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The Trump Presidency: Part 17

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Segnosaur said:
Unfortunately for him, the 'accomplishment' he is trying to push is one that many of his supposed supporters think is a big mistake.
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Doesn't matter, if he gets that kind of response, he'll find another distraction, maybe even say he didn't order the troops out, he was only thinking about it.
 
Captain_Swoop said:
It seems that the State department and the Pentagon say there is no major shift in US policy; that only a handful of US troops have been pulled back for their own safety, fearing some Turkish move. And they insist that this administration, including the president, stands firmly against any further Turkish move across the border.
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They are going to stand firmly against Turkish incursions across the border by getting our troops out of the way?

Yeah, that sounds like the sort of military maneuver Trump would come up with.
 
And if you want any more proof that Trump is truly delusional, I give you his
Great and Unmatched Wisdom statement.
The man is truly delusional.
 
smartcooky said:
I agree.

This definitely looks like a "look, a squirrel" move to me.
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WilliamSeger said:
The way you can tell that we're past "peak Trump" is that it isn't going to work this time.
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Skeptic Ginger said:
Doesn't matter, if he gets that kind of response, he'll find another distraction, maybe even say he didn't order the troops out, he was only thinking about it.
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I think it's more of throwing a dead cat on the table. Eventually, they stop being a distraction and start being part of the narrative.
 
I honestly don’t get why this announcement on Syria is any different than the one he made last year that prompted Mattis to resign. Has Trump brought back 2 groups, or is this just repeating what was already announced? I also don’t know what he thinks he can do to obliterate Turkey’s economy.

When people compare Trump and Bush II I know the latter comes out looking better, but really not invading another country is something Trump has “accomplished.” But those decisions (e.g. Venezuela) probably have more to do with the reaction he gets from Putin whenever he proposes action against a Russian ally.

Also I read recently he talked about selling U.S. coal to Ukraine which sounds *hugely* inefficient to me.
 
Minoosh said:
I honestly don’t get why this announcement on Syria is any different than the one he made last year that prompted Mattis to resign. Has Trump brought back 2 groups, or is this just repeating what was already announced? I also don’t know what he thinks he can do to obliterate Turkey’s economy.

<snip>
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If I understand correctly the little bit I have seen reported so far, we have a relative handful (the number 150 was bandied about, and similarly small ones) of U.S. troops stationed in the border area that Turkey is specifically intending to go to to deal with those pesky Kurds. Troops which we have had stationed there to help those Kurds in their continuing fight against the remnants of ISIS insurgency.

We're pulling our troops out so that they don't accidentally encounter any Turkish bullets or missile strikes while the Turks are busy trying to wipe out our erstwhile allies, which would create a messy diplomatic situation for Trump and his buddy Erdogan.
 
quadraginta said:
If I understand correctly the little bit I have seen reported so far, we have a relative handful (the number 150 was bandied about, and similarly small ones) of U.S. troops stationed in the border area that Turkey is specifically intending to go to to deal with those pesky Kurds. Troops which we have had stationed there to help those Kurds in their continuing fight against the remnants of ISIS insurgency.

We're pulling our troops out so that they don't accidentally encounter any Turkish bullets or missile strikes while the Turks are busy trying to wipe out our erstwhile allies, which would create a messy diplomatic situation for Trump and his buddy Erdogan.
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I just wonder if he ever actually does the things he says he will. I mean, why does he even bother to announce it? Everything he’s tweeting right now I’m just tempted to write off as another distraction. Even if he also catches flak for that it’s at least a different topic than whistleblower/impeachment. Someone upthread speculated that lack of Democratic response to all his impeachment tweets is making him keep ramping up the rhetoric. If so I applaud Dems for pursuing this strategy and I hope they keep it up.
 
Minoosh said:
I honestly don’t get why this announcement on Syria is any different than the one he made last year that prompted Mattis to resign. Has Trump brought back 2 groups, or is this just repeating what was already announced? I also don’t know what he thinks he can do to obliterate Turkey’s economy.

When people compare Trump and Bush II I know the latter comes out looking better, but really not invading another country is something Trump has “accomplished.” But those decisions (e.g. Venezuela) probably have more to do with the reaction he gets from Putin whenever he proposes action against a Russian ally.

Also I read recently he talked about selling U.S. coal to Ukraine which sounds *hugely* inefficient to me.
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This time, he said we're withdrawing completely, leaving Turkey free to invade and decimate the Kurds. This, after getting the Kurds to tear down defenses and give up heavy weaponry with an assurance that we would protect them.

Until Trump is gone, no country on Earth will assume that the US will act in good faith in any past or future negotiations. But it's a good thing we didn't elect that person who was squirreling away classified documents in her basement.
 
quadraginta said:
The House and Senate have their own process for removal.

​
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Yes, that was mentioned in my post.

The incident I was half-recalling had a more definite ending than I remembered. From Wikipedia's article on impeachment:

In 1797, the House of Representatives impeached Senator William Blount of Tennessee,[14] The Senate expelled Senator Blount under Article I, Section 5, on the same day. However, the impeachment proceeding remained pending (expulsion only removes the individual from office, but conviction after impeachment may also bar the individual from holding future office, so the question of further punishment remained to be decided). After four days of debate, the Senate concluded that a Senator is not a "civil officer of the United States" for purposes of the Impeachment clause, and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.[13][15] The House has not impeached a Member of Congress since Blount.
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Captain_Swoop said:
Trump Tweets

I was elected on getting out of these ridiculous endless wars, where our great Military functions as a policing operation to the benefit of people who don’t even like the USA. The two most unhappy countries at this move are Russia & China, because they love seeing us bogged.....

....down, watching over a quagmire, & spending big dollars to do so. When I took over, our Military was totally depleted. Now it is stronger than ever before. The endless and ridiculous wars are ENDING! We will be focused on the big picture, knowing we can always go back & BLAST!
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Meanwhile, in the real world, Russia and Iran and Turkey want the US to leave Syria so they can impose their own designs on the country without any US soldiers and their allies being in the way. Note that said designs are not in the interest of Israel's regional security, which Trump supposedly cares about.

I love how simplistic his isolationist mindset is and how it so easily lends itself to undermining America's own interests.
 
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TofuFighter said:
trump tweets:

"As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over...
....the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!"

yeah, you guys are great.
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Sounds better if read in Futurama's News Monster's (Morbo the Annihilator) voice.

"I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey!!!"
 
Arcade22 said:
Meanwhile, in the real world, Russia and Iran and Turkey want the US to leave Syria so they can impose their own designs on the country without any US soldiers and their allies being in the way. Note that said designs are not in the interest of Israel's regional security, which Trump supposedly cares about.

I love how simplistic his isolationist mindset is and how it so easily lends itself to undermining America's own interests.
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Which is why I’m trying to understand the rationale behind this announcement. Trial balloon to see how far he can push GOP senators? And ... what could have possibly transpired during that phone call with Erdogan? Trump must have thought there was some upside to announcing this but I’m mystified what he thinks that is. Was Pompeo on this phone call, as well?
 
quadraginta said:
If I understand correctly the little bit I have seen reported so far, we have a relative handful (the number 150 was bandied about, and similarly small ones) of U.S. troops stationed in the border area that Turkey is specifically intending to go to to deal with those pesky Kurds. Troops which we have had stationed there to help those Kurds in their continuing fight against the remnants of ISIS insurgency.

We're pulling our troops out so that they don't accidentally encounter any Turkish bullets or missile strikes while the Turks are busy trying to wipe out our erstwhile allies, which would create a messy diplomatic situation for Trump and his buddy Erdogan.
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I think it might open a can of worms anyway.
The Arab world is not going to react kindly to ANY Major Turkish Incursion into an Arab nation. Memories of Ottoman rule run deep....
 
Someone in another thead suggested Trump was just funning with his "Great and Unmatched Wisdom " tweet.
If so, if was a fail. People are laughing AT Donnie over that, not With him.
 
BTW reaction in Israel to Trump's withdrawal is overwhelming negative; some in Likud are calling it an open betrayal. Anything that destabilizes Syria is not going to over well in Israel.
 
Nice to see Lindsey Graham saying that what Trump is doing runs counter to U.S. national security interests ... though why he expected anything else from Trump is beyond me. Trump keeps telling us who he is ... Graham & McConnell keep making excuses. I wonder who they’re hearing from to make them put up at least a token resistance to Trump. They’re listening to someone. Brennan? Mattis? Why aren’t they obediently kissing Trump’s ass? Is this some manufactured distraction/theater or are they actually serious ... and if so, why now?

This is who Trump IS, how do they not get that?

Well at least Rand Paul applauds the president!
 
Belz... said:
I thought that was elitist and cost the Dems the last election?
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It's only elitist if you think you are smarter than them and they don't agree. If you think you are smarter than them and they agree, then that's just them recognizing their own limitations.
 
Minoosh said:
Nice to see Lindsey Graham saying that what Trump is doing runs counter to U.S. national security interests ... though why he expected anything else from Trump is beyond me. Trump keeps telling us who he is ... Graham & McConnell keep making excuses. I wonder who they’re hearing from to make them put up at least a token resistance to Trump. They’re listening to someone. Brennan? Mattis? Why aren’t they obediently kissing Trump’s ass? Is this some manufactured distraction/theater or are they actually serious ... and if so, why now?

This is who Trump IS, how do they not get that?

Well at least Rand Paul applauds the president!
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Rand Paul is an out and out isolationist.
 
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