Trump instructs military to begin planning for withdrawal from Syria

[Arkansas Granny]

Source: Washington Post

President Trump has instructed military leaders to prepare to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, but has not set a date for them to do so, according to a senior administration official.

In a meeting with top national security officials Tuesday, Trump stressed that U.S. troops can be involved in current training tasks for local forces to ensure security in areas liberated from the Islamic State, the official said.

But the president said that the U.S. mission would not extend beyond the destruction of the Islamic State, and that he expects other countries, particularly wealthy Arab states in the region, to pick up the task of paying for reconstruction of stabilized areas, including sending their own troops, if necessary.

Trump on Tuesday had repeated his desire to quickly “get out” of Syria, even as his top commander for the Middle East outlined the need for an ongoing military presence there.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-instructs-military-to-begin-planning-for-withdrawal-from-syria/2018/04/04/1039f420-3811-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?utm_term=.c7b27fe7d2ac&wpisrc=al_news__alert-world--alert-national&wpmk=1

[Dopers_Greed]

1. He's doing this for Putin

[IronLionZion]

2. It was a bit crowded over there

and dipshit would only make things worse so it's better for everyone if he gets out

[renegade000]

4. He's basically leaving the Syrian Kurds out to dry...

It's a disgrace. They are the only progressive, left-wing faction in the entire mess and we're leaving them to the wolves (Putin, Assad, Erdogon)

[IronLionZion]

7. If I ruled the world, I'd establish and independent Kurdistan

and carve land out of Iraq, Syria, and even Turkey. Then when Turkey's right wing government throws us out, we can build a new air base in Kurdistan somewhere and put all our efforts into helping them be one fully functioning success story in that region with women's rights and social services and whatever else.

I'm still disappointed that Obama didn't do more to help the Kurds. I know some Kurdish-Americans and they are wonderful people who keep a positive optimism in spite of multiple US presidents screwing them over the decades.

[Clarity2]

8. No, not really

We'd be abandoning syrian kurds who have been fighting all along with us. It's pretty much safe to say that Turkey would like to extinguish the kurds. And Assad & Putin will be free to commit even more war crimes.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/white-house-chaos-jeopardizes-war-on-isis-u-s-commanders-warn-1199206467810

[Blue_Tires]

15. Please... You actually think he's serious?

This time next week he'll say something completely different...

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Another lie, another contradiction

During his presidential campaign rallies, Trump would trumpet that he was soooo smart, that he would never give away his military plans, to keep "our enemies" off balance. And here he is, telling ISIS to be patient, that the U.S. will be gone in a little while.

Trump even criticized Obama for announcing the U.S. military would lessen its presence in Afghanistan.

[dchill]

5. Handing Vlad his victory on a plate.

How many times will this black hole of morality commit treason before the GOP decides to do its job?

[TranssexualKaren]

6. Everything you are saying is true....

Donald Trump is a two faced, lying, Putin entangled autocrat wannabe....but isn’t it good thing that we are getting out of the Middle East?
The founding fathers never intended for us to be an empire.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. The US is not an empire. We are not in Syria with any intention to rule that country.

[TranssexualKaren]

10. Fact

Last edited Wed Apr 4, 2018, 01:32 PM - Edit history (1)

Everywhere outside the U.S. that we have placed our forces they have become a permanent presence, at least generally putting us in a position of having a say in these countries affairs. Leaving the world to some one like Putin may be worse, but we should at least have the honesty to admit after all these decades that we progressives have advocated retiring our forces to our own shores that we are now OK with a new Cold War.

[Clarity2]

11. Keeping peace

in the middle east is crucial to peace around the world and here in the U.S., and preventing the proliferation of terrorism.
So is promoting democracy. Unfortunately, the middle east isn't interested in Democracies.

If we pull out now, those Kurds fighting ISIS may be attacked by Assad, Russia & Turkey. They were the most effective force against ISIS. Want to see ISIS get a stranglehold again in Syria? Take away the syrian kurds. Then the U.S. is back to Syria again with higher amounts of troops.

Or Syria/Russia just bombs the hell out of the place, drops chemical weapons on civilians, and commits genocide.

[TranssexualKaren]

12. So what are you concluding...

That we are just a global policeman and we need to accept it? Is there ever a point when we can decide our presence is no longer necessary and go home? Do you realize we still have soldiers in Germanymore than 70 years after WW2. When does it end?

[Clarity2]

16. Because sometimes

just a presence sends a message to fascist dictators like Putin (note that Trump didn't send this "msg", he didn't take office till Jan 20): https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/us-troops-germany-russia/index.html

[TranssexualKaren]

17. Let me leave you with this

When I studied German in college our instructor was a man who grew up in Germany during the Second World War. One day he told us that the irony of all war is that in the end you will become what you originally set out to destroy. This should inform us that there is ultimately nothing exceptional in the American empire. What began as a well intentioned desire to resist tyranny abroad may end in ourselves becoming the tyrants.

[Clarity2]

18. I don't think

protecting our allies from Putin or invasion from nefarious countries qualifies us as tyrants.

[TranssexualKaren]

20. No, it doesnt

But it opens the door to us becoming tyrants.

[Clarity2]

21. Well gee

anything in this world is possible. It doesnt mean we walk away from dictators taking complete control on the “off chance”.

[Odoreida]

13. Will need them to guard the Mexican border I suppose? n/t

[Equinox Moon]

14. Isn't this exactly what Putin would want?

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Or: "Trump agrees to keep U.S. troops in Syria for undetermined period of time to defeat ISIS"

Interesting how 2 'mainstream' outlets can report this differently:

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump reluctantly agreed in a meeting with his national security team on Tuesday to keep U.S. troops in Syria for an undetermined period of time with the goal of defeating ISIS, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

"He wasn’t thrilled about it, to say the least," the official said.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and other top officials made the case to Trump that the fight against ISIS was almost finished but a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces at this time would risk losing gains the U.S. has made in the fight, the official said.

Mattis told the president the Pentagon was already reducing the number of U.S. forces and would continue to do so, though he did not give the president a set time frame for the end of the U.S. mission in Syria, the official said. The official said Trump "wasn’t thrilled about that either," but agreed to give the effort more time.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-agrees-keep-u-s-troops-syria-undetermined-time-defeat-n862691

[Devil Child]

22. Withdrawal of US forces is something I support

I have been opposed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lybia, Yemen, and all the other tar pits we have stumbled into since 9/11. Involving ourselves in the Syrian civil war was and continues to be a tragic mistake. However, I believe Trump is lying through his teeth and will not withdraw US forces. Nothing more than impulsive utterances from a demented old dotard.