Syria

[Lainey]

National Geographic had a great documentary on Syria. It explained the history: how Assad's father, a very cruel man, became the dictator and his second-born son, Bashar, became his successor.
Also showed how Bashar had 2 critical turning points in his governance - after 9/11/2001 he could have sided with the U.S. and the West but did not; instead, he opened his prisons and let members of ISIS loose to fight against the allies. And ten years later in the 2011 Arab spring, he could have acceded to his people and given them some semblance of democracy; instead, he used chemical weapons to brutally repress them. The Arab spring in Syria almost succeeded - according to the documentary, the rebels were within a few miles of Assad's compound when Russia, at the last minute, stepped in to side with Assad. Since then the U.S. and Russia have been fighting a proxy war in Syria.
There is no doubt that if/when the U.S. withdraws there will be a power vacuum and many more Syrians will die. Also no doubt that Russia will be happy to have a foothold in the area and access to its oil and other resources.

So is Trump withdrawing to make Russia happy? Or is it really because we've realized, yet again, that we can win battles but there will be no end to the occupation. I don't know what the answer is either except that as Americans, we should acknowledge our part in this and accept more Syrian refugees who have been caught in the middle.


As someone else already said, if we leave are we willing to watch this happen? or were we only there in the first place because of oil?

[Teacher Terry]

I totally agree with DMC.

[Williamsmith]

Ah, c’mon guys. Wouldn’t it be a blast to have our military in every country on the face of the earth, that way we could spread democracy everywhere.....including Canada!

[flowerseverywhere]

I agree more of our Troops should come home. I have no issue with withdrawing troops however usually the commander in chief calls on his generals and military leaders for input. Surprising them with a tweet is not good governing.
we do not have a monarchy. One person does not make all the decisions based on what Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh are saying. They are entertainers not advisors.
There is a reason for military as well as civilian advisors. People have studied the economy, the military and Middle East history their whole lives. They are in contact with boots on the ground and know the theatres our troops operate in. They are up on the latest classified information. They at least need to be able to be respected and heard for their input. Not to say you need to agree with everything they say, but at least give them a chance to lay out the pros and cons of their arguments. I for one do not believe Trump knows more than the generals and fed chief about everything. Get our troops home but do it right and safely, not on a whim.

[LDAHL]

Our betrayal of the Kurds will shame us before history.

[Teacher Terry]

Trump doesn’t know more than a 5yo about military strategy. He will probably be the only president not to age during the presidency because he doesn’t get briefed daily or read what he needs to on a daily basis. He just wakes up and decides what he wants to do with no regard for others.

[razz]

How did the US get into the policeman role anyway? My knowledge of basic history suggests that when Britain lost its supremacy and Europe went through the wars, the US came into prominence but why the policeman role? And for so long? I fully understand the desire to reduce the number.

I was surprised at the number of the military around the world. I had never stopped to calculate how big the war machine really is when one includes all the nations.

[flowerseverywhere]

How did the US get into the policeman role anyway? My knowledge of basic history suggests that when Britain lost its supremacy and Europe went through the wars, the US came into prominence but why the policeman role? And for so long? I fully understand the desire to reduce the number.

I was surprised at the number of the military around the world. I had never stopped to calculate how big the war machine really is when one includes all the nations.

maybe money? Countries that are rich in natural resources are sitting ducks to be conquered and plundered? People that are brown and black are inferior and need the superpower to guide them?

Because one thing we can all be sure of, power and greed absolutely corrupts some people. And we certainly have our share of drunk with power and greedy politicians.

[Tybee]

[LDAHL]

I think history is fairly clear on what weakness and lack of decisiveness invites.