Obsession with Turkish incursion obscures US perpetual warfare

It is unfortunate that Turkey's incursion into Kurdish Syria is preventing a long needed debate on removal of all US military from the Middle East. The war party, which hates Trump because he threatens end of US wars, loves deflecting focus from that critical priority. We're killing innocents and defiling the region on a much greater scale than the Turks, yet all the focus is directed on Turkish action, primarily I submit, as another opportunity  to get rid of Trump.  While I long for Trump's removal, successor Pence is a much greater proponent of US militarism in the region, and likely to get even more people killed than Trump and the Turks currently are. 

We can do both,  work to end the Turkish incursion, which we should acknowledge, stems from their belief the Syrian Kurd fighters represent an existential threat to their homeland, and fiercely debate end to US military action in the region. To regain the trust of the world we must stop our slaughter in the region, which dwarfs that of Turkey. 

Getting ‘all out’ of Syria now will help the region…and America

The Trib’s editorial (“3 ways a Trump desertion of Kurdish allies would hurt America”, October 9) whiffs on all three reasons for keeping US forces in that war torn country. The first whiff is that we must stay in Syria to combat ISIS. That was always reason two for US intervention in Syria five years ago. The first always was and always will be regime change of the hated Assad regime. We intervened illegally and immorally without congressional approval, using ISIS as a rationale. By so doing we prevented a quick Assad victory which extended the civil war till this year, adding a hundred thousand or so needless deaths and untold misery to Syria. ISIS is a local problem for the Middle East which can and is being combated by Syria, Russia, Iran, Iraq and Jordan among others; and shouldn’t be by the US, 6,000 miles distant.

Whiff number two is that the US action makes winners out of Russia, Syria and Iran’s leaders. This should not be about posturing for schoolyard supremacy among our rivals. Iran and Russia are neighbors of Syria and have an existential stake in its stability from extremist takeover, regardless of how repressive Assad’s government may be. Demonizing their rulers as “the sordid leaders” does not serve the interests of the region or America. We must embrace sensible diplomacy using respectful engagement with all powers, not valueless name calling.   

The third whiff, claiming loss of US credibility, is a case of trying to close the barn door long after our credibility horse has skedaddled.  We lose all credibility when we use lies and fabrications to intervene in the Middle East, causing millions of deaths, injuries and refugees without an iota of societal benefit.  We lose all credibility when we tear up treaties like the Iran Nuclear Agreement; then impose war like sanctions on Iran that have put the region nearer the brink of war. The Kurds in Syria are not a US ally.  Syrian Kurdish fighters are mercenaries hired to kill and be killed in place of Americans so our forever wars can avoid public scrutiny at home.  This is a transactional relationship that does not carry over to supporting their century long quest to carve out a Kurdish homeland in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.  

The US foreign policy establishment will never find a good time for the US to begin withdrawing from the region. Forever wars, which enrich and empower the military, the munition makers, the political and media elite, are their lifeblood. It is time for a spirited debate on getting out of Syria entirely, along with Afghanistan and other nations suffering under our bombings and meddling.  Putting all the blame on an initial first step to actually withdraw from Syria as a means of stifling that debate is not helpful to the region and America’s national self interests.  

Good time to exit Syria

President Trump has been talking about a US withdrawal from Syria for three years. He got a tad closer with an ambiguous statement the US is vacating a stretch of northern Syria so Turkey can engage Kurdish rebels on Turkey's doorstep. It's unclear if any US soldiers will be removed outright from Syria or just relocated further south, as clarity is never present in anything Trump says or does. He even ludicrously stated that if Turkey did "anything off limits"... he'd "totally destroy and obliterate Turkeys's economy".

The DC war party, including nearly every biggie in the Republican and Democratic parties, has gone berserk over the proposed move, trotting out three doomsday scenarios. Their main concern? Our abandonment of the Kurds will force them to align with our 'adversaries' Syria, Russia and Iran. That would be a good thing as it would remove one more impediment to a US withdrawal. A second reason is concern for the Kurds. Trump's opponents don't care a whit about the Kurds who they claim will now be slaughtered. If they're so protective of about human life, why do they keep funding our criminal wars all over the region killing untold thousands every year. Reason three is the old bugaboo ISIS. This is their fallback defense of US forever wars in the Middle East. When all else fails, dredge up the dreaded four letters ISIS to maintain the endless war franchise.

Please, Uncle Sam, get out of Syria today. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Unhappy 18th anniversary Afghan war

Every September 11th, the government, the media; indeed the entire culture is filled with remembrances of the 911 attacks. But twenty-six days later on October 7th every year, the start of the catastrophic Afghan war, a senseless response to criminal activity of a tiny, obscure group, is ignored. That is a shame. The war has devastated Afghanistan for 18 years and many decades to follow. Its sorrowful toll is untold thousands dead, millions ruined by injury and displacement, over a trillion in cost....and no end in sight. It goes on from US stupidity, perfidy, arrogance, pride and greed. No wonder it's largely forgotten on a daily basis including its anniversary. No presidential contender will mention it on the campaign trail. The president makes noises about ending it; then caves at the slightest protest from the military, the munitions makers, the cravenness pols and pundits who support it.

We should continue to remember the attacks every year on September 11. But lets also trumpet the ruinous Afghan war on its sad anniversary every October 7, till it's ended. Then let us recall it every October 7 as a reminder of America's folly trying to control the world, at the expense of every good priority America should be engaging.