Posted on December 27, 2018
Just when you think the best you can expect from our President is that he get through the day without mistaking the Queen of England for the Dalai Lama, Trump hits a policy bullseye.
Specifically, on December 19, 2018, out of the blue, Trump announces the transfer of 2,000 American troops out of Syria. I love the move. I know it’s a fabulous idea because “the let’s fight one more war for Israel” crowd is apoplectic. Anything that causes them heartburn gives me the warm fuzzies.
What we’re talking about is Iran, or Persia, as it has been known for millennia, and its position in the mideast vis-a-vis Israel. The Persians in Iran and the Jews in Israel represent two of the great cultures and contributors to civilization in world history. They have one thing in common… each of these peoples wants at least 200% per cent of what they are justly entitled to. Ergo, enmity and conflict between them.
The winning political formula in Israeli politics is to magnify the threat from outside actors and promise to hit “preemptively” any threat real or imagined. At the same time, keep the US suffocatingly (for US) close by having American friends of Israel throw massive resources into the American political process earmarked to insure that the US finishes problems that Israel starts.
Pretty cool gig if you can pull it off. Israel gets massive US Aid and points us in the direction of countries they would like us to fight. They got their way with the war with Iraq in 2003. Check out Benjamin Netanyahu’s Testimony before a US House Committee September 12, 2002, one year after 9/11. Netanyahu was more than willing to hold our coat while the USA gave Saddam a good thrashing. The fact that there were no “weapons of mass destruction” as Netanyahu promised… well, details, details. C’est la vie. Nobody’s perfect.
Trump’s move to pull troops out of Syria was a not so subtle message to Netanyahu and Adelson and their indentured servants in the US like Bolton, Pompeo, Rubio, Cruz, Graham, and Cotton that he’s hip to the scam. Having our troops operating in Syria where they were likely to encounter Iranian forces who were there by invitation of the Syrian Government ran the risk of giving the “let’s fight one more war for Israel” crowd something to pitch a bitch about. As soon as there was a US casualty…allegedly at the hands of Iran…well, you can imagine the indignant speeches on the floor of the US Senate from Joe Lieberman wannabes. Continue Reading……..
I agree with Tom’s sentiments here but since his post late last month there has been some back peddling.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/31/lindsey-graham-suggests-trump-will-slow-down-us-withdrawal-from-syria.html
Hi Doug…
I saw the backpedalling. It highlights that Trump has two bases.
First, is the base that likes the America First, strong borders aspect of his message. They provide over
95% of his base in terms of voters. And, they are generally against foreign wars where the US does most of the fighting. Second, is his financial base. They don’t go to Trump rallies, they are pro choice and pro gay rights and deal quietly behind the scenes. Sheldon Adelson is their leader. They provide 95% of Trump’s financing and less than 5% of his voters. They back Trump because they think he will do more for Israel than anybody else. The last thing on their wish list is a “preemptive” war with Iran.
I think Trump’s move to take 2,000 troops out of Syria is a message to Adelson, Netanyahu and some of their favorites in the US (Bolton,. Pompeo, Cotton, Cruz, Rubio). The message is…”not so fast, if there is going to be an Iran War it will be on my timetable not yours. ”
I’m sure Trump got an earful from Adelson and others in the contributor base. So, he threw them a bone.
Slow the withdrawal of the troops process down. Give them the feeling they’re getting something for their money.
If Trump really wanted to raise the anxiety level of the contributor base he could drop hints that he has ongoing backchannel discussions with a person or persons close to Iran’s leadership on a number of matters…”we’ll see what happens.”
I think this was the 1st thing Trump has done that made me really happy.
He has a long battle. Lots things domestic and foreign that have been just kicked down the road. A lot like 60’s with race and war etc…Someone has to do the things that make people get out of passiveness.
More back tracking yesterday which now makes me wonder what kind of mickey mouse show they are running in DC.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/06/middleeast/syria-bolton-turkey-kurds-conditional-withdrawal/index.html
This decision cost Trump a high level cabinet secretary (General Mathis) along with a few other senior administration officials. Anything less than an immediate withdrawal from Syria means those departures were for nothing. These folks in charge in DC could screw up a wet dream…..
Bolton and Pompeo are acting like they don’t answer to Trump, they answer to Adelson and Netanyahu. There’s a clip of Netanyahu and Bolton making a joint statement in Israel yesterday. Bolton looks like he is literally shrinking in Netanyahu’s presence. Netanyahu has a look of superiority and smug satisfaction
as Bolton contradicts Trump, the President of the United States of America, his boss, in a foreign country.
Adelson is a force. He’s fearless and he’s smart enough to not draw attention to himself. He has funded an outfit called the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies which lobbies 24/7 for a “preemptive”
hit on Iran. I don’t think Trump is capable of saying no to him.
Be on the watch for an “incident” involving American troops and “evidence” indicating Iranian involvement.
The Iranians have themselves to blame for not speaking up for themselves right here in the USA. The Israelis don’t suffer from shyness.