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Cpl Jeff N.
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First, Trump ran on reducing our footprint in the middle east. He was crystal clear on that position.

Second, when he determined to put boots on the ground in Syria and Northern Iraq to wipe out the caliphate many of the very people decrying the departure were decrying the deployment. Trump was clear that the troops would leave the are once the Caliphate and ISIS were beaten.

Third, ISIS has been decimated, the caliphate is gone. Some will say that it will come back with us removing 100 or so special operators. That is an opinion not a fact. If they come back we still have options

Fourth, the Peshmerga have been a good ally in this fight. That does not mean we now have an obligation to now support them in a civil war. It is a CIVIL WAR. They are fighting for independence and a state to call their own. That is not our fight,

Fifth, The Peshmerga/Kurds have somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 fighters. We have armed and trained them for years. They are a formidable force. They will need to fight or work toward a peaceful resolution with the countries in the area.

Sixth, Whether you like it or not (I don't) Turkey is a NATO ally. Technically if the Peshemerga attacked Turkey, by treaty we are obliged to help Turkey. This is what decades of political, diplomatic and national security wizardry has gotten us.

Seventh, Syria is an ally of Russia. They have been for many decades. The Russians are not going to sit idly by if we decide to get in deeper into Syria.

Eighth, some argue to let the status quo prevail meaning keep our operators there to keep Turkey at bay. Refer to the sixth item above.

What we should do, if we had an ounce of grit is to demand Turkey is removed from NATO and then have the congressional losers draft a declaration of war on Turkey for whatever reasons they can come up with. Pass it in both houses and send it to the President. Just ask yourself this. On what basis would a declaration of war be drafted? What has Turkey done to us to have war declared on them as an ally of ours? The entire region is a mess. It is a mess because politicians, diplomats and national security think tank geniuses have made it so.
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MSG Stan Hutchison
MSG Stan Hutchison
>1 y
MCPO Roger Collins - Not so sure about the "snarky" part. After all, Trump does have towers in Istanbul. And, wants to build towers in Moscow and Riyadh.
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MCPO Roger Collins
MCPO Roger Collins
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MSG Stan Hutchison Silly me, I missed the part about his running his business. Perhaps he should tell his son not to grow his business.
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SFC Intelligence Analyst
SFC (Join to see)
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ISIS is not decimated at all. Keep thinking that but they aren't.
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Cpl Jeff N.
Cpl Jeff N.
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SFC (Join to see) - ISIS has had their caliphate destroyed. That was the mission. If you are talking about the jihadist mindset, that is correct. They still live and breathe but unless you are willing to line up firing squads for all of the prisoners we have that will be the case.
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CWO3 Us Marine
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Gen Milley doesn't look real happy.
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SSG Robert Mark Odom
SSG Robert Mark Odom
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No sir not at all.
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CWO3 Us Marine
CWO3 (Join to see)
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But then, maybe it's the standard four star glare.
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MSgt Michael Bischoff
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Still WINNING!!!
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Cpl Jeff N.
Cpl Jeff N.
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Yes, we are. Thanks for noticing.
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SFC Intelligence Analyst
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Winning at what?
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