The promised America first foreign policy is now dead as a doornail. Well at least John McStain is now happy.
The promised America first foreign policy is now dead as a doornail. Well at least John McStain is now happy.
Sounds like McMaster and the generals are running the show now, at least insofar as foreign policy goes.
Oh well. World policeman here we come... or continue... "for 100 years or however long it takes" as McCain so eloquently put it.
"That tyranny has all the vices both of democracy and oligarchy is evident. As of oligarchy so of tyranny, the end is wealth; (for by wealth only can the tyrant maintain either his guard or his luxury). Both mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms." -- Aristotle, Book V, 350 B.C.E
I missed his speech, but it sounds like he's taking a common-sense approach. Remember that obama pulled out of the Iraq (I think it was Iraq) rather abruptly, before anyone had time to prepare for the exit.....and guess what? ISIS moved in to fill the vacuum (thanks to obama's move).
My guess (and it's only a guess) is that Trump doesn't want to create a similar void, allowing ISIS time and territory to regroup.
We'll see....
"Valar morghulis; valar dohaeris."
Commucrats are most efficient at converting sins and crimes to accidents or misunderstandings.-Oswald Bastable
Making good people helpless won't make bad people harmless.
Freedom isn't free.
"Attitude is the paintbrush that colors our world." TV Series, Haven.
My Spirit Animal has rabies.
I'd rather be an American than a Democrat.
"If you can make a man afraid, you can control him" Netflix Series, The Irregulars
I guess it was better the King Barack way, announce a pull out date, pull out all troops helping keep the peace thereby allowing one of the worst terror groups in world history to take over. Nope!
I challenge any Trump Afghan policy supporter to define winning. Trump says we will fight to win. What the fuck does that mean exactly? Is winning continuing to piss away money and the occasional soldier killed or wounded for the next 20-100 years. Trump said something about metrics tonight. Maybe we can dust off Westmoreland's bodycount metric (sarcasm). If winning is making the Afghans into Americans? If so, it will never happen. With respect to strategy, terrorist groups are not relegated to specific countries and won't be stopped by military action in Afghanistan. IMHO an America first strategy would just focus on keeping these people out of our country.
The mentality that the US is the policeman of the world is one of the reasons we are 20 Trillion in debt.
Trump said he would pull out of Afghanistan. Now he reneges. He said he would build a wall and Mexico would pay for it. When is that going to happen? And when are the Republicans going to bring HR 38 (CCW reciprocity) out of committee for a vote? Probably never. At least we probably got a good SCOTUS pick out of Trump.
The bottom line for me (and I believe I am part of Trump's so called base) is that I have been played.
Many year ago (at an information warfare conference) I listened to a 2 star General giving a presentation on how future wars would be won, i.e., via perception management. I believe this to be true. We should focus more on perception management to win in Afghanistan and elsewhere and less on repeating the Vietnam war approach, albeit on a small scale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perception_management
Last edited by jet3534; 08-21-2017 at 11:18 PM.
What I don't understand is: why can't we just provide assistance for others in the region to take care of the problems in their own backyard? Why do we always have to be the ones to police the world?
Kind of like how we provided so much materiel support to the Kurds to kick ISIS ass and clean-up in Iraq and Syria with much success, without having to set any US boots on the ground (besides a few officers in a purely advisory role)?
Better for locals in the region to learn to deal with their own problems so they aren't always reliant on foreigners from far away swooping in to save the day. (After all, a time may come when we are eventually too financially tapped out to send troops half the world away, so they'll have to learn to "sink or swim" eventually anyway.)
"That tyranny has all the vices both of democracy and oligarchy is evident. As of oligarchy so of tyranny, the end is wealth; (for by wealth only can the tyrant maintain either his guard or his luxury). Both mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms." -- Aristotle, Book V, 350 B.C.E
The Afghanistan conflict is a no win situation for America IMO. If we leave now, the taliban will likely return to power and Afghanistan will become a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and ISIS again. On the other hand we can't stay there forever, as it will eventually bankrupt us. I still support Trump; Afghanistan is just a bad deal no matter what he does IMO.
Iraq has oil so there is something worthwhile to protect from a take over. If some group takes over Afghanistan why should we give a shit? Consider this is a country where things like Bacha Bazi are an accepted practice.Originally Posted by imanaknut
Hey now. Pedophilia is a widely accepted custom in the Islamic culture.
I mean, if the Prophet himself can marry a girl at age six and "consummate" that marriage by age nine, who are we to judge?
"That tyranny has all the vices both of democracy and oligarchy is evident. As of oligarchy so of tyranny, the end is wealth; (for by wealth only can the tyrant maintain either his guard or his luxury). Both mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms." -- Aristotle, Book V, 350 B.C.E
Strange you judge us but not them and I say bring everyone home.
While no one ever listens to me,
I am constantly being told to be quiet.
In a world of snowflakes,
be the heat..
you cant fix something that's been broken over 2000 years.
Get out and let the dune coons kill each other.
PRAISE KEK
FATHER OF CHAOS
BRINGER OF DAY
IN THY WEBBED HANDS WE PLACE OUR FAITH
SHADILAY, SHADILAY!
Now that is what I call a great strategic policy.
We should leave who gives a fuck what happens to it. If it becomes a terror haven well carpet bomb it for a few weeks on an as needed basis.
This is so true. They have been killing each other for so long they don't know any other way, and refuse to see that there might be another way. We in the USA, who value life are going to have to realize that there are some that don't, get the heck out and tell them they are on their own, but if they decide to take their bloodshed here, the mother of all bombs will fall from the heaven just long enough for them to realize, don't mess with us and we won't deliver you to your God.
Sen. Graham Says Those Who Oppose Trump's Surge Will Own 'Next 9/11'
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-0...l-own-next-911
On the contrary, it'll be the US int agencies that allow it to take place who will own the next 911, just like last time.
The int agencies and all who support the influx of jihadists into the country under the guise of refugees.
"And how we burned in the camps later thinking, what would things have been like, if every security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain, whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family?"
Scotus was one of the few reasons I voted for him. We'd be totally fucked already if Clinton won. He's largely being stymied by the R's who promised us all kinds of things. It's actually refreshing to see Trump didn't immediately turn left and join the craps. I never trusted him but so far I'm okay with him.
I'm disappointed that the use of tactical nukes and chemical weapons aren't on the menu for the Taliban-held areas.
Usually sufferers of paraphilic infantilism are proud of their condition. Kinda like being a liberal. Your mental flaws are there for the entire world to see, and you're damned proud of it. - tank_monkey
We all know what the problem is in Astan. They're all mosloms. So this makes about as much sense as if we fought radical nazis to save regular nazis in ww2.
"And how we burned in the camps later thinking, what would things have been like, if every security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain, whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family?"
The Spoils of War: Afghanistan’s Multibillion Dollar Heroin Trade
Washington's Hidden Agenda: Restore the Drug Trade
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-spo...eroin-trade/91
"And how we burned in the camps later thinking, what would things have been like, if every security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain, whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family?"
I think you hit it.
While no one ever listens to me,
I am constantly being told to be quiet.
In a world of snowflakes,
be the heat..
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