Red Mosquito

wease wrote:So is pulling out of Syria a big favor to Russia before his ship is completely sunk?

96583UP wrote:well if the GOP senators are pissed about it, it must be a good thing for america

McParadigm wrote:and

Bi_3 wrote:

McParadigm wrote:and

Have the twitter thing blocked. All I see is:




Makes this place much more pleasant and I think really adds something to your posting.

96583UP wrote:it's about pulling out

washing machine wrote:

bada wrote:I don't know. There is something to be said for letting our enemies waste their blood and treasure on fighting our other enemies. Let the radicals turn their gaze on Moscow for a while.

Although Russian and Iranian forces had already turned the tide of the civil war in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the presence of U.S. troops has served as an obstacle to their ambitions and a source of leverage for Washington in any potential political settlement of the conflict.

The withdrawal, if carried out, will "provide Iran with solid control over the entire arc of the Levant from Baghdad to Beirut," said Nicholas Heras, Middle East security fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank.

Iran already wields significant influence next door in Iraq, where it has heavily backed Shiite militias and cultivated close ties to the Shiite-ruled government.

Kurdish forces in Syria, which proved a reliable partner for the U.S. military's fight against ISIS, will almost certainly feel betrayed by Trump's move, experts said, and will now face a potential onslaught by Turkish forces that could jeopardize their hold on territory in the northeast.

"The U.S. withdrawal means handing over our necks to Turkey's knives," said a Syrian Kurd, speaking to NBC News from the town of Rmelan in northeastern Syria, near the Abu Hajar air base used for years by U.S. forces.

"My mother is crying on the phone. I feel that my heart will stop," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of concern for his safety.