Free Republic

Neocons, some defense officials, and even Democrats normally opposed to overseas military entanglements all heavily criticized POTUS Donald Trump’s decision to pull all American troops out of Syria, characterizing it alternately as rash, unhinged, or irresponsible. But as is usually the case involving this president, the first impression we were given by the “mainstream” media regarding his decision was incomplete and not based on a complete understanding of the action. As it turns out, one could even say that POTUS acted on the indirect advice of his national security adviser, John Bolton, simply because he was unable to answer one...

Unlike my colleagues, I’ve been a bemused spectator during this week’s Syria follies. As readers of these columns know (see, e.g., here, here, here, here, and here), I believe the United States has less interest in Syria than in the persistence of drought in Burkina Faso. That is why I was a steadfast naysayer on American intervention in a conflict among rivals whose common ground consists of hatred for America and affinity for sharia supremacism (and the abetting thereof — I’m looking at you, Vladimir). The current frenzy was ignited by the president’s abrupt decision to pull U.S. forces (all...