Let the arabs find their equilibrium.
For how long has the US been engaged in Afghanistan and has tried to build up a national enforcement ? And now the Taliban are just back and the corrupt and shady afghan government crumbles immediately.
Let the saudis and iranians fight it out, i do not care for none of them. Radical theocracies, both of them. Let the russians engage, let the turks meddle, let the chinese exploit.
But for us, this is a dead horse, we should get off for good.
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It is the high time for America to withdraw it's forces from the Middle East--Syria,Iraq, and Afghanistan. America may not see the light at the end of tunnel in immediate future.
America has self sufficient in oil reserves, need not depend on Gulf. The US has been there for oil for all these years.
Why America continues?. The Arab countries due to their mutual animosity invite US attention. Secondly, the Middle East is the fertile ground for testing latest weapons since no other region can afford massive finance.
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The concealed ( lack of transparency ) meetings 1 individual with Putin, now the erratic mix decisions to pull the troops, the consistent denials of any type of collusion with foreign agents to upend our election process. Points to strong allegations, possible indictments ( albeit future ) at the 1 individual.
The lies and now reported a pattern of concealed discussions, which point to back room deals with a enemy of the American people.
When does all this stop?
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The US will stay in, or return to, the Middle East as long as doing so serves its core national interests. That is why Russia is there. The chaos and maelstrom in that region presents the danger of the two powers coming into conflict.
There are other potential flashpoints around the world, many of them. And the evidence and pattern leave little we are doomed to another world war – nuclear war.
https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/
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The US withdrawal from eastern Syria “could set off a scramble between Russia, Iran and Turkey to fill the void” in the Middle East. Looking at the map, it makes sense.
Before Western powers came to the region, the Persians, Russians and Ottoman Turks were there for centuries, vying for clout. They will have to work out their historical differences, if they want to co-exist in their spheres of influence.
We’ll be seeing weak Arab states governed by strongmen, seeking to rein in their restive populations. As Europe will bear the burden of wars and upheavals in the Middle East, perhaps the EU might seek a role there as a stabilising factor.
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As much as I do not like to see our government’s influence and power in the Middle East diminished, and as much as I hope the Kurds that we have trained and that have fought against ISIS will remain free from Turkish attacks, I think that reducing our military footprint and presence in Syria makes sense for our national security interests. However, I do not agree with a precipitous withdrawal of our Special Forces. This would endanger them and look like a rout to many in the region.
At the same time, our withdrawal of forces from Syria will put more pressure on Iran, Russia, and Syria as well as on Turkey to work out their differences. Without America to kick around (at conferences and in the media) the leaders of these states will have to confront the problems and the possibility of continued and expanding conflict. Perhaps this will motivate them to negotiate arrangements that will reduce or eliminate fighting and improve the humanitarian situation in Syria. I am hopeful but not very sanguine about such an outcome.
@bkbyers Special Forces will stay. Problem is SF is already stretched too thin as is. Less than 1% of the US Military is SF.
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"...Obama’s decision to withdraw American troops from Iraq after deciding that America’s military role there was no longer essential."
Bush agreed with Iraq, in December 2008, to withdraw troops from Iraq. Obama implemented Bush's agreement.
Bush's so-called 'surge' in Iraq was partly about giving arms to Sunni extremists with the promise to wait until US troops were gone before attacking them or Iraqi targets.
While rank-and-file troops may support Trump's decision to withdraw, high-ranking officers NEVER want a war to end. That's why the US has not been able to end a war since Vietnam and, even then, it was accomplished only by making it look as though we won and getting back the POWs. Otherwise, the Vietnam war would not have ended.
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“With little notice to the United States, Saudi Arabia began a military intervention in Yemen that nearly four years later has failed to dislodge the Iran-aligned rebels it targeted while causing a humanitarian crisis. “
This is highly misleading at best. It gives the impression that American lack of involvement cause the Yemen humanitarian catastrophe. In the real world, Obama gave the Saudis permission and the US under both Obama and Trump has been heavily involved in creating this disaster.
“Iran has deepened its ties with militias in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, undercutting their governments. And the American withdrawal from eastern Syria could set off a scramble between Russia, Iran and Turkey to fill the void.”
In Syria, the support given to the rebels by the US caused the war to escalate to catastrophic levels and of course led to intervention on a larger scale by Assad’s allies. What idiot could have believed that a civil war would lead to a happy outcome for Syrians? It is more likely they hoped to depose Assad, but failing that, hoped Syria would become a quagmire for Iran and later the Russians. Humanitarianism could not have been the primary consideration.
This article is badly flawed because it presents us with the notion that American intervention is well intentioned and at worst, doesn’t help. Reality demonstrates that our interventions have been humanitarian catastrophes and you have to question the good intentions.
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