth]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1299899241360510978

1299899241360510978

[shakey1]

This needs to be a talking point at coming debates.

[devil21]

Trump said they will all leave sooner or later.

Ron said the same thing, actually. Once the empire has collapsed and the FRN dollar destroyed (finished its usefulness to the British bankers as a tool of conquest) we'll be forced to withdraw. That is in the works, yes, but is not complete until the bankers have firm control of the resources of every country on the planet. Almost there. It has nothing to do with Trump or Biden or some other face on the teevee.

[Swordsmyth]

Ron said the same thing, actually. Once the empire has collapsed and the FRN dollar destroyed (finished its usefulness to the British bankers as a tool of conquest) we'll be forced to withdraw. That is in the works, yes, but is not complete until the bankers have firm control of the resources of every country on the planet. Almost there. It has nothing to do with Trump or Biden or some other face on the teevee.
Your sour grapes are delicious to me.

Trump is ending the wars and bringing the troops home just like we want and you hate it.

[r3volution 3.0]

Rand deserves to lose an election for being an idiot.

How is he an idiot, you ask?

For praising this extremely illiberal government for its occasional, minor good acts.

I suppose Rand would have praised FDR at the height of the New Deal for reducing the tobacco tax by half a cent per ton.

He doesn't understand how this undermines the libertarian cause; while people who hate libertarianism understand it full well and cheer him on.

[Swordsmyth]

Rand deserves to lose an election for being an idiot.

How is he an idiot, you ask?

For praising this extremely illiberal government for its occasional, minor good acts.

I suppose Rand would have praised FDR at the height of the New Deal for reducing the tobacco tax by half a cent per ton.

He doesn't understand how this undermines the libertarian cause; while people who hate libertarianism understand it full well and cheer him on.

The globalist speaks.

[r3volution 3.0]

The globalist speaks.

The illiterate brays.

[Swordsmyth]

The illiterate brays.
Please tell us what your view on global government and foreign intervention is.

Never mind, I'll remind you and everyone else.

You want a world wide government that intervenes everywhere, that is why you are the enemy here who opposes Trump and Rand.

[r3volution 3.0]

Please tell us what your view on global government and foreign intervention is.

Never mind, I'll remind you and everyone else.

You want a world wide government that intervenes everywhere, that is why you are the enemy here who opposes Trump and Rand.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gROO7xSTxfY

[Anti Federalist]

Rand deserves to lose an election for being an idiot.

How is he an idiot, you ask?

For praising this extremely illiberal government for its occasional, minor good acts.

I suppose Rand would have praised FDR at the height of the New Deal for reducing the tobacco tax by half a cent per ton.

He doesn't understand how this undermines the libertarian cause; while people who hate libertarianism understand it full well and cheer him on.

So Rand saying give credit where credit is due, on one of the most critical issues of government, life or death on a foreign shore, makes him an "idiot"...

But the LP presidential candidate embracing a Marxist political organization is "smart"?

That's why people dismiss the LP.

[Swordsmyth]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gROO7xSTxfY

Nice selfie, but you can't charm anyone with that tune.

[r3volution 3.0]

So Rand saying give credit where credit is due, on one of the most critical issues of government, life or death on a foreign shore, makes him an "idiot"...

Correct, praising your arch-enemy because he gives you a cookie is idiotic.


But the LP presidential candidate embracing a Marxist political organization is "smart"?

I said nothing about the LP.


That's why people dismiss the LP.

No, people despise the LP because they want social security, medicare, medicaid, protectionism, war, drug prohibition, the PATRIOT Act, etc, etc.

i.e. because liberty isn't popular

[Swordsmyth]

Earlier on Wednesday, McKenzie announced during a visit to Iraq that the U.S. troop presence in the country would be cut from 5,200 to 3,000.

More at: https://www.voanews.com/usa/centcom-us-will-cut-troop-levels-afghanistan-4500

[UWDude]

No, people despise the LP because they want social security, medicare, medicaid, protectionism, war, drug prohibition, the PATRIOT Act, etc, etc.

i.e. because liberty isn't popular

This coming from a mask nazi who thinks people should be forced to wear masks, and somebody who says that people should be silenced, and that the first amendment is overrated because communist ideology is too dangerous to be allowed to be spoken of.

This coming from a guy who talks about how he would crush opposition in China as he advises Xi Jinping to do the same.

The only liberty r3volution 3.0 is about is taking the liberty to twist Libertarian writers of the 19th century's words into such a mish mash of over-lawyered semantics to justify his own brand of totalitarianism.

"liberty"

[eleganz]

Rand deserves to lose an election for being an idiot.

How is he an idiot, you ask?

For praising this extremely illiberal government for its occasional, minor good acts.

I suppose Rand would have praised FDR at the height of the New Deal for reducing the tobacco tax by half a cent per ton.

He doesn't understand how this undermines the libertarian cause; while people who hate libertarianism understand it full well and cheer him on.

Nice, now we have RPF'ers who want Rand to lose his seat.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "stupid things TDS'ers say".

Sorry there is no such thing as a "the libertarian cause" it was killed by the purists and will never take off because of said purists. You killed your own cause by being a greedy idiot and not having a long term plan.

Meanwhile in the real world, Rand Paul is getting things done and a non-libertarian president Trump is about to finish his first term with no new wars and actually reducing troops in the Middle East.

[Swordsmyth]

https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1304236546082648065

1304236546082648065

https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1303803836088356865

1303803836088356865

[Swordsmyth]

Enraged by near-daily attacks on its interests in Iraq, Washington has threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad, in a blow to a premier seen as a bulwark against Iran.

In a new escalation, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Iraqi President Barham Saleh last week to deliver an ultimatum, Iraqi and foreign officials told AFP.

Unless Iraq's government puts an end to the rockets raining down on US military and diplomatic sites, Washington would shutter its embassy and recall its troops, the sources said.

"The Americans aren't just angry. They're really, really, really angry," one Iraqi official told AFP.

Another said: "The honeymoon is over."

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/us-threats-iraq-widen-rifts-023656213.html

[UWDude]

Resistance / anti-AdelsonMAGA spammers horrified to find their spam techniques copied.

Message boards to be flooded with spam and self-bumping to keep top headlines in favor of jarvanka propaganda

enhanced propaganda deficits may hurt MAGA-Kushner alliances

possibly related:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?539960-MAGA-non-Spammer-is-Dead-to-Me

[devil21]

enhanced_deficit

You have an official groupie now^^^ lol

[Swordsmyth]

Enraged by near-daily attacks on its interests in Iraq, Washington has threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad, in a blow to a premier seen as a bulwark against Iran.

In a new escalation, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Iraqi President Barham Saleh last week to deliver an ultimatum, Iraqi and foreign officials told AFP.

Unless Iraq's government puts an end to the rockets raining down on US military and diplomatic sites, Washington would shutter its embassy and recall its troops, the sources said.

"The Americans aren't just angry. They're really, really, really angry," one Iraqi official told AFP.

Another said: "The honeymoon is over."

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/us-threats-iraq-widen-rifts-023656213.html

The ultimatum was delivered over the weekend by the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to Mustafa al-Kadhimi, and was followed by a small-scale evacuation from the fortified mission in what officials saw as a statement of intent.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-pm-rallies-allies-stop-202715096.html

[Cleaner44]

So Rand saying give credit where credit is due, on one of the most critical issues of government, life or death on a foreign shore, makes him an "idiot"...

But the LP presidential candidate embracing a Marxist political organization is "smart"?

That's why people dismiss the LP.

This.

The libertarian cause can only be advanced through the Republican party. The LP is a complete waste of time.

Those people that bitch about the GOP not advancing the libertarian cause fast enough or whatever are the real idiots. Trump has done more to reduce U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan than any libertarian ever has... and yet some people still bitch and whine.

I agree with Rand and Massie and give credit where it is due.

[Swordsmyth]

A little reminder of who caused this so the trolls and fools can't give Biden the credit:


Trump says we will leave Iraq completely:


https://youtu.be/eDuTZX-PCRM?t=308

Already a major agreement has been reportedly reached during the virtual talks involving Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale representing the US side in the remote meeting with their Iraqi counterparts.

The AFP is reporting Wednesday afternoon that the US has agreed to move "remaining combat troops" out of Iraq.

Just in: Biden admin indicates that 2,500 US troops will eventually leave Iraq in joint stmt after strategic dialogue with Baghdad. Both sides confirmed US-led mission now focused on training & advising, but timing of US redeployment will be established in technical talks. pic.twitter.com/jXE6YaQydT
— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) April 7, 2021

However, the timing of this full pullout will continue to be negotiated as part of the ongoing talks.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-agrees-withdraw-remaining-combat-troops-iraq-amid-joint-talks

[tfurrh]

Trump 4 eva

[Swordsmyth]

Trump 4 eva

Now you are learning.

[enhanced_deficit]

He was better than Bush and Obama on foreign policy quantitatively... but was he much better qualitatively considering popular sentiments of their respectives years in office?
'Populist' Trump is rumored to flip-flop every 15 minutes on most issues, he had made both pro war and anti war statements when politically convenienet. If he were in office in 2003, he would have almost certainly invaded Iraq too when Iraq war had 70-80% "support" in public. He even surged troops to Afghanistan in 2017 when wars support had dropped way below 50%.

Globalist-lite is probably approp term for him...

But should be somewhat sympathetic to the struggling businessman former reality TV star who was trying to be "anti war", "America-Firster" to align with winds of popular opinions while taking money from pro-war Israel-Firster top donor. Tough job, the story GOPA/DOPA puppets in recent years and decades.




Trump threatens Iraq with crippling sanctions if US troops are expelled (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?542640-Trump-threatens-Iraq-with-crippling-sanctions-if-US-troops-are-expelled&)
6 January 2020
Donald Trump has threatened Iraq with "sanctions like they've never seen before" President Trump has threatened severe sanctions against Iraq after its parliament called on US troops to leave the country.
Speaking from the presidential plane, Mr Trump said that if Iraq asked US forces to depart on an unfriendly basis, "we will charge them sanctions like they've never seen before, ever. It'll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame."

The globalist speaks.

^this.

[Swordsmyth]

He was better than Bush and Obama on foreign policy quantitatively... but was he much better qualitatively considering popular sentiments of their respectives years in office?
'Populist' Trump is rumored to flip-flop every 15 minutes on most issues, he had made both pro war and anti war statements when politically convenienet. If he were in office in 2003, he would have almost certainly invaded Iraq too when Iraq war had 70-80% "support" in public. He even surged troops to Afghanistan in 2017 when wars support had dropped way below 50%.

Globalist-lite is probably approp term for him...

But should be somewhat sympathetic to the struggling businessman former reality TV star who was trying to be "anti war", "America-Firster" to align with winds of popular opinions while taking money from pro-war Israel-Firster top donor. Tough job, the story GOPA/DOPA puppets in recent years and decades.






^this.
:sleeping:zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


Your spin is as poor as ever.

Trump has been against our involvement in Iraq since before he ran for office.
He just didn't want to see us humiliated by being tossed out, he wanted to leave on our own terms and that is what he started.
He went along with the military long enough that he could say they had had their chance and nobody could accuse him of making us lose wars we could have won but the goal was always to end the wars and bring the troops home and that is what he did.
And don't pretend he could do it all overnight all by himself, Congress repeatedly passed bills to limit his ability to bring troops home and had he just ordered them all home his first day Congress would have passed bills to prevent it and probably would have impeached him on one of the many trumped up charges the left brought.

[Swordsmyth]

A high level Iraqi delegation led by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, as well as Iraq's defense and foreign ministers, made a somewhat unusual visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday to discuss the Western military alliance's continued president inside Iraq.

Prime Minister al-Kadhimi personally conveyed his anger over the violation of Iraq's sovereignty for Sunday night's US airstrikes along the Syrian border, which killed several Iraqi militia members in what Washington dubbed actions against "Iran-backed" groups which had been targeting US troops by drone strikes. "He urged the coalition not to use Iraq to take on neighboring Syria and Iran," according to Newsweek.

While at NATO headquarters this week, the Iraqi PM's delegation further discussed the withdrawal of remaining US forces - of which there are now said to be some 2,500 troops.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iraqi-pm-goes-nato-hq-angrily-denounce-bidens-airstrikes

[enhanced_deficit]

Rand Paul: Trump Deserves Credit for Bringing the Troops Home





Trump is getting us out of Afghanistan as he always wanted, it was absolutely the deepstate that pressured him to try something else first, he bombed an empty airfield in Syria instead of declaring war on Assad like the deepstate wanted and he's getting us out of Iraq now too, and the expansion of settlements in Israel is absolutely an Israeli/deepstate issue.



What kind od credit is this?

July 1, 2021
Breaking: Trump's Entire Company Indicted (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?554592-Breaking-Trump-s-Entire-Company-Indicted&)

The Zionists are helping with the coup effort, Trump will remember their treachery.

EM

Do you view these developments linked?

Rand has a point. Left wing deep neocons funded DGP Obama and leader of Syria/Libya interventions was awarded Nobel Peace prize while humiliating takedown of MAGA leader is unfolding currently.

[Swordsmyth]

President Biden on Monday stated his intent to see American combat troops leave Iraq by the end of 2021.

"We are not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission," Biden said early in his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, perhaps preempting the very thing the PM was set on pushing for most.

While what's designated as "combat" troops will exit, in Washingtonspeak this of course doesn't ever actually mean all troops will exit. Biden followed with saying advisory forces will "be available to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS," according to The Wall Street Journal.

"Our shared fight against ISIS is critical for the stability of the region and our counterterrorism cooperation will continue even as we shift to this new phase that we’re going to be talking about,” Biden added.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-declares-all-us-combat-troops-leave-iraq-end-2021