US leaving Afghanistan and Syria

Discussion in 'Politics' started by hammer, 21st Dec, 2018.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
Tags:
Page 1 of 2
  1. hammer

    hammer Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    28th Aug, 2015
    Posts:
    2,861
    Location:
    Darwin
    I'm not sure on the political position of being in these countries to start with, but I do know the consequence of the US pulling out of Afghanistan so quickly last time was the growth of the Taliban.

    So part of me is doing a happy dance as this announcement means (hopefully) less fighting but I must admit I am concerned that the withdrawl is going to be way too fast and something even more nasty will fill the vacuum.....
     
    Last edited: 21st Dec, 2018
    hammer, 21st Dec, 2018
    #1
  2. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    15th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,673
    Location:
    Newcastle
    I agree with you in this. Especially, as by all accounts, it was instigated by Trump against all advice. Granted, a lot of advice coming from military will be hawkish, but it was enough for Mattis to tender his resignation. Mattis was regarded by some as being the last adult in the room. The thought of Trump unilaterally making important military decisions against the advice of experts is scary.
     
    geoffw, 21st Dec, 2018
    #2
    wylie likes this.
  3. Lacrim

    Lacrim Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    25th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    6,190
    Location:
    Australia
    Not to worry. Any insurgency will be squashed instantly by a retaliation of tweets from the Donald.
     
    Lacrim, 21st Dec, 2018
    #3
    Lizzie, wylie, larrylarry and 1 other person like this.
  4. TheSackedWiggle

    TheSackedWiggle Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    28th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,826
    Location:
    canberra
    #Dedollarization #NewWorldOrder #PetroYuan
     
    TheSackedWiggle, 21st Dec, 2018
    #4
  5. larrylarry

    larrylarry Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    5,392
    Location:
    Sydney
    yeah. he runs the country by twitter.
     
    larrylarry, 21st Dec, 2018
    #5
  6. Anthony416

    Anthony416 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    14th Dec, 2015
    Posts:
    538
    Location:
    Sydney
    To be honest I am so disgusted with conventional politics across the globe that it could not be much worse....Look at what conventional US policy gave us during the 80s and 90s.... OMG
     
    Anthony416, 21st Dec, 2018
    #6
    Doncossack likes this.
  7. Lacrim

    Lacrim Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    25th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    6,190
    Location:
    Australia
    You mean the best decades everrrr?
     
    Lacrim, 21st Dec, 2018
    #7
  8. hammer

    hammer Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    28th Aug, 2015
    Posts:
    2,861
    Location:
    Darwin
    For who?
     
    hammer, 21st Dec, 2018
    #8
  9. Speede

    Speede Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    26th Sep, 2015
    Posts:
    786
    Location:
    A wannabe Mexican
    Its good they are leaving....U.S and Co are criminals.
     
    Speede, 21st Dec, 2018
    #9
    Doncossack likes this.
  10. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    9,623
    Location:
    Planet A
    Their withdrawal leaves the Syrian minorities wide open to abuse and genocide by the Russians, Turks and Iraqi's ... Trump's announcement of a withdrawal (which caught the pentagon by surprise) is not motivated by what is best - but by what Russia and it's allies want.

    Very sad times
     
    Lizzie, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #10
  11. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    9,623
    Location:
    Planet A
    Actually - considering how Trump's going off the rails with his tweets lately (total meltdown) - I wonder if the declaration of a Syrian withdrawal is simply more attempted deflection ... given he's threatened the shut down the government if he doesn't get his wall (talk about a childish tantrum) - Flynn revealing even more info as he's heading to jail - the shut down and investigation into the trust - Cohen talking like a man possessed - and the Dems coming into lower house power shortly (with the associated ability to demand things like tax returns and release private committee recordings)

    I suspect he's in full panic mode
     
    Lizzie, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #11
    Ambit and wylie like this.
  12. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Now he is President it looks like Trump is progressively fulfilling the promises he made during the election.

    To me it looks like he is strongly pushing for policy changes that are in the best interests of United States citizens.

    How can you judge his state of mind from his tweets when his staff would probably be writing many (if not the majority) of them?
     
    Guest, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #12
    Doncossack and MTR like this.
  13. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    15th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,673
    Location:
    Newcastle
    Not the quality, the quantity.

    So Mueller gets indictments on more people close to Trump - and suddenly there's a government shutdown, many troops withdrawn from Afghanistan, and all troops suddenly pulled from Syria - voila, indictments are no longer the main news.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 10th Oct, 2021
    geoffw, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #13
    wylie likes this.
  14. Noobieboy

    Noobieboy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    10th Aug, 2017
    Posts:
    2,172
    Location:
    Utopia
    Those people we coexisting in harmony for centuries before the west led by America meddled there. Let them be. Get out and let them figure it out. They would be much better without Americans or us meddling in their affairs.
     
    Noobieboy, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #14
  15. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    9,623
    Location:
    Planet A
    The problems started both with oil - but also over a long period of history, colonisation and after WW2, when the "conquering" allies carved up the defeated countries without consulting the locals. Tribes and peoples were split along drawn borders - the ruling Warlords (that kept the peace) we tossed aside ... the west has a lot to answer for in these countries
     
    Lizzie, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #15
  16. Guest

    Guest Guest

    This implies a considered or intelligent strategic distraction, not "full panic mode".

    Many of the Trump discussions I see on here remind me of this article I read recently...

    The antidote to civilisational collapse
     
    Guest, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #16
    CowPat, Phar Lap and MTR like this.
  17. JDP1

    JDP1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    4,244
    Location:
    Brisbane
    This is a mistake to withdraw.
    The entire situation is so much more than insurgencies.
    Whilst I understand you cannot stay in forever, the risk of leaving now is large.
    Russia is exerting larger influence in the area ( not a good thing), gives Iran and their hostile militia more latitude (not a good thing), Kurds/minorities will likely be attacked by turkey ( not a good thing)....
    Insurgencies are probably the smaller concern. We are talking about sovereign nations flexing their muscles and without the US, it gives them the clearer runway to do so.
    The good news is that the US still has a large presence in the entire area, and that isn't changing.
     
    JDP1, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #17
  18. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    15th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,673
    Location:
    Newcastle
    I didn't see it as an intelligent strategic distraction. I saw that a compromise agreement on funding had been agreed without the wall, which was withdrawn. I saw a withdrawal which caught all parties by complete surprise, prompting the resignation of Mattis. Perhaps not full panic mode, but it gave every appearance of impulsive decisions against advice to the contrary.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 10th Oct, 2021
    geoffw, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #18
    Lizzie likes this.
  19. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    15th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,673
    Location:
    Newcastle
    The fact that Mattis resigned shortly after the withdrawal decision was announced indicates that it was a decision against advice. I would hardly have called Mattis a liberal element in society.
     
    geoffw, 22nd Dec, 2018
    #19
  20. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    9,623
    Location:
    Planet A
    Considering no one at the Pentagon, or his Chief Military Adviser, had any idea a withdrawal was on the cards prior to the announcement by Trump on Twitter strongly suggests it was something made up by Trump on the fly.

    Another resignation today ... this time the International ISIS Envoy, again who had no idea this was in the wind and had strongly recommended against any such action only a few weeks back

    US envoy quits over Trump’s Syria troop withdrawal decision

    Even Fox are turning against Trump - Sarah Huckabee Sanders gets hammered by Fox News for Trump's Syria policy: "He just refounded ISIS!"
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 23rd Dec, 2018
    Lizzie, 23rd Dec, 2018
    #20
    Ambit and geoffw like this.
Page 1 of 2