The Pentagon did not know about Trump's plan for withdrawing troops from Syria

[Mrs. Overall]

Link to tweet

Christina Wilkie
‏Verified account

As we suspected, the Pentagon was not informed in advance that Trump would announce an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Syria. Bigger picture: Trump got bored with the shutdown crisis he had created, so he manufactured a new, bigger crisis to take its place.

Katie Bo Williams
‏Verified account

Corker says he just got off a classified phone call with Mattis and says he is now headed to a preciously-scheduled meeting with the president and will now discuss Syria. He says there does not appear to have been any interagency process to the withdrawal decision.

[spanone]

1. don't forget, he knows more than all the generals.....

Last edited Wed Dec 19, 2018, 06:10 PM - Edit history (1)

what a dumbass.

a real estate guy doesn't even consult with the pentagon in a decision such as this? the most dangerous idiot in the world

P.S. none of our allies knew of this either....

[brush]

30. Whaddya know, just what Putin wanted, US forces out of Syria.

trump got his marching orders from Putin before he was no longer president.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. Putin tells his puppet; puppet tells Pentagon

Chain of command, people.

Puppet forgot to tell the Pentagon.

[BootinUp]

3. Trumps gonna learn what a crisis is very soon. Nt

[UTUSN]

4. Just *ONE* thing like this would have gotten OBAMA/CLINTON/CARTER convicted out of office!

[FiveGoodMen]

5. "headed to a preciously-scheduled meeting"?

[luvtheGWN]

19. c and v are next to each other.

Guess the word she meant to type.

[thegoose]

28. But I heard the meeting was just darling...

[Thomas Hurt]

6. Dear Leader need not seek counsel of the peasantry.......theirs is merely to obey.

[brooklynite]

7. It appears that State wasn't informed either...

[gratuitous]

8. Why does the military have to know about any plans?

The Emperor Trump has spoken! It's your job to make his whim your reality. Don't bother the emperor with any niggling details about strategies, transports, and such-like. Just make it happen!

Oh, and if there are any casualties? That's on you, not the Emperor Trump.

[mr_lebowski]

9. So, on the same day he fails on the wall, he DEFEATS ISIS!

And brings home the Troops!

What a coincidence, defeating Isis was like his 2nd biggest campaign pledge ... after the Wall.

Here you go, knuckle-dragging cultists, upset about your wall!

And take THAT, fake news!

TRUMP is a BIGLY SUCCESS!!!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

10. Of course they didn't.

Did Mattis agree to cut off his balls when he took the Secretary of Defense position?

Sheesh.

[rockfordfile]

11. Don't buy it

[Mrs. Overall]

12. What does this mean?

[Docreed2003]

13. Trump has done jack crap in Syria other than a staged bombing of an airstrip

Other than that, he's played Putin's puppet. I have no doubt this move is a play to appease Putin and Turkey while he can still do so

[JHB]

14. I don't think he had anything resembling a plan...

...so much as just up and declared it.

After all, it's not like he respects people who don't spell their name in Cyrillic letters.

[Arazi]

39. Hes being blackmailed by Erdogan over his role in Khashoggis death

Well he and Kushner. He had no choice and besides, this is a massive suck up to Putin so win win eh?

Except the Kurds who've been helping us, they will now be slaughtered

[oberliner]

15. Do you think we should keep troops in Syria?

[Kingofalldems]

20. Not working.

Thread is about Trump and his disruptive leadership.

[Mrs. Overall]

21. Exactly, Kingofalldems. Thank you. This thread is about Trump tweeting large legislative policies

in order to confuse and divert.

He did this last year by suddenly announcing via Twitter the ban on transgender individuals in the military.

My concern is that he could randomly tweet something that could cause major chaos and damage.

[oberliner]

22. The OP is about Trump withdrawing troops from Syria

Do you think we should withdraw troops from Syria or leave them there?

[Kingofalldems]

23. The OP is about Trump not bothering to inform the Pentagon of said moves.

This seems familiar somehow.

[oberliner]

24. Ted Lieu (D): "I strongly agree with the President's decision to withdraw US troops from Syria"

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after it was reported that the Trump Administration would be withdrawing troops from Syria.

"I strongly agree with the President’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria. Congress never authorized the US to go to war in Syria. While going after terrorists is authorized, both the Obama and Trump Administrations went far beyond the congressionally authorized use of force against terrorists.

Moreover, neither Administration had a strategy for Syria. Neither Administration could articulate why American troops were fighting in Syria, what the desired end state should be, nor how we would achieve it.

I repeatedly criticized both Administrations for not having a strategy and for taking war actions not authorized by Congress. I am pleased that this unauthorized and failed executive branch war in Syria will finally come to an end."

https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-lieu-statement-withdrawal-us-forces-syria

What is your view?

[Kingofalldems]

25. Non responsive. You just changed the subject.

[oberliner]

40. Lieu's statement is in response to Trump's announcement about withdrawing the troops

It is directly responsive to the subject.

[maxrandb]

29. I think the only fucking troops Donnie Shit for Brains should control

are made of green plastic with stationary legs and about 2 inches tall.

That's the second time you posted that dumbass question, as if the only choice is either leave troops in Syria, or don't question this piece of amphibian shit that doesn't have the qualifications to play Matells "Battleship" game.

See, you can actually want two things. You can want troops out of Syria, AND want someone other than a fucking moron making life and death national security decisions.

To not even fucking consult with military leaders and then ask a dumbshit question like "do you think we should withdraw troops or leave them there"...

That's the kind of questioning that belongs on Faux News...not DU.

We're smarter than that.

[oberliner]

41. You should read the statement from Ted Lieu on the withdrawal of troops from Syria

He is a progressive Democrat and makes the points more effectively than I can.

And he is certainly not a Fox News type.

[John Fante]

44. His statement said nothing about what this move means

for our Kurdish allies in the region, not to mention ISIS, who have not been defeated, despite Trump's lies.

[John Fante]

33. I don't believe we should send our Kurdish allies to their graves like this, no.

I also don't agree that literally the least knowledgeable man in Washington DC (Trump) made this decision without consulting anyone first. I'm fine with a well-planned withdrawal, not this nonsense.

Trump appreciates your support though. Carry on.

[oberliner]

42. Thank you for articulating the John Bolton / Fox News / Neocon party line

One central criticism of this troop withdrawal from Republicans and Fox is that it is "something Obama would do"

Marco Rubio and Lindsay Graham appreciate your support. Carry on.

[John Fante]

43. I don't care what Fox/Republicans say.

Obama was many things. Soft on foreign policy was not one of them.

It isn't only Republicans criticizing the move: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-syria-us-troops-nancy-pelosi-michael-flynn-sentencing-turkey-a8692321.html%3famp

Trump just hung our Kurdish allies out to dry, and didn't even have the courtesy to give them a heads up. ISIS (who are alive and well, despite Trump's lies) found about this the same day as the Kurds. Nice.

[KPN]

16. OFFS -- anybody s/b able to see this is Individual 1

just following the boss’s orders. Putin’s getting things accomplished while he can. Why isn’t the media making this obvious connection and observation. FFS again!

[LuckyLib]

17. Saluting Putin and creating a massive distraction at a time when the Mueller bullseye is on him.

A continuing circus.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. Now, THAT is tRump's White House incompetence.

Many things in the tRump administration can be assigned to corruption or malice, like the Whiterfish Puerto Rico electrification contract or the 14000 children in concentration camps.

But this is just incompetence.

[Kingofalldems]

26. Kick and rec.

[Demovictory9]

27. of course they didnt..Trump needs chaos

[Kingofalldems]

31. Speaker Pelosi WILL investigate I believe.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/422156-pelosi-draws-link-between-flynn-trump-decision-on-syria

[workinclasszero]

32. Putin did though

And that’s all that matters to his employee, Trump.

[AlexSFCA]

34. putin ordered him to do so

pentagon follows putin’s orders now.

[JenniferJuniper]

35. This can't be allowed to continue

[dlk]

36. When the Commander in Chief is a Draft Dodger...

[machoneman]

37. Btw, it'll be real easy for the military to stall these removals for a long time.

The need to coordinate withdrawals with allies, pack up equipment, actually remove equipment, arrange transportation and a host of other issues. Point is, they'll stall long enough for some sense to come to politicians to talk the Orangeidiot out of it. Much as I'd also like to see us leave, we'd be leaving now in surrender.

[riversedge]

38. Not even informing the Pentagon is dangerous. damn

Link to tweet