Syria

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The US provided Turkey with intelligence, including surveillance video and information from reconnaissance aircraft, that may have aided in its assault on the US-allied Kurdish forces in Syria, The New York Times reported. The intelligence sharing continued as late as Monday – two days before Turkey invaded Syria to go after the Kurds – according to the report. Past reports suggest the US in 2017 began sharing more intelligence on the Kurds with Turkey to quell the Turkish government’s anger over Trump arming Kurdish forces in Syria.

The US shared intelligence with Turkey that may have helped it target the Kurds in Syria

This is an amazing disaster:

• Trump unilaterally withdraws troops after a phone call with his buddy Erdogan, arguing it's time to end these endless wars.
  
• He didn't consult with anybody, not allies, not his own security staff.
  
• He did this once before, after which Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned.
  
• Stabbing the Kurds in the back, who were the boots on the ground defeating ISIS, suffering 10,000 casualties.
  
• Risks putting ISIS back on the map
  
• This was about the cheapest "endless war," with just 50-100 US troops they kept a Turkish invasion at bay.
  
• Trump argues the Kurds were in it for themselves and we owe them nothing, they were fighting for their land and were not there in WOII at Normandie.
  
• Trump argues that freeing ISIS terrorist is no risk as they will go to Europe anyway.
  

[Admin]

The Trump administration will send nearly 2,000 troops and advanced military equipment to Saudi Arabia to deter threats from Iran — a move that will increase America’s presence in the Middle East, even as President Donald Trump falsely boasts about ending wars in the region. The announcement, made by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley on Friday, continues the administration’s campaign both to increase pressure on Tehran and deepen ties with Riyadh. The US has sent an additional 14,000 military members to the Middle East since May, which the 1,800 authorized Friday will add to...

But Trump is saying these things to justify his decision on Sunday to move American troops in Syria — a decision that’s drawn bipartisan pushback. It’d be one thing if he were bringing all 1,000 US troops in the country home, but he’s not. Instead, he’s moving just 50 US service members out of northern Syria to get out of the way of a just-started Turkish invasion.

That’s not all. A late September report from US Air Forces Central Command showed that the US launched the most airstrikes in Afghanistan over a single month in roughly a decade. American troops have ramped up airstrikes in Libya targeting ISIS fighters there. And the US continues its shadow war in Somalia to fend off terrorist groups there.

US to send nearly 2,000 troops to Saudi Arabia to deter Iran - Vox

Sooo:

• The US 50-100 troupes that kept the Kurds, an ally who defeated ISIS for us on the ground, safe were removed (with disastrous consequences) because Trump wanted to "end the endless wars in the ME" but at the same time he is adding multiple more troupes to Saoedi Arabia (a vicious dictatorship)? 
  
• The evidence is clear, Trump is not ending any US endless war in the Middle East, he just moved the 50 service members out of the way, selling out the Kurds, so that Erdogan could invade Northern Syria after a simple phone call with Erdogan and not consulting with anyone.
  
• He's not even bringing the 1000 service men stationed in Syria home, he's just moving some of them out of the way to give Erdogan free space to invade.
  

[Admin]

Critics, including many from Trump's own party, argue the president is irreparably damaging the country's standing as a reliable partner by abandoning a U.S. ally, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to be slaughtered by Turkey as well as fueling mayhem in the region that could allow ISIS to regain its footing. Trump, however, has pushed ahead, insisting the Kurds have mostly been fighting for their land and that he is filling a campaign promise to end “forever wars.” Here are five reasons Trump's move could spell trouble.

Five ways Trump's Syria decision spells trouble | TheHill

Trouble is a pretty soft expression..

1. ISIS resurgence (ISIS prisoners are already escaping and the void is the kind of circumstances where they can regroup, but hey, Trump argued that they will flee to Europe, so that makes it OK, right?)
   
2. Greatly diminish the willingness of others to be the boots on the ground for the US after this public betrayal.
   
3. Trump versus Republicans. The article sees this as bad, but this is good!
   
4. Straining the US relation with Turkey.
   
5. Empowering Iran and Russia, giving the field to them.
   

[Admin]

President Trump late Saturday defended his decision to remove U.S. forces from northern Syria ahead of a Turkish military operation, saying "it's time" to bring troops home. “We have to bring our great heroes, our great soldiers, we have to bring them home,” Trump said at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., according to The Associated Press, echoing a campaign promise. “It’s time. It’s time,” he told the conservative audience, adding that he is an “island of one.”

Trump’s decision to relocate about 50 U.S. troops who were in northeast Syria, paving the way for Turkey to move forward with an offensive against Syrian Kurdish forces, sparked criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

Trump defends Syria decision: 'It's time' | TheHill

And then consider this:

And on Friday, according to Reuters, the Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. will be sending a large military deployment to Saudi Arabia to help Saudi forces. In an official statement, Jonathan Hoffman, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said, “Taken together with other deployments, this constitutes an additional 3,000 forces that have been extended or authorized within the last month.”

Trump said he wants to stop ‘ridiculous endless wars’ — now the Pentagon is sending thousands to Saudi Arabia – Alternet.org

• So with just 50 US military they were able to keep the Kurds safe in northern Syria, you know those Kurds who were the boots on the ground that defeated ISIS (which cost them 10K+ deaths) and keep tens of thousands of them prisoners, but Trump doesn't want such endless war commitment so he withdraws these on a whim after a phone call with his buddy Erdogan, but at the same time the US is sending an additional 1800 more US military to Saudi Arabia (to defend another nasty dictator)??
  
• The 50 troops in Syria aren't even coming home, they were relocated to make way for 
  
• This exposes Trump's motives ("bring the troops home") as a blatant lie..
  

[Admin]

Members of President Trump's Cabinet including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday defended the decision to withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria ahead of a Turkish military operation as well as a delay in sanctions against Ankara that have sparked bipartisan criticism. Esper said the presence of U.S. troops near Turkey’s border with Syria would not have prevented Turkey’s advance into Syria. “I think they were fully committed,” Esper said of Turkey on “Fox News Sunday.” “We are not going to go to war against Turkey, that’s not what we signed up for.”

White House officials stand by Syria withdrawal, sanctions delay amid bipartisan pushback | TheHill

Not even Republicans are buying this:

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Sunday sharply criticized President Trump’s decision to remove U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, saying the 50 U.S. troops stationed at the border with Turkey would have prevented Turkish forces from advancing into the country. “We all know that if there were still those … soldiers, Turkey wouldn’t attack,” Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Taking aim at Trump's argument that the U.S. should not be involved in endless wars in the Middle East, Kinzinger said the U.S. was "preventing an endless war and that actually commenced on Sunday a week ago.” “To see this yet again, leaving an ally behind, abandoning people that we told that we were going to be with is disheartening, depressing, frankly it’s weak,” Kinzinger told CBS’ Margaret Brennan. “I don’t see how it follows through on the president’s biggest promise in the campaign to defeat ISIS, because I think it’s going to resurge.”

GOP congressman: 'We all know' Turkey wouldn't have attacked if U.S. troops remained at border | TheHill

[Admin]

• We should also remember that Trump has been here before. He announced the very same withdrawel of troops from Syria for the very same motives (end endless wars) half a year ago, after which his Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned and Trump was forced into a retreat. He should have known the consequences, the blowback. It's an incredible policy blunder, but doing it twice?
  
• Arguing that he didn't give the green light to Erdogan (as some Trump officials suggest) is nonsense, he has been open about this for years, and it happened right after that phone call and Trump's announcement, and there was nothing in the announcement that argued that the Turks shouldn't move into Syria.
  

[Admin]

US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey Monday after being warned by advisers of further potentially dire consequences of his decision to withdraw US forces from northern Syria and green-light a Turkish invasion of the region, The Washington Post reported. Several people familiar with the discussions told the publication that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence played a key role in persuading the president to punish Turkey. Trump announced the sanctions Monday night in an executive order. The measures include targeted sanctions on Turkish military officials, and increased tariffs on Turkish steel imports. According to the report, advisers had warned the president that the withdrawal could empower Iran, a key regional foe of the US, and imperil him politically. It “has been a days-long effort to get him in a better place,” one official said of Trump. Trump’s decision on October 6 to withdraw US forces from northern Syria, where they had fought for years alongside Kurdish militias against ISIS, opened the way for Turkey to launch a long-threatened military incursion into northern Syria. 

Trump continued to defend the decision, despite even close allies turning against him. Trump said he was fulfilling a campaign pledge to halt the “forever wars” the US has waged in the Middle East.

Trump only imposed sanctions on Turkey after advisers explained to him the obvious consequences of letting them invade Syria, report says

• Only very reluctantly he imposes modest sanctions, after others have to plea for days and after the horse bolted.
  
• The sanctions are not very tough and the damage has already been done anyway.
  
• With just 50 troops the US kept Turkey out of Syria, this was the cheapest "forever war" in history. And his argument is bogus anyway as at the same time he sends 1800 troops to Saudi Arabia..
  

[Admin]

Donald Trump has handed Vladimir Putin a free gift in Syria by forcing the Kurds to strike a deal with Bashar al-Assad’s regime to hand over Manbij, Kobane and other areas along the border to the Syrian army in their final push to survive Erdogan’s assault. Yes, this was the deal from the beginning. Trump, in allowing the Turkish incursion was, in reality, clearing a path for Assad and Russia to regain control over northeast Syria. Despite his constant blabber about Obama’s failures in Syria, Trump has just echoed his policy. Obama looked the other way when Russia decided in 2015 to fully intervene and crush the opposition. Trump has effectively granted a licence to Russia to finish the Kurds (using a Turkish enforcer) in 2019. Whether you like it or not, Russia is taking the stage in the Middle East as the sole interlocutor in disputes, the guarantor for those desperate for protection.

Vladimir Putin is the one true winner in Trump's inglorious retreat from Syria | The Independent

• Who will trust the US again after this stunning betrayal?
  
• Strengthening the hand of Russia, Assad and Iran in the process
  

[Admin]

While President Donald Trump insists he’s bringing home Americans from “endless wars” in the Mideast, his Pentagon chief says all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the American military will continue operations against the Islamic State group. They aren’t coming home and the United States isn’t leaving the turbulent Middle East, according to current plans outlined by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper before he arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday. The fight in Syria against IS, once spearheaded by American allied Syrian Kurds who have been cast aside by Trump, will be undertaken by U.S. forces, possibly from neighboring Iraq.

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• The troops aren't even coming home, another lie.. (which was already exposed after in the same week Trump called these troops home, he send an additional 2000 to Saudi Arabia)..
  

[Admin]

Donald Trump has threatened to “drop” captured Isis fighters on the UK border if the government does not start repatriating them from Syrian camps. Speaking at a press conference where he announced the death of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the US president called European nations a “tremendous disappointment”. “They came from France, they came from Germany, they came from the UK. They came from a lot of countries,” he added. “And I actually said to them, if you don’t take them, I’m going to drop them right on your border and you can have fun capturing them again.” Mr Trump suggested that if detainees escape Kurdish-controlled camps, the US will not “capture people that want to go back to Germany, France, UK and other parts of Europe”.  “They could walk back – they can’t walk to our country. We have lots of water in between our country and them,” he added. Mr Trump has made similar threats several times in the past, saying earlier this month that he was unconcerned over the potential escape of Isis fighters because “they’re going to be escaping to Europe”.

Trump threatens to drop Isis fighters 'right at UK border' and leave Britain to 'have fun capturing them again' | The Independent