(01-01-2019, 11:39 AM)Byron LeftTown Wrote: Now Trump is slow-playing the Syrian withdrawal.  Not sure if he is listening to the Neocons or just trying to pacify them.

If you listen to what Trump says you will end up confused.  If you pay attention to what he actually does, things are much clearer.

Meanwhile, the NY Times opinion page says it's time to leave Afghanistan:

No other country in the world symbolizes the decline of the American empire as much as Afghanistan. There is virtually no possibility of a military victory over the Taliban and little chance of leaving behind a self-sustaining democracy — facts that Washington’s policy community has mostly been unable to accept.

While many American troops stay behind steel-reinforced concrete walls to protect themselves from the very population they are supposed to help, it is striking how little discussion Afghanistan has generated in government and media circles in Washington. When it comes to Afghanistan, Washington has been a city hiding behind its own walls of shame and frustration.

While I can agree that we need to slim the Afghanistan presence, I vehemently disagree with their fluff. We have never been at war in that country and never will be. We arrived there to slow down the drug trade and terrorism that grew from certain known camps. Since, we have been attempting to train their forces and show them how to run a legitimate government so that they can take on responsibility. They have grown tremendously! I assure you we do not hide behind walls. We regularly show face in their cities. We shop among their people and spend money in their establishments. In fact, there is a very well known club that people like to frequent. Much like the U.S., there are pockets of garbage that will always be garbage. Striking how little the bashing media circles know or understand about that country.

---