Posted on Dec 20, 2018
SGT Joseph Gunderson
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SSG K Johnson
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It's great that we wants to do that. Personally I am on Trump's side with this one. Bring them all home and focus on our own infrastructure. We have to fix ourselves before we go helping others. I see what he is trying to do.
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SSG K Johnson
SSG K Johnson
7 y
And I will donate.
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1SG Retired
1SG (Join to see)
7 y
You are aware what happened the last time the US focused solely on the US? WWII.
That's not a problem since there are no dictators or the like who are threats to other countries. Oh, except from Putin, Iran, and North Korea.
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SSG K Johnson
SSG K Johnson
7 y
and I understand that 1SG but I don't see IS as an equal threat when it comes to Putin and N Korea. Those 2 should be our focus. We have been in the Middle East in a conflict that could have been over years ago but the politicians are playing war games with our lives. I understand that my opinions are different than most, and I appreciate the civility of the responses.
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Cpl Mark A. Morris
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I just thought if something.
The Kurds are thinking if releasing a butt load of ISIS fighters. Sunni.
Russia and Iran probably don't really want to fight ISIS and Turkey is giving cover over a western section of Syria loaded with Sunnis.
If Russia, Iran and Syria push the Sunni's too hard, Turkey and the Saudis will show up. That would be a Sunni/Shia religious showdown. We know who Trump backs.
Who is the next SoD?
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
SGT Joseph Gunderson
7 y
We will back the Sunnis in all likelihood just like we did when we helped Sadam come to power.
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SSG Warren Swan
SSG Warren Swan
7 y
Releasing those prisoners would be one hell of a slap in the face to us. I get the reasoning they're using, but talk about forcing our hands....? We really did put ourselves in a bad situation with this decision, and a decision that has ripple effects across the world. I really want to hear how the EU takes this, and how would the world respond should Trump suddenly(as is par the course) reverses his decision and actually beefs up the numbers there.

When Powell resigned under Bush Jr, that was one hard pill to swallow, and the political fallout had a cost no one could've predicted. Mattis will be the same, but worse in a more stretched out world looking for leadership.
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Cpl Mark A. Morris
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I think MAJ. Montgomery summed up what is going on nicely.
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PO1 Bill Adams
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Turkey has been planning to invade Syria for a while. The link below is from July.
Looks like it was going to eventually happen.

If we had not pulled out, would we be fighting Turkey right now?

There's more to this than the media is saying, and looks like whatever is happening there, most of the media wants to make it look like all Trump's fault.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/07/turkey-threatens-syria-invasion-us-sanctions.html
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LCpl Scott Morgan
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Not until the task is properly finished....The suicide attacks shows that some people don't like the timeline that we have
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CPT Bobby Fields
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This is a horrible decision. ISIS is degraded probably to the level that Al Qaeda is degraded, but the Syrian theater isn't just about ISIS and a safe haven for terrorism. We are ceding influence to Russia and Iran, and Secretary Mattis wasn't able to convince President Trump of this strategic reality. Any time a presidential candidate talks about getting the US Military out of a conflict, they rarely offer strategic-level reasoning and instead express the overly simplistic reason of wanting to get the troops home. We should want to achieve our nation's strategic objectives (whatever they might be at the time), which gets the troops home, not just get them home because. Whether people agree with the notion of a second "Cold War" or not, the undeniable facts are that Russia has acted over and over again like the old Soviet Union since the mid-2000s with operations in Georgia and Ukraine, and moves like supporting Assad. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might just be a communist duck....

There are no good/honorable allies in the Middle East other than Israel, only those who support us based on their own interests (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt). Despite the widespread disdain throughout the Middle East for the U.S.A. we are able to maintain these delicate relationships so we can continue to have forward deployed logistics and air power projection. This is a lousy position to be in for the United States. No country in the Middle East supports the Assad regime except Iran, so leaving Syria only makes Iran and Syria happy (and the Russians), and gives Turkey the opportunity to move on the Kurds.
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CPT Bobby Fields
CPT Bobby Fields
7 y
It will be interesting to see who the next SecDef is, I am glad GEN Milley will be the next JCS Chairman.
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GySgt Charles O'Connell
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ISIS is wrecked, Syria, the nation and it's government, is in chaos with Russia as its most significant ally. If, or when, ISIS regroups we'll hit them in their new AO, if it's in our interest to do so. Russia rebuilds Syria??? Yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that one.
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SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson
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I don't and didn't mind helping a country defend itself; however, there is my belief that I will only help those who want to help themselves. We have gone into several countries and removed government heads why is Al-Assad any different, oh oh I know this one Putin! In Colorado when you have two bull elk and a heard of cows sooner or later those two bull elk have to lock horns. I'm a cold war vet and there is a reason we had a "cold war." We are headed toward another one only this time there may be three bull's in the mix. USA, Russia, and now China. We have been the feared top dog for a long time and our reputation preceded us after Japan. But if you have been a poor butt sniffer country for decades sooner or later you get tired of taking shit! Our interest in Syria isn't for its people it is a strategic issue just like in the game Risk. The middle East has been at war within itself for thousands of years and if we didn't need petro dollar control what use would we have for country on that continent other than Israel? From a biblical standpoint Damascus has fallen and the next event is soon to occur. When all hell breaks loose I would rather have all our soldiers here on the home front, because it's hard to defend the fort if there is no one in the fort.
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SGM Hugh Blake
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President Trump has turned into a politician, he listens to his political advisers instead of the Generals & Defense Secretary. Same thing President Obama did, we will have to go back again to fix it. What deal did he make to give up the Kurds to Turkey? No one will ever trust us again, afraid that we will stab them in the back like the Kurds
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PO2 William Arden
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10 year Navy vet here. I personally think we need to bring our troops home from Syria, and Afghanistan. Tired of seeing my brothers in arms getting killed over this stupid war. What we originally went in for is done and over with. Let them fight their own war. We have enough technology to see what they are doing anyways without being their in person.
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TSgt Gary McPherson
TSgt Gary McPherson
7 y
I'm a Nam vet.Went there twice.66 and 72.Nam was a mess.Today it is much better .I was with the USAFSS and with the EC47 program.Lots of Intel.It seems like after we pulled out thing got better for them.Have friends who went back for a visit in 2018 and loved what they saw.SO pulling out may not do much harm as thought.Anyway bottom line these people need to clean up their own messes.All we are doing is delaying the whole thing.
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