US military to maintain open-ended presence in Syria, Tillerson says

fox news ^ | January 17, 2018 | MATTHEW PENNINGTON

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Speaking at Stanford University after being introduced by former top diplomat Condoleezza Rice, Tillerson said the Trump administration was determined not to repeat President Barack Obama's "mistake" when he withdrew U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. Republicans for years have argued the withdrawal created the opening for IS' rapid expansion....
Securing a successful U.N. peace process, getting Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power, ridding Syria of Iran's influence and eradicating all weapons of mass destruction in the country.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Uh-oh! We are not going to make the same mistakes that Obama/Hillary did, but we are going to make Assad "leave power?" What if Assad gets Russia to put 50,000 troops and heavy weapons in Syria?

I am hoping that Tillerson is either making a dumb statement or Trump is going to oppose this nonsense.

[robroys woman]

On NPR this morning they were trying to make the case that it “may” violate international law. What was funny was that I had to turn it off because they said “may” just one time too many. It literally sounded of desperation.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

See #1

[robroys woman]

This is what I agrued we should have done with IRAQ. That is, do the same thing there we did in Germany and Japan after WWII. The region would have been substantially more stable.

[Theoria]

'Securing a successful U.N. peace process, getting Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power, ridding Syria of Iran's influence and eradicating all weapons of mass destruction in the country.'

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

On NPR this morning they were trying to make the case that it “may” violate international law.

"It?"

[robroys woman]

Our open ended presence.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

It may be possible to get the UN to vote for a peace process, but if the US insists on removing Assad, I don’t think so.

[Real Cynic No More]

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’d prefer that announcements about the military be made by SECDEF. If something involves both the State Department and the Department of Defense, both SECDEF and the SOS should be present to make the initial announcement. The State Department has risen to way too much dominance in the hierarchy of government administration, in my opinion, and mistakes caused by its arrogance and bureaucracy have been the cause of way too many problems around the world and at home.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

The State Department has risen to way too much dominance in the hierarchy of government administration, in my opinion, and mistakes caused by its arrogance and bureaucracy have been the cause of way too many problems around the world and at home.

Agree. Maybe Tillerson is obsessed with plans for a pipeline through Syria, and he wants to scare Assad into cooperating. AFAIK Trump has not publicly weighed in on this.

[McGruff]

[dynoman]

Do you know how many troops do we have in Syria?

[Thibodeaux]

No, a new nation is being established east of the euphrates. The territory includes that formerly Iraq and Syria.

Strictly speaking, there will be no Troops in Syria

[Mariner]

A fool’s errand initiated by fools.

The only thing they will accomplish is the death of more Americans.

Nothing else.

[Oregon Valkyrie]

Perhaps Trump has some sort of deal with MBS and thus Saudi Arabia on this. Syria/Iran/Russia control of the pipeline could be important in the balance of power. The presence of troops in the Middle East may be a deterrent or a pre-position depending on what happens.

Trump does not change position unless there is a reason for it.

[wastedyears]

Why? Let them kill each other.

[Thibodeaux]

there was a coalition that came to the aid of the Syrian Freedom fighters that included lots of Syrian military. Barack Obama for reasons never stated abandoned the group in the middle of the war. The date in my mind is 2014.

Why? the media never explored the events and never got an answer.

Isis was the result of the Obama abandonment.

[Paulie]

Dear Mr. Secretary,

0bama messed up for sure, but it was George W. Bush who opened that can of worms. And on false pretenses to boot.

And speaking of Condi, did we ever find out why she was asleep at the wheel as National Security Advisor?

[Paulie]

What about the trillions of dollars wasted? Don’t forget that.

[granada]

We know the liberal-leaning NPR is strictly impartial.