President Trump says Defense Secretary Mattis is 'sort of a Democrat' and may leave

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...le19538424.ece

Trump's own words:

My original instinct was to pull out -- and, historically, I like following my instincts. But all my life I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office; in other words, when you're President of the United States. So I studied Afghanistan in great detail and from every conceivable angle. After many meetings, over many months, we held our final meeting last Friday at Camp David, with my Cabinet and generals, to complete our strategy. I arrived at three fundamental conclusions about America’s core interests in Afghanistan.

First, our nation must seek an honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices that have been made, especially the sacrifices of lives. The men and women who serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory. They deserve the tools they need, and the trust they have earned, to fight and to win.

Second, the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable. 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in our history, was planned and directed from Afghanistan because that country was ruled by a government that gave comfort and shelter to terrorists. A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al Qaeda, would instantly fill, just as happened before September 11th.

And, as we know, in 2011, America hastily and mistakenly withdrew from Iraq. As a result, our hard-won gains slipped back into the hands of terrorist enemies. Our soldiers watched as cities they had fought for, and bled to liberate, and won, were occupied by a terrorist group called ISIS. The vacuum we created by leaving too soon gave safe haven for ISIS to spread, to grow, recruit, and launch attacks. We cannot repeat in Afghanistan the mistake our leaders made in Iraq.

Third and finally, I concluded that the security threats we face in Afghanistan and the broader region are immense. Today, 20 U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- the highest concentration in any region anywhere in the world.

Conditions on the ground -- not arbitrary timetables -- will guide our strategy from now on. America’s enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out. I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will.

Another fundamental pillar of our new strategy is the integration of all instruments of American power -- diplomatic, economic, and military -- toward a successful outcome.

Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan, but nobody knows if or when that will ever happen. America will continue its support for the Afghan government and the Afghan military as they confront the Taliban in the field.

I have already lifted restrictions the previous administration placed on our warfighters that prevented the Secretary of Defense and our commanders in the field from fully and swiftly waging battle against the enemy. Micromanagement from Washington, D.C. does not win battles. They are won in the field drawing upon the judgment and expertise of wartime commanders and frontline soldiers acting in real time, with real authority, and with a clear mission to defeat the enemy.

When America commits its warriors to battle, we must ensure they have every weapon to apply swift, decisive, and overwhelming force.

Our troops will fight to win. We will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan, and stopping mass terror attacks against America before they emerge.

But Trump does change his position on things often.

[Influenza]

https://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...le19538424.ece

Trump's own words:

You see, us rational folks ignore the things that Trump says that we don't like, and only pay attention to the things we do like.
(dannno ur IQ is almost certainly <80)

[homahr]

He dropped his insistence on an immediate withdrawal, they said, after commanders told him they needed time to complete their mission.

that could take a while if the mission is to make sure Iranian forces leave which will never happen. Iranian forces are also in Iraq in large numbers and that is where the US has a bigger presence than in Syria.

[dannno]

that could take a while if the mission is to make sure Iranian forces leave which will never happen. Iranian forces are also in Iraq in large numbers and that is where the US has a bigger presence than in Syria.

It will take forever if he listens to the same people forever. But he won't. At some point he will say something like, "hey look guys, I gave you the time you said you needed, and you failed. It's time to end this, the American people cannot afford to have these wars go on forever."

[TheCount]

Trump could more of a hawk than Mattis on some issues. It sounds like he is. I have never said otherwise.

Sweet.

The specific issue is his position on troop withdrawl. You called it fantasy bull$#@!. Your position contradicts available reporting so I would like to hear why you are so sure of yourself. Revealingly you want to talk about everything else. To refresh your memory:

No one knows whether that is true or not except the people in that room. Those people, by the way, have a lot to gain by continuing the meme of the mythical non-interventionist Trump. Everything that his base hates is always announced with a coincidental leak of oh well he wanted to not do it but he had to, guys, the mean Deep State made him. But next time, pinkie swear, he won't! Next time will be different!

As a result, I don't believe any of this, as I said, fantasy bull$#@!. He is the President, and he has not withdrawn troops from Afghanistan or Syria despite multiple, multiple claims of such by the fervent faithful. If he does want to pull out troops, obviously he doesn't feel that strongly about it.

[dannno]

Those people, by the way, have a lot to gain by continuing the meme of the mythical non-interventionist Trump.

[TheCount]

No, no, what happened was they brought him the bill, he was like wtf is this $#@!, they were like "OH we need to pass this ASAP btw or the govt shuts down..." Then Trump says, "I'm not signing this crap, I heard on the news it included a tunnel from NY to NJ.." So he threatened to veto it, then they said, "Oh, you MUST sign it, it has all this great military stuff in it, don't you like the military? You don't want to shut down the military do you? Think about the vets!! You've gotta sign it!!!!"

Then Trump was probably like, "Alright, well I hope there is nothing else really egregious I should know about in there, is there?"

"Oh no, Mr. President, all completely normal stuff, we promise!!"


Of course Trump didn't have time to read it, but when he finds out they put this stink bomb in there, he will be way more pissed than he was about a tunnel from NY to NJ...

Fantasy bull$#@!.

[dannno]

Fail.

Try again.

[TheCount]

Fail.

Try again.

Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump told the Telegraph he’s “sure” his sister, Ivanka Trump, played a role in the president of the United States deciding to attack a Syrian air base.

Fantasy bull$#@!.

[TheCount]

The reason they kicked him out now is because they are about to hold a debate at Camp David on the Afghanistan surge to try and convince Trump, because apparently Trump is not convinced that we should escalate the war in Afghanistan.

The debate is all pre-scripted, and they didn't want Bannon there mucking up their script. Because Bannon is against the Surge.

So Bannon is against the surge, Trump is against the surge.. Hillary is for the surge, all of the neocons and deep state are for the surge, and this is who is benefiting right now.

Fantasy bull$#@!. There's always an excuse. It's always someone else's fault, never Trump's.

Surge in Afghanistan is underway; 14,000 US troops now in country

WASHINGTON — There are now approximately 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the Joint Staff Director.

The new estimate of U.S. forces in Afghanistan is about 3,000 higher than the 11,000 previously reported by the Pentagon earlier this year.

The number reflects the arrival of several thousand more troops as part of the Trump administration’s new South Asia strategy which is expected to raise U.S. troop levels in the region by just over 3,500 troops.

https://www.militarytimes.com/flashp...n-afghanistan/

[dannno]

Fantasy bull$#@!. There's always an excuse. It's always someone else's fault, never Trump's.




https://www.militarytimes.com/flashp...n-afghanistan/

I asked what they had to gain.

[TheCount]

I asked what they had to gain.

It's a Trumpsplanation of why poor poor Trump really didn't want to send more troops to Afghanistan, really, he wanted to withdraw them and end all wars everywhere and buy everyone ponies. But then Pence made him fire Bannon and then there weren't enough people around to hold his hand at Camp David and use their non-interventionist Care Bear Stare to defeat the mean deep state. And so Trump had to agree to a surge in Afghanistan.

Mike Pence strikes

Fantasy bull$#@!.


Just like how Trump wanted to shrink the government but the mean deep state wouldn't let him and so he had to make it bigger instead:

Trump's only option would have been to make an agreement with the deep state to let him reduce the rate of growth for a couple years, but then in return he has to help them start another big war.

Fantasy bull$#@!.


At least half of your Trump posts read like a battered wife explaining why her black eye isn't her husband's fault.