Yesterday Trump told a crowd in what appeared to be an ad-libbed moment that we are pulling out of Syria “very soon” because we’re “knocking the hell out of ISIS”, and that we should let other people take care of it:
Pres. Trump: "We'll be coming out of Syria very soon. Let the other people take care of it now…We're going to have 100% of the caliphate, as they call it —sometimes referred to as land. We're taking it all back." pic.twitter.com/Ilnp6RybqC
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 29, 2018
Today Trump is telling his advisors to get us out of Syria:
REUTERS – President Donald Trump is telling advisers he wants an early exit of U.S. troops from Syria, two senior administration officials said on Friday, a stance that may put him at odds with many top U.S. officials.
The administration officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Trump’s comment during the speech reflected internal deliberations with advisers in which he has wondered aloud why U.S. forces should remain with the militants on their heels.
Trump has made clear that “once ISIS and its remnants are destroyed that the United States would be looking toward having countries in the region playing a larger role in ensuring security and leaving it at that,” one official said.
Such a policy is nowhere near complete, however, the official added.
The second official said Trump’s national security advisers have told him U.S. forces should stay in small numbers for at least a couple of years to make sure gains against the militants are held and ensure Syria does not essentially become a permanent Iranian base.
Top national security aides discussed Syria in a White House meeting recently but have yet to settle on a strategy for U.S. forces in Syria to recommend to Trump going forward, the official said.
“So far he has not given an order to just get out,” the official said.About 2,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Syria.
Well this would make Erdogan a very happy man if we pull out of Syria, and part of me wonders if this has a lot to do with it.
True, we are there to defeat ISIS and that’s been very successful. But considering how at odds being in Manbij puts us with Turkey, who wants to control the entire area of Northern Syria, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the main factor in us wanting an ‘early’ exit from Syria. Which means the SDF Kurds would be on their own to face Erdogan and his jihadist army.
Look I don’t think there’s any doubt that Iran and Turkey and working to divide up the entire area of Syria and Iraq. When Obama pulled us out of the area in 2010, that really set the table for what is happening now. And if Trump walks away from it too, then the ISIS caliphate will be replaced with Erdogan’s caliphate and in somewhat short order. 2021 is when Erdogan wants to officially announce his neo-Ottoman caliphate, and that’s just three years from now. THREE YEARS!
Buckle up.