Another Trump Flip-Flop: US To Send Money And Weapons To Syria Rebels

[BortSimpson]

Trump makes alliances with Neocons for some purposes but he refuses to give them the wars they want and he is getting us out of Afghanistan and other places.

And the plane he flew on was a different plane, he did not fly to the island, he caught a ride home to New York.

Trump had Epstein arrested the first time and the last time, Trump was investigating Epstein and didn't trust him, he insisted on eating n the kitchen with the Chef when he ate at epstein's house so he could see what wen into his food.

Honestly, I hope you're right about these things but I don't see why Trump would have earned anyone's trust.

Btw, what are your thoughts about him bombing Syria and all the drone strikes?

[Swordsmyth]

Honestly, I hope you're right about these things but I don't see why Trump would have earned anyone's trust.

Btw, what are your thoughts about him bombing Syria and all the drone strikes?

The Syria bombing was designed to hit an empty airfield, it was meant to avoid being called weak but stop short of going to war with Assad, the same thing applies to the drone strikes in my opinion, he is getting us out of Afghanistan and had been withdrawing troops from the Middle East in general but if someone accused him of being weak on terror he could say he gave the military permission to increase drone strikes against individual terrorists which is more efficient.
The recent troop deployments to friendly countries in the Middle East serve the same purpose, he avoided the calls for war on Iran but he can say he is detering them and protecting our allies.
He will return to bringing troops home when the hysteria over Iran dies down again.

[Swordsmyth]

I don't think there's a way to "up-vote" on this site but I would absolutely up-vote your post if I could.

When you make enough posts you will get a little star button you can hit to give +rep.

[BortSimpson]

The Syria bombing was designed to hit an empty airfield, it was meant to avoid being called weak but stop short of going to war with Assad, the same thing applies to the drone strikes in my opinion, he is getting us out of Afghanistan and had been withdrawing troops from the Middle East in general but if someone accused him of being weak on terror he could say he gave the military permission to increase drone strikes against individual terrorists which is more efficient.
The recent troop deployments to friendly countries in the Middle East serve the same purpose, he avoided the calls for war on Iran but he can say he is detering them and protecting our allies.
He will return to bringing troops home when the hysteria over Iran dies down again.

He's in the final year of his 1st (and possibly only) term. If he really intends to bring the troops home, why would he wait until the last minute? I'm guessing he'll make some excuse as to why he can't do it. Maybe he'll even tie it to "you need to re-elect me and THEN I can get it done".

[Swordsmyth]

He's in the final year of his 1st (and possibly only) term. If he really intends to bring the troops home, why would he wait until the last minute? I'm guessing he'll make some excuse as to why he can't do it. Maybe he'll even tie it to "you need to re-elect me and THEN I can get it done".

He had decreased deployments by 18,000 before they tried to get a war with Iran and he is ending the war in Afghanistan right now.

He can't do everything at once on this or other subjects because He doesn't have many true allies and he has to deal with the powers of Congress and the courts in addition to the entrenched deepstate in the bureaucracy.

He will be re-elected and he will accelerate the withdrawals as he gains more allies and gets rid of enemies.

[BortSimpson]

When you make enough posts you will get a little star button you can hit to give +rep.

Thanks for the info. Strangely, I only see a star next to my own posts (not that I would up-vote my own posts).

Btw, I appreciate the back-and-forth on Trump. I like that the Libertarian community is one that has civil (though passionate) debates and that we argue principles. I miss the old DailyPaul website, which used to be a lively place. Glad to have this forum as well but hopefully we can build it up.

[BortSimpson]

He had decreased deployments by 18,000 before they tried to get a war with Iran and he is ending the war in Afghanistan right now.

He can't do everything at once on this or other subjects because He doesn't have many true allies and he has to deal with the powers of Congress and the courts in addition to the entrenched deepstate in the bureaucracy.

He will be re-elected and he will accelerate the withdrawals as he gains more allies and gets rid of enemies.

I'll believe it when I see it. And if he doesn't get re-elected (and it's certainly no guarantee he will) then he will have missed his chance entirely. If he really intended to end the war but doesn't do it (because he put it off, thinking he'd get re-elected and do it then), it would be a real shame. And the way the stock market has been going the past couple of weeks, I could see things unraveling fast and him getting voted out.

[Swordsmyth]

Thanks for the info. Strangely, I only see a star next to my own posts (not that I would up-vote my own posts).

Btw, I appreciate the back-and-forth on Trump. I like that the Libertarian community is one that has civil (though passionate) debates and that we argue principles. I miss the old DailyPaul website, which used to be a lively place. Glad to have this forum as well but hopefully we can build it up.

The star by your own posts allows you to see if people have given you rep for that post.

I appreciate your fairmindedness, it is refreshing compared to the TDS posters.

[jmdrake]

He said.... lol, if Trump 'Took' the oil in the context that this thread would have people believe, the liberals
would have skipped all the blsht shenanigans, and had him on charges, like Dondald Trump stole or took
100 million barrels of oil for personal or otherwise gain.
lets just call this attempt , complete fkg blsht , shall we....

A) Why would they have him on charges when they want the oil too?

B) Why are you not willing to take Trump at his word when he says he took the oil?

C) You asked for a quote. I gave you one. Why can't you just say "thank you" and be done with that?

[jmdrake]

He had decreased deployments by 18,000 before they tried to get a war with Iran and he is ending the war in Afghanistan right now.

He can't do everything at once on this or other subjects because He doesn't have many true allies and he has to deal with the powers of Congress and the courts in addition to the entrenched deepstate in the bureaucracy.

He will be re-elected and he will accelerate the withdrawals as he gains more allies and gets rid of enemies.

He has to leave enough troops in Syria to accomplish his stated goal of taking the oil.

[Swordsmyth]

He has to leave enough troops in Syria to accomplish his stated goal of taking the oil.

We will leave Syria too as soon as he can't be accused of "abandoning our Kurdish allies" again by people like Tulsi.

When Assad and the Kurds have a deal we will leave entirely as we were going to before "anti-war" people stabbed him in the back during the impeachment.

[jmdrake]

We will leave Syria too as soon as he can't be accused of "abandoning our Kurdish allies" again by people like Tulsi.

When Assad and the Kurds have a deal we will leave entirely as we were going to before "anti-war" people stabbed him in the back during the impeachment.

Yeah right. Any excuse will do. Trump said the reason why he's staying. It's to keep the oil. Are you calling him a liar?

[Swordsmyth]

Yeah right. Any excuse will do. Trump said the reason why he's staying. It's to keep the oil. Are you calling him a liar?

Trump says lots of things, it's his actions you have to watch.

And controlling the oil is the point, it's being used as leverage to help the Kurds get a better deal from Asssad, that's what people like Tulsi pressured him into doing.

[jmdrake]

Trump says lots of things, it's his actions you have to watch.

And controlling the oil is the point, it's being used as leverage to help the Kurds get a better deal from Asssad, that's what people like Tulsi pressured him into doing.

Trump has been consistent on wanting to take the oil over the years from Iraq to Libya and now to Syria. Tulsi had nothing to do with that.

[Swordsmyth]

Trump has been consistent on wanting to take the oil over the years from Iraq to Libya and now to Syria. Tulsi had nothing to do with that.

Trump says lots of things, it's his actions you have to watch.


We were leaving Syria ENTIRELY until Tulsi and others attacked him over the Kurds, now we are sitting on the oil to benefit the Kurds.

[jmdrake]

Trump says lots of things, it's his actions you have to watch.


We were leaving Syria ENTIRELY until Tulsi and others attacked him over the Kurds, now we are sitting on the oil to benefit the Kurds.

So much for strong leadership.

[Swordsmyth]

So much for strong leadership.

He's not a dictator and he was in the middle of being impeached.

If enough Neocons decided they could justify their vote in the Senate he would have been kicked out and prosecuted on the bogus charges.

Tulsi helped set up the right atmosphere to stop the pullout.

[jmdrake]

He's not a dictator and he was in the middle of being impeached.

If enough Neocons decided they could justify their vote in the Senate he would have been kicked out and prosecuted on the bogus charges.

Tulsi helped set up the right atmosphere to stop the pullout.

LOL What's funny is you actually think someone will buy the crap you're selling.

Tulsi supported the full pullout. It was the partial half-ass redeployment that she criticized. She didn't vote for impeachment and as a democrat she was expected to vote for it anyway. Trump's path to not being removed from office (he was bound to be impeached regardless of Tulsi) lay with the GOP in the Senate. And Trump practically begged to be impeached. That's why, after there were already calls for him to be impeached of the Ukraine phone call, he said China should investigate the Bidens. He knew the impeachment circus would help him more than it would hurt. But hey, make up your own morality play if it makes you feel better.

[Swordsmyth]

LOL What's funny is you actually think someone will buy the crap you're selling.

Tulsi supported the full pullout. It was the partial half-ass redeployment that she criticized. She didn't vote for impeachment and as a democrat she was expected to vote for it anyway. Trump's path to not being removed from office (he was bound to be impeached regardless of Tulsi) lay with the GOP in the Senate. And Trump practically begged to be impeached. That's why, after there were already calls for him to be impeached of the Ukraine phone call, he said China should investigate the Bidens. He knew the impeachment circus would help him more than it would hurt. But hey, make up your own morality play if it makes you feel better.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
She specified that she was against the timing and speed of the pullout because of "our Kurdish allies", that was singing along with the Neocon choir and helping them set up an excuse for voting to convict and remove Trump if he completed the withdrawal.

[jmdrake]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
She specified that she was against the timing and speed of the pullout because of "our Kurdish allies", that was singing along with the Neocon choir and helping them set up an excuse for voting to convict and remove Trump if he completed the withdrawal.

Sleep all you want to. You're just showing you're ceaselessness. Trump backed away from a full pullout from Syria before Tulsi criticized his half-assed pullback.

[Swordsmyth]

Sleep all you want to. You're just showing you're ceaselessness. Trump backed away from a full pullout from Syria before Tulsi criticized his half-assed pullback.

WRONG

[tebowlives]

The Syria bombing was designed to hit an empty airfield, it was meant to avoid being called weak but stop short of going to war with Assad, the same thing applies to the drone strikes in my opinion, he is getting us out of Afghanistan and had been withdrawing troops from the Middle East in general but if someone accused him of being weak on terror he could say he gave the military permission to increase drone strikes against individual terrorists which is more efficient.
The recent troop deployments to friendly countries in the Middle East serve the same purpose, he avoided the calls for war on Iran but he can say he is detering them and protecting our allies.
He will return to bringing troops home when the hysteria over Iran dies down again.

Waste time and money in order to appear to act aggressive? It doesn't make sense.
So his foreign policy is based on deterring hysteria?

[tebowlives]

Trump says lots of things, it's his actions you have to watch.


We were leaving Syria ENTIRELY until Tulsi and others attacked him over the Kurds, now we are sitting on the oil to benefit the Kurds.

Thank you admitting Trump isn't grounded in policy and he doesn't have the backbone to go through with withdrawal.

[jmdrake]

WRONG

LOL. You want an excuse for why Trump actually kept his "promise" to take the oil by blaming it on Tulsi. Wow, that's rich.

[jmdrake]

Thank you admitting Trump isn't grounded in policy and he doesn't have the backbone to go through with withdrawal.

LOL. True.

[RonZeplin]

US Confirms American Company Has Signed Deal With 'Rebels' To Take Syria's Oil

For anyone who still actually thinks America's role in Syria was ever somehow about "protecting human rights" or "promoting democracy" — here's the latest out of Syria, which the Trump administration has since confirmed:

Syria’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that an American oil company had signed an agreement with Kurdish-led rebels who control northeastern oilfields in what it described as an illegal deal aimed at “stealing” Syria’s crude.

US forces patrol Syrian oil fields in eastern Syria, via AP.

That's right, the some 700 to perhaps 1000+ US troops still occupying Syrian territory in the country's oil and gas rich northeast are overseeing a deal for an American company to come in and take the oil.

This is after Trump has said for much of the past year that he's keeping American forces there to "secure the oil" — though it's long been left open whether this means "secure" it from ISIS, or the Russians, or Damascus. Now in practice we see it's all about taking these vital resources away from the government and ultimately the already impoverished Syrian people.

Syria's foreign ministry as well as state media SANA said it “condemns in the strongest terms the agreement signed between al-Qasd militia (SDF) and an American oil company to steal Syria’s oil under the sponsorship and support of the American administration.”

Damascus also said “This agreement is null and void and has no legal basis,” and is likely to lodge an official complaint with the UN. It's as yet unknown precisely what US company or companies are involved.

When early reports surfaced last week, it was Syrian state sources making the allegation. But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since confirmed it, according to Reuters:

A U.S. senator and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had referred to an oilfields deal between the SDF and a U.S. firm during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said during the committee hearing that SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi informed him that a deal had been signed with an American company to “modernize the oil fields in northeastern Syria”, and asked Pompeo whether the administration was supportive of it.

“We are,” Pompeo responded during the hearing streamed live by PBS. “The deal took a little longer... than we had hoped, and now we’re in implementation.”

Administration hawks have argued that it's ultimately about keeping funding and resources out of Iranians' hands, and out of the control of Tehran's allies like Damascus.

Pre-war Syria had produced a meager 380,000 barrels of oil per day, but it was enough fuel local industries and to support the population.

But now, not only will Syrians see their oil siphoned off by an American company via US proxy 'rebels' on the ground, but the population is being strangled through far-reaching Washington-imposed sanctions to boot.

Meanwhile, like in neighboring Iraq, the mass looting of national resources is set to further devastate the local population for generations. As the The National Interest describes: "The lack of modern oil infrastructure has forced the region’s inhabitants to rely on dangerous, primitive backyard refineries and high-risk smuggling operations to export their oil. Local doctors report massive increases in birth defects and other diseases as oil spills and plumes of smoke from poorly-maintained facilities pollute the water and air."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...ake-syrias-oil

[Swordsmyth]

US Confirms American Company Has Signed Deal With 'Rebels' To Take Syria's Oil

For anyone who still actually thinks America's role in Syria was ever somehow about "protecting human rights" or "promoting democracy" — here's the latest out of Syria, which the Trump administration has since confirmed:

Syria’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that an American oil company had signed an agreement with Kurdish-led rebels who control northeastern oilfields in what it described as an illegal deal aimed at “stealing” Syria’s crude.

US forces patrol Syrian oil fields in eastern Syria, via AP.

That's right, the some 700 to perhaps 1000+ US troops still occupying Syrian territory in the country's oil and gas rich northeast are overseeing a deal for an American company to come in and take the oil.

This is after Trump has said for much of the past year that he's keeping American forces there to "secure the oil" — though it's long been left open whether this means "secure" it from ISIS, or the Russians, or Damascus. Now in practice we see it's all about taking these vital resources away from the government and ultimately the already impoverished Syrian people.

Syria's foreign ministry as well as state media SANA said it “condemns in the strongest terms the agreement signed between al-Qasd militia (SDF) and an American oil company to steal Syria’s oil under the sponsorship and support of the American administration.”

Damascus also said “This agreement is null and void and has no legal basis,” and is likely to lodge an official complaint with the UN. It's as yet unknown precisely what US company or companies are involved.

When early reports surfaced last week, it was Syrian state sources making the allegation. But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since confirmed it, according to Reuters:

A U.S. senator and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had referred to an oilfields deal between the SDF and a U.S. firm during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said during the committee hearing that SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi informed him that a deal had been signed with an American company to “modernize the oil fields in northeastern Syria”, and asked Pompeo whether the administration was supportive of it.

“We are,” Pompeo responded during the hearing streamed live by PBS. “The deal took a little longer... than we had hoped, and now we’re in implementation.”

Administration hawks have argued that it's ultimately about keeping funding and resources out of Iranians' hands, and out of the control of Tehran's allies like Damascus.

Pre-war Syria had produced a meager 380,000 barrels of oil per day, but it was enough fuel local industries and to support the population.

But now, not only will Syrians see their oil siphoned off by an American company via US proxy 'rebels' on the ground, but the population is being strangled through far-reaching Washington-imposed sanctions to boot.

Meanwhile, like in neighboring Iraq, the mass looting of national resources is set to further devastate the local population for generations. As the The National Interest describes: "The lack of modern oil infrastructure has forced the region’s inhabitants to rely on dangerous, primitive backyard refineries and high-risk smuggling operations to export their oil. Local doctors report massive increases in birth defects and other diseases as oil spills and plumes of smoke from poorly-maintained facilities pollute the water and air."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...ake-syrias-oil

The sooner the Kurds are set up and make a deal with Assad the sooner we will leave entirely.
You can thank Tulsi and her ilk for us not being gone already in spite of the Kurds.

[tebowlives]

The sooner the Kurds are set up and make a deal with Assad the sooner we will leave entirely.
You can thank Tulsi and her ilk for us not being gone already in spite of the Kurds.

Or we could just follow the Founders intent and leave right away.

[John-G]

Or we could just follow the Founders intent and leave right away.

I'll go with the founders over the neocons

[Swordsmyth]

Or we could just follow the Founders intent and leave right away.

Trump was doing that, talk to Tulsi and Congress, they are the ones who stopped him.
Congress tries to stop all of Trump's withdrawals.