T. Belman. Upon hearing of Trump’s withdrawal, I tried my best to leave open the possibility that he was doing a good thing. This article expresses what I always thought and now think. I am now hoping that he will be dissuaded from following through.
By Rovvy Lepor, AMERICAN THINKER
President Trump, without consultation with Republican leaders in Congress, announced his planned immediate withdrawal from Syria. If President Trump follows through on his planned withdrawal, it will translate into one of the biggest national security blunders in recent history, will embolden our most dangerous enemies, and will endanger the security of the United States and our allies. A withdrawal from Syria is a betrayal to the forces of good and a great gift to the forces of evil, and it must not happen.
President Trump issued a surprise announcement on December 19 that the U.S. would immediately begin pulling out all 2,000 U.S. troops stationed in Syria. President Trump stated that since the U.S. has defeated ISIS in Syria and he does not wish to leave troops in harm’s way, it is time to immediately withdraw for their benefit and safety. However, if one is a student of history and is attuned to current events, it is abundantly clear that a U.S. withdrawal from Syria will almost certainly require a later return of a much larger U.S. military presence and a major war in the Middle East. This war will almost certainly claim many lives in the Middle East, including a high number of U.S. troops.
In the Middle East, there are many moving parts. Iran is the mortal enemy of the United States and is determined to achieve a large nuclear arsenal. It wishes to bring its mahdi (messiah) through a violent and bloody war on the Iranian regime’s enemies (which includes Europe), and it calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel in regime-sponsored rallies. Iran has a presence in Syria. Hezb’allah has a presence in Syria. Russia has a presence in Syria. And Turkey occupies part of Syria.
All of these forces would benefit from a U.S. troop withdrawal. Not only is the presence of U.S. troops paramount, but the location of the troops at the al-Tanf base is of especially great strategic importance. According to Omar Lamrani, a senior military analyst at Stratfor, Iran cares so much about this military base because it blocks the Baghdad-Damascus highway, which Iran uses to transport weapons to Syria. According to Lamrani, the reason Iran wants the land route “is that it’s easier to bring [weapons] across land in greater quantities, and the shipping route is very vulnerable to Israeli interception, and the air route is expensive and often gets hit by Israeli airstrikes.”
Even though the United States has been successful against ISIS, it is premature to say ISIS has been defeated. According to a Department of Defense report from April-June 2018, there were about 13,000 ISIS terrorists in Syria and about another 17,000 in Iraq. It is important to remember that when U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq under President Obama, it allowed ISIS to form and dramatically increase the threat to Iraq and Syria and rapidly increase territory under their control, leading to the return of U.S. troops to fight ISIS forces. A withdrawal of U.S. forces now could have repeat consequences.
Turkey seeks to further its attacks on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a critically important U.S. ally. Turkey has also encouraged President Trump to withdraw troops from Syria. It is in large part thanks to the Kurdish-led SDF that the U.S. has successfully beaten back ISIS in Syria. The SDF has been at the forefront of the fight against ISIS and must not be abandoned, particularly when Turkish president Erdo?an recently announced that he plans an imminent attack on that group.
According to a report in Al-Monitor, President Erdo?an threatened to launch a military campaign to oust the Kurdish YPG (which leads the SDF) from areas west of the Euphrates. Currently, the Kurds control about 30% of Syrian territory. Erdo?an said he spoke with President Trump and told him the YPG needs “to go to the east of the Euphrates. If they don’t, we will force them out, because they are disturbing us[.] … Since the U.S. is our strategic ally, they need to do what is necessary.” Erdo?an said President Trump gave “a positive response” and noted that Turkey “can start [its] operation on Syrian soil at any moment along the 500-kilometer [300-mile] border, in particular without causing harm to American soldiers … [and] will comb every inch of Syrian territory until the last terrorist is neutralized.” The Pentagon said any unilateral military action in northeast Syria is unacceptable.
Russia praised the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, claiming that it “creates good prospects for a political solution” in Syria. A pullback enables Russia to be the unchallenged superpower in the region and enables Iran and Hezb’allah to be much freer to become more entrenched and dangerous.
Israel will have to counter growing threats from Iran and Hezb’allah without the counterweight of a U.S. presence in Syria, and it will have to study the implications of a U.S. withdrawal. One obvious implication is the likely rapid increase in the arsenals of Iran and Hezb’allah due to the effective opening of the highway linking Iraq and Syria.
In October 2018, Israel’s internal security minister, Gilad Erdan, announced that Hezb’allah’s arsenal of missiles and rockets stands at about 150,000. Hezb’allah has the capability to strike anywhere in Israel, including rockets that can hit the southern city of Eilat about three minutes after launch.
According to an October report from the JINSA (Jewish Institute for National Security of America)’s Gemunder Center Hybrid Warfare Task Force, “Hezbollah possesses more firepower than 95 percent of the world’s conventional militaries and more rockets and missiles than all European NATO members combined.” The JINSA report warns about how a future Hezb’allah attack on Israel would be much worse than any previous conflict. Israel’s recent discovery of a number of Hezb’allah’s cross-border attack tunnels into Israel increases concerns about Hezb’allah’s preparations for war.
According to a report in Der Spiegel, Syria is engaged in a nuclear weapons program near the Syrian city of Qusayr. The suspected nuclear reactor is protected by the Syrian military and Hezb’allah terrorists and poses a serious threat to U.S. forces in the region and U.S. allies. In a recent analysis of the Der Spiegel report, coauthored by David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security (and formerly an IAEA nuclear weapons inspector), the authors write: “Some imagery observations are consistent with Der Spiegel’s reporting. Although we fully understand the limitations and risks of the following approach, we believe that this site warrants inspection by the IAEA.” In light of previous revelations of Syria’s Al Kibar nuclear reactor, destroyed in a 2007 Israeli raid, such Syrian endeavors are no surprise.
There are so many dangers present in Syria and the Middle East and so many threats to the security interests of the United States and our allies that can be properly addressed only with continued direct U.S. involvement in Syria through a continued strong military presence on the ground. A pullout of U.S. troops would be a boon to U.S. foes, including Iran, Syria, and Hezb’allah, and would make catastrophic war that much more likely. The U.S. must serve as a bulwark against these threats rather than surrender to them.
@ honeybee:
Bee you have way too much sting to be hurt by me!
@ Bear Klein:
I would take Yamit82 out behind the hay barn and thrash him, but I am afraid he would enjoy it .
@ Bear Klein:
it’s just that yamit82 need a good verbal thrashing Texas style.
@ Bear Klein:
O my beloved Bear, how can you say that. I am stunned , hurt to the quick
yamit82 Said:
Ah self awareness, .
yamit82 Said:
Until it happens
@ yamit82:
Yamit Honeybee favors you and ignores the rest of us!
@ yamit82:
Some had to defend Bear .
yamit82 Said:
Describe interacting
@ honeybee:
Bout time U showed up
@ Michael S:
You appear to be referring to the war of Gog u Magog 🙂
Of course, I don’t believe in apocalyptic end times myths in either Jewish or christian scripture
Bear Klein Said:
@ yamit82:
yamit82 Said:
That is interesting. just ask me
@ Bear Klein:
Leave Bear alone.
@ yamit82:
continue at …
https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/worried-about-anti-semitism-monitor-your-allies-not-your-foes/
Many Evangelical Christians Conservatives are friends of Israel, then their are those that are interested in relations with Jews for various nefarious reasons (including but conversion or punishing Jews for real or imagined amalgamation of sins).
@ Bear Klein:
I don’t think he realizes but I don’t care I enjoy interacting with true believing evangelicals. I know their scriptures better than they do. Why Jews became so hated by believers in the Jesus-god of love-your-neighbor-as-yourself. It’s not because the Jews killed Christ as the Gospels – mainly that of John – say. It’s because, the theology of evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity holds that Jews know perfectly well that Jesus Christ was the Messiah but they deny him anyway. And how else can this be seen but as a deliberate act of choosing evil? “Who else could do such a thing but Satan and his servants?”
“If you want to know what someone really thinks of you, look at what they’re willing to believe about you.”
@ Bear Klein:
Brief Bible Blunders #10
@ yamit82:
OOOPS Moscow: Israeli air strike hazarded Beirut, Damascus civilian aircraft, weighs extending Syria’s missile shield to Lebanon
@ yamit82:
Michael S, expresses anger or annoyance when Jews or Israeli Jews critique Trump even when they are saying the like him. He occasionally shows his disdain or dislike for Jews especially when they do not concur with his thinking.
@ Ted Belman:
Michael S had more than one occasion of anti-Jewish attitudes expressed in his writings.
Michael S Said:
Christian mistranslation from the Hebrew text…Correct Jewish translation of your verse is :
Ted Belman Said:
Without details of what your information is and the source I have no choice but to hold to my opinion…… I am open minded on this subject but can only deal with the information and facts presented and on record. Trump now in Iraq says troops will remain in iraq but is removing troops in syria.
Huh???? Who the hell is taking advange of America in Syria?? Looks like Trump made a grand deal with Putin from where I sit….
@ yamit82:
If I thought that Trump was doing what you accuse him of, I would have had the same reaction as you. I have been informed that he is not doing what you and others accuse him of. Like I said, I don’t believe he is stabbing Israel or the Kurds in the back.
@ Michael S:
Had you wrote “Is that the way you (Yamit_) understand trust”, it would have been OK. But you wrote, “Is that the way Jews understand trust?” First of all Yamit gave no indication he was speaking on behalf of all Jews. Yet you acted as though he did. Why did you question if all Jews did. Even if you accused some Jews, it would have been inappropriate. What has Yamit’s thinking gort to do with all Jews or even some Jews?
I did not call you an antisemite nor did I threaten to ban you. I merely said your remark was unacceptable.
@ yamit82:
Hello, Yamit. Since you asked,
Exodus 22:
[28] Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
I don’t know how well I’ve done on that one myself; but there it is.
Concerning Syria, we probably differ a great deal. In 2011, I considered it foolish for the Western powers to turn against Mubarak, Qaddafi and Assad. Before the civil war broke out in Syria, mostly because of our interference there, Israel had a creepy but stable northern neighbor. It was the instability, caused by the US and others, that opened the door first to Al Qaeda in Syria, then to ISIS. The Russians then intervened, to protect their client; and for a while, the situation got very dicey.
You know how I believe events will ultimately unfold in Syria, with Turkey teaming up with Iran to attack Israel. The one party there that could impede this development is Russia; but it could do that best if the US withdraws. I see no value in putting American lives in jeopardy in the middle of a country that is engaged in an international donnybrook like this that does not concern us.
Soon, Israel will be able to attack targets in Syria, without danger of accidentally hitting US citizens.
FYI, I do not consider Donald Trump to be the promised Messiah. I’m glad you don’t either.