Articles on Syria

As for the question "for real?", as Putin pointed out today in his yearly press session, the Americans are in the habit of saying "we are leaving" for decades in many countries, see for example Afghanistan. While it never really happens... Putin also pointed out that the russians haven't seen any real signs on the ground yet that a withdrawal is happening, while he made it clear that this is a good decision from Trump.

Not surprising. Trump seemed to try it before, but other players, aka. deep state people, are in the habit of being the ones who are the real ones under control over covert as well as overt military actions.
 
Pashalis said:
As for the question "for real?", as Putin pointed out today in his yearly press session, the Americans are in the habit of saying "we are leaving" for decades in many countries, see for example Afghanistan
Click to expand...

Yeah, it would be prudent not to take this at face value. Consider these comments by the US special rep. for Syria earlier this month:

Briefing With Special Representative for Syria Engagement Ambassador James F. Jeffrey

“QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you, Ambassador. I wanted to ask you – I mean, we’re a bit confused on the position of the United States as far as Syria is concerned. On the one hand they say we will be there forever, on the other hand that your operation is limited and so on. Could you just give us like a vignette of how and when will the United States forces leave Syria?
Click to expand...
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: Well, the United States forces are in Syria for one mission, which is the enduring defeat of ISIS/Daesh. That is a military mission that flows from congressional authorization in 2001 against terror post-9/11. That’s the military mission of our military there.

When we say we’re going to be present not forever in Syria but present until our conditions – enduring defeat of ISIL, as was said earlier, the withdrawal of all Iranian-commanded forces from the entirety of Syria, and an irreversible political process. We’re saying the United States as a whole, that the President as the Commander-in-Chief and as the leader of our foreign policy has various options that involve military involving our forces.

Remember we were present not in northern Iraq but over northern Iraq in Operation Northern Watch for 13 years. That can be a UN force. Under 2254 there is language on a UN-managed and operated ceasefire. That can be partner forces. That can be other countries’ forces.”
Click to expand...

So the US will, no doubt, retain some presence in "their" area of Syria, or simply over that area. It's still a positive move to get most of the troops out, not least for the Russian-brokered peace process there.
 
Last edited:
Trump may indeed pull out the US Army but that wouldn't prevent the Deep State from sending in more special forces, contractors, instructors or CIA units mimicking as Kurds or "Free Syrians".

Add to that ambiguous messages of extraditing Fethullah Gülen to Turkey you might think that Trump is preparing a deal with Turkey. Just what does he expect in return?
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1075833157658779648
Translated from Arabic by Microsoft
Russia-President Putin: The terrorist organization ISIS in Syria has been hit by a severe blow 20.12.2018

https://twitter.com/x/status/1075861264155508743
Translated from Arabic by Microsoft
Address by Dr. Bashar Ja'afari during a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East 20/12/2018 6 ended..

:whistle:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1075859366677540866

https://twitter.com/x/status/1075799040485416960
Translated from French by Microsoft
Jihadis going out of jail: Interpol fears a second terrorist wave
 
Ursus Minor said:
Trump may indeed pull out the US Army but that wouldn't prevent the Deep State from sending in more special forces, contractors, instructors or CIA units mimicking as Kurds or "Free Syrians".

Add to that ambiguous messages of extraditing Fethullah Gülen to Turkey you might think that Trump is preparing a deal with Turkey. Just what does he expect in return?
Click to expand...

December 18, 2018 - Trump willing to look at extraditing Turkish Cleric, but Noncommittal (NO promises.)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...turkish-cleric-but-noncommittal-idUSKBN1OH29K

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump told his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan that Washington “would take a look at” the possibility of extraditing a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who Ankara suspects of being behind a 2016 coup attempt, but he made no commitment, the White House said on Tuesday.

“The only thing he said is that we would take a look at it,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

Turkey’s foreign minister said on Sunday that Trump told Erdogan that Washington was working on extraditing the cleric, Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who has lived in self-imposed U.S. exile for nearly two decades.

Asked about the comment on Monday, another White House official said only that Trump did not commit to extraditing Gulen when he spoke to Erdogan at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires last month. The official offered no further detail on the conversation.
 
Mark7 said:
Really? I get a vibe like Trump's mad at not getting his wall and taking revenge out on the deep state. Who knows?
It Looks Like Trump Is About to Pull the U.S. Out of Afghanistan, Too
Click to expand...

December 20, 2018 - U.S. plans for more than 5,000 troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan
U.S. plans for more than 5,000 troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan | Reuters

13970405000462_PhotoI.jpg


WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is planning to withdraw more than 5,000 of the 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Thursday, in the latest sign Trump’s patience is thinning with America’s longest war and overseas military interventions.

On Wednesday, Trump rebuffed top advisers and decided to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria, a decision that contributed to U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis abruptly quitting on Thursday over significant policy differences with the president.

One official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a decision had been made and verbal orders had been given to start planning for the drawdown. The official said timelines were being discussed but it could happen in weeks or months.

It is unclear how the United States with less than 9,000 forces in Afghanistan will be able to fulfill the full set of missions now underway, including training Afghan forces, advising them in the field, and waging an air campaign against the Taliban and other militant groups.

Instead, the United States almost certainly would have to curtain its missions, something that could provide an opportunity for a resurgent Taliban to expand their offensives across Afghanistan.

Mattis had argued for maintaining a strong U.S. military presence in Afghanistan to bolster diplomatic peace efforts. He resigned shortly after U.S. officials raised the possibility that Trump would order the drawdown.

The Pentagon declined to comment on Afghanistan.

Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the White House would not comment “on future strategic developments.”

The United States went to war in Afghanistan in 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, seeking to oust the Taliban militants harboring Saudi-raised militant Osama bin Laden, who led plans to carry out the attacks.

U.S. officials are currently engaged in talks with the Taliban, who now control a significant amount of territory. The Taliban insurgency has strengthened its grip over the past three years, with the government in Kabul controlling just 56 percent of Afghanistan, down from 72 percent in 2015, a U.S. government report showed.

Trump privately has been grousing about U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, telling an ally as recently as Wednesday words to the effect of, “What are we doing there? We’ve been there all these years.”

Trump last year approved an increase in U.S. troops but acknowledged that he did so reluctantly.
 
Not surprising to see Mattis quit with the two recent moves to officially get out of Syria and Afghanistan. Of course we know that "advisors" and CIA peeps will remain, but it seems like Trump is still trying to fight against the Deep State.
 
Beau said:
Not surprising to see Mattis quit with the two recent moves to officially get out of Syria and Afghanistan. Of course we know that "advisors" and CIA peeps will remain, but it seems like Trump is still trying to fight against the Deep State.
Click to expand...

It looks like it. There is some speculation going around about Trump pulling out of Syria because the US understood they couldn't deal with the new anti-air systems of the Syrians, and plus Russia had just installed some S-300 near Al Tanft (supposedly). But it seems to me that the US military, being arrogant as they are, would have not backed down because of that, and that this decision was most likely political on the part of Trump - something he was probably trying to achieve for a long time, but hadn't been able to because of pressure coming from the Pentagon and the Deep State, but for some reason he finally did it anyway. Turkey's new imminent offensive vs the Kurds may have had something to do with it also, but again that had happened in the past already and the US didn't go away.

Now we'll see if they actually let Trump do this. Many things can happen in 60-100 days.

The funny thing about Mattis resigning is that, if I remember correctly, some of the 'leaks' from the White House and published in the past in the 'liberal' media and books said that Mattis was holding back Trump, cause Trump wanted to go all warhawk, you know, him being 'literally Hitler' and all that, and Mattis was the sensible guy. And now this!

For now, I'm just having fun seeing how anti-Trumpers are trying to twist this move into 'Orange Man Bad'.
 
Windmill knight said:
For now, I'm just having fun seeing how anti-Trumpers are trying to twist this move into 'Orange Man Bad'.
Click to expand...

It is both fascinating and scary to watch indeed. All those lefty types who apparently „yearned“ for piece around the globe and good deals for everage people for deacaded are now faced with the Orange Man who actually is doing exactly that, and still he is „hitler“. You can hardly wrap your mind around the insanity of this mindset.
 
Another interesting thing regarding Trump's announcement is how some of his 'own people', i.e. republicans are fuming over this. Take for example the 'new born' Lindsay Graham, who has given the appearance of supporting Trump, now denouncing his decision. I think that's a good clue for seeing who some of these people are really working for. I'm sure Graham has ties to the arms industry, and is a shareholder, thus his reaction.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom