Trump let them ethnically cleanse the Kurds just because he could
by digby
Oh look, the troops are staying right where they were:
As many as 600 U.S. troops will remain in northeastern Syria to continue counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State, Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday.
“There will be less than 1,000 for sure,” Milley said, referring to the number present when President Trump ordered their complete withdrawal last month. Trump later was persuaded by national security advisers and congressional supporters, such as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), to retain an unspecified number of troops whose mission, the president said, was to “secure the oil” from a takeover by the Syrian government or militants.
Milley, speaking on the ABC News program “This Week,” said the number of troops that would remain was “probably in the 500-ish frame. Maybe 600.” He did not mention Syrian oil but said “there are still ISIS fighters in the region and unless pressure is maintained . . . then there’s a very real possibility that conditions could be set for a reemergence of ISIS.”
So basically the only reason for the "withdrawal" last month was to allow Turkey to ethnically cleanse the Kurds so they can move other refugees into their towns and Trump can claim he's "keeping the oil" (which the Pentagon just cooked up so he could save face with his base.)
And Republicans just let it happen. I guess we shouldn't be too surprised. The only reason they were so determined to invade Iraq was that they wanted revenge for 9/11 and any Arab country would do. But letting this imbecile get away with this without the slightest rationale other than wanting to please some strongmen to make him feel good about himself is just ... well, you know.
All that suffering, fear and death because this man had a phone call one night and said, "sure go for it." It's madness.
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