Victory for Forever War by the #McResistance

The pragmatic, centrists of the McResistance have defeated President Trump in his effort to end our illegal war and occupation of eastern Syria. Hurray?

President Donald Trump’s reversal on plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria came after he was convinced European allies wouldn’t remain on the battlefield without American support, risking a resurgence of Islamic State, according to a senior administration official familiar with the decision.

The U.S. will keep about 400 troops in Syria, split between forces in the northeast and the Al-Tanf base in the south, according to the official, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations.

Republicans like Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, and Bill Kristol have led the effort to keep our troops in harm's way, but so did the Democrats.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s announcement a “Christmas gift to Vladimir Putin.” Sen. Tim Kaine, a leading critic of the executive branch’s abuse of its wars powers, wrote in a statement, “This irresponsible move by the President poses a serious threat to servicemembers as they conduct a hasty withdrawal in an uncertain security environment.” Rachel Maddow devoted a segment of her show on Wednesday to the argument that Trump might be doing this to distract from the latest Mueller investigation news. The New York Times editorial board, which has raised alarms repeatedly about the “forever wars,” wrote on Wednesday that Trump should listen to his more hawkish advisors—that withdrawal from Syria would be a gift to Putin and an abandonment of America’s Kurdish allies.

A few weeks ago, the Senate approved a bipartisan bill rebuking Trump for wanting to withdraw the troops.
However, the McResistance won't be satisfied with preventing an end to just one war.
Selection_003_15.png

South Koreans are learning the hard truths expressed in the protest music of Phil Ochs from the darkest days of the Cold War. “When it comes to times like Korea, there’s no one more red, white, and blue” than the American liberal, he sang in one of his most biting verses.
...As US diplomats prepare for the second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un next week in Hanoi, senior Democrats in the House and Senate, joined by a few Republicans, have been sounding alarm bells, warning that South Korean President Moon Jae-in is moving too fast in reconciling with North Korea by seeking a premature lifting of sanctions on the nuclear-armed state.
...Top Democrats, however, oppose such moves. Last week, Senator Bob Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the powerful Foreign Relations Committee, joined Republican Ted Cruz in sending a strongly worded letter to Trump that directly attacked President Moon’s push for closer economic ties with North Korea. They urged the White House to rein in the US ally by committing “the full weight of the U.S. government to ensuring the integrity of the sanctions regime.”

Senator Menendez is also the author of a resolution, now under consideration in the Senate and House, promoting the trilateral military alliance between the United States, Japan, and South Korea, which is highly unpopular among Koreans.

Hurray for saberrattling! And it's working too.
Trump has said that withdrawing American troops from South Korea was not on the agenda of his summit.

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

up
0 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

up
0 users have voted.

chuck utzman

TULSI 2020

dystopian's picture

Whooda thunk 50 years ago the Democrats were going the be the war party? But they really are now the party of war. See Obama's bombing and drone program. See all of them fight every step of the way for every skirmish they can create, and create them where there were none. It is our business now, the business of America. We export the idea of war and the equipment to have one with. The Dems like the Clintons, Obamas, DiFi, Schmancy Nancy, etc. ad. infinitum, all profit some way from it, and so promote it. Just like the media.

Besides a few I can count on one hand without using many fingers, all the Dems are for war now. It is hand and hand with Wall St. as perhaps the greatest single source of profits. There are more Republicans with the most excellent Libertarian anti-interventionist view then there are Democrats.

The party was stolen from the peace movement by these money mongers, whom then quickly turned around and holding their stolen party said "your not a real Dem" to those that were and remained so. Good fellas.

up
0 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

As Tim Shorrock has noted, when Western media writes about the Koreas, they in fact never mentione the diplomacy Koreans are doing--as if only the US can make significant decisions on Korea.

The thing about Syria, the Koreas, Russia sanctions, and now Venezuela, it has been a surprising how many people left of center support Trump's war machinations, and viciously attack peace attempts.

But I suspect no change in status. I read a headline where Russians want to build a rail line into Russia to incease trade.

up
0 users have voted.