Op-ed:
Leaving Syria...A Huge Mistake
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor /
Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio
Author's Note: This article was written a full
week before yesterday's meeting between Sen. Graham
and President Trump where they discussed a "possible"
reevaluation of our troop withdrawal from Syria.
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Let me start by saying that I support
President Trump one hundred percent even if I do not personally agree
with every decision he makes, and that I will wholeheartedly support
him in 2020. With that said I must admit that at this point in time I
disagree completely with his decision to pull out the two thousand
American ground troops currently stationed in Syria. And what's even
more surprising is that I find myself agreeing with now former
Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis, the very man I believe was
and might still be to some degree an islamic sympathizer as was and
probably still is former National Security Advisor Gen. H.R.
McMaster...I've even written articles to that affect and here is but
one: The Manipulation of Willful Ignorance.
However, I have always stated that Gen.
Mattis is a great military tactician and strategist, logistics wise,
and in the case of Syria he truly understands that by withdrawing
American troops at this particular time leaves open the likely
possibility that not only will ISIS regroup and become even more
powerful and far-reaching than they were before our withdrawal... sort
of like they did when Obama prematurely pulled us out of Iraq in
2010...but that a dangerous situation will be created where both Iran
and Russia will become the dominate political force within the Middle
East...an area we can ill-afford to lose what with Iran on the verge
of becoming a nuclear power...and don't let anyone try to fool
otherwise.
And if it wasn't for Iran stirring the
pot in Syria, ISIS would not have made the inroads that they did and
Bashir al-Assad's secular government might still be in somewhat
unopposed control...as in no unchecked mass migration would have occurred and Syria's Christians would still be able to worship as they
so choose. And while that is a truth President Trump might see he
still refuses to acknowledge that Iran alone is the true ground zero
of all current Middle East contention. Destroy the Iranian islamic
regime...with Israel's help of course...and ISIS and other terrorist
groups will fall for with Iran gone so goes their chief source of
funding.
But this latest political
brouhaha...which came to a head on December 19th with Gen. James Mattis
resigning his position as Secretary of Defense...seems to have started back on
December 14th when President Donald Trump reportedly received a
phone call from Turkey's President Recep Erdogan, and suddenly our
president decides to now withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria and transfer the
responsibility of combating insurgents in Syria to Turkey...a fellow
NATO member. Now going against Mattis, the military experts,
and the generals on the ground's advice not to withdraw from Syria,
Trump tweeted that, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only
reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” This
was a huge mistake as
was Trump's even speaking to Erdogan, and from there, in my
opinion, it all went downhill just like it did when President George
W. Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq before
said mission was actually “accomplished” and the
hard-fought for peace could be kept.
And the negative feedback from many
began...something Trump did not expect what with disengaging the U.S.
from Syria being one of his campaign promises now kept. But why all the negativity and why is it still ongoing... because...to put it bluntly...Gen. Mattis is right in that ISIS is not defeated
in Syria no matter our president's words to the contrary for it's
been estimated that there are now between 12,000-14,000 ISIS
fighters and their supporters in Syria and Iraq “sleeping,”
if you will, waiting to be wakened once we pullout of Syria. And
while ISIS' reputation has somewhat been compromised and its ability
to recruit new members slowed down to some degree, know they are
still capable of recouping both their reputation and territory lost in the
what will be the relative vacuum left by the U.S. withdrawal...a
withdrawal that will be complete within 60 to 100 days from my
writing this very article.
And with ISIS being able to regroup,
reorganize, and fight on by using what is known as the “swarm
technique”...as in overwhelming the defenses or lack of
defenses of their principal targets what with U.S. troops then being
gone and doing so via synchronization of its members and
operatives...ISIS will be able to wreck havoc once again not just in
Syria but throughout the Middle East and Europe as well, and possibly
even bringing that havoc here to America's shores...as in another
9/11 but this time ISIS-style.
So while Sen. Graham is more than just
a bit correct in his saying that President Trump's decision does
indeed make the U.S. "dramatically less safe," I'll
now bring something or should I say someone into the mix that few are
speaking of...the Kurds. With our withdrawal the Kurds will be left
like lambs to the slaughter no matter that it has been they who have
helped assure that key ground progress to date has been made against
ISIS in Syria and done so with the help of American airpower...which
we still don't know if that too will be fully or partially withdrawn
once our troops are gone.
Simply, if not for the Kurds, Syria
would now most likely not be under Russian control as many feared but
under far more dangerous Iranian control.
And it's the Kurds...brave warriors who
have stood by America throughout the long years of our engagement in
the Middle East...who I believe are being left to fend for
themselves...not deliberately by President Trump of course but
because our president does not fully understand that those he is now
putting his faith in are those with fingers crossed behind their
backs. And again, here I'm speaking to Turkey and its islamist leader
Recep Erdogan who will see to it that Syria's Kurdish militias are
slaughtered by Turkish military power within a very short period of
time, after all Turkey tried it before. Remember back to January 20,
2018 when Erdogan launched a major air and ground offensive against
the Kurdish Peoples Protection Unit (YPG) in Afrin, Syria...they
failed then but they will not fail now...not with Erdogan publicly
vowing just two weeks ago to “drive out” the U.S.-backed
Kurdish militias from Syria.
And if this happens...as many Kurds
fear...it will be on America's head for it's our presence in Syria
that is keeping the Kurds safe from Erdogan's “revenge”...with
“revenge” being the operative word.
And why is that...
Because Erdogan is not only not a
friend of the Kurds but he is also not a friend to the U.S. as
witnessed by these very words he said right before launching the
above stated attack in Afrin, “A country we call an ally (the
U.S.) is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders...what can
that terror army target but Turkey? Our mission is to strangle it
before it’s even born.” And this is something President Trump
should have known, along with the fact that once our military is gone
from Syria, Turkey will most likely invade again and this time
successfully occupy the border zone the Kurds currently hold...the
very area separating Syria from Turkey.
And Trump's not seeing this as fact is
truly sad because if not for the Kurds the retaking of Kobani...the
supposed turning point in the campaign to defeat ISIS in
Syria...might not have happened nor might the retaking of the Arab
city of Raqqa. And President Trump needs a reminder that the success
in Raqqa is what afforded U.S. deployed Kurdish fighters in the Deir
al-Zor province the ability to “liberate” Syria’s main
oilfields from ISIS control, which in turn led to our Kurdish allies controlling over 25 per cent of Syria's territory.
Now also remember that it was Recep
Erdogan himself who said a little over a year ago that, “Turkey
will never accept a U.S. alliance with the Kurds,” and that
Syria's Kurdish militias...known as the People’s Protection Units
(YPG)...the military wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party...are
nothing but a direct offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)...the
very party Erdogan still claims is a terror group, a major threat to
Turkey’s security, and a drain on its economy...a drain to date of
between $300 to $450 billion (U.S.), mostly spent on military costs.
And so Turkey's battle continues on
with the Kurds...who are mostly secular or Christian...and who want
an independent and autonomous Kurdish state where they can live free from persecution by those that surround them. Fighting for decades
against both Turkey's repressive government and Turkey's refusing to
give up any of the disputed territory between Syria and Turkey for a
said free Kurdish state (Kurdistan) has led Turkish political analyst
Hoshang Waziri to say that the Kurds recent territorial gains in
Syria along Turkey’s border, coupled with their increasing
political legitimacy in the eyes of the West, has made the Kurds a
bigger threat to Turkey in general than ISIS is in specific.
In other words, to Recep Erdogan ISIS is America's war
not Turkey's.
And yet this is the country and it's
leader that President Trump mistakenly believes will help in the
fight against ISIS returning to Syria when it's the Kurds who Turkey
cares more about defeating than they do about defeating ISIS...who
truthfully are their islamic brethren in arms. Defeating the Kurds in
Syria translates into defeating Kurdish opposition groups in Turkey
or so Erdogan thinks.
So while the Kurds are U.S. allies they
did keep some lines of communication open with Damascus because of
the dead-end with Turkey. And with the Kurds wanting autonomy in the
regions of Syria that they currently hold and with Damascus of course
seeing this as not doable, political experts now believe that the only
way to prevent a Turkish invasion of Syria...an invasion whose prime
goal is to eliminate the Kurds...is to use the U.S. withdrawal as the time frame by which to revert Syria back to the way it was before its
civil war began, And this means the Kurds would not only have to
return all currently held territory to Bashir al-Assad's government
rule, but that they would also have to physically vacate the border
zone and submit to Syrian army command and control.
Also, as per Turkey's wishes, the Kurds
would have to stop speaking of Rojava (The Democratic Federation of
Northern Syria (DFNS) that was and still is referred to as Rojava),
and remove Kurdish flags and portraits of opposition leader Abdullah
Öcalan in exchange for restoring Syrian sovereignty along its
northern border with Turkey. In other words do as Turkey wants and as
Damascus demands or Turkey will invade the border and Damascus will
look away as the Kurds are slaughtered...self-serving political
blackmail if you ask me.
And President Trump should know all
this...and maybe he does...yet he still decided to withdraw American
ground troops from Syria...possibly on Erdogan's advice...thus
leaving our Kurdish allies in eminent danger. But there is an
option...a truly face-saving option... that could still be implemented
before the 100-day timetable for our departure is reached, no matter
Trump's stating that he will pound ISIS from Iraq if need be. And
that option is to rescind the withdrawal order...to hell with
Erdogan...and relocate the 2,000 American troops on the ground, along
with their heavy equipment, to the Kurdish held side of the
Syrian/Turkish border. Not only would their presence be a strong show
of force but it would send a strong message, especially to Turkey,
that America does not abandon those who stood by her...Rand Paul's
version of isolationism be damned.
And it's that very show of force that
would keep Erdogan and his government forces in check. And
why...because Recep Erdogan is smart enough to know that if he dared
to tangle with American forces he'd be tangling with America herself,
thus possibly risking the escalation of what still is a regional war
and turning it into a war with America proper...a war that most surely would not
end well for Turkey.
And while the Kurds are of prime
concern, as they should be, there are other countries our troop
withdrawal will affect...key of which is our staunchest ally Israel
for Israel shares a highly contentious border with Syria...as in the
Golan Heights. And while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has stated that our military withdrawal from Syria will not affect
Israel's "existing policy" towards Syria, he let it be known that
Israel will continue its campaign against Iran's attempts to
“militarily entrench itself in Syria” and that Israeli
military actions will be “expanded” if need be.
If need be being if Israel's security
is breached.
However, Netanyahu clearly let it be known
that Israel's cooperation with the U.S. will continue “in full”
in the areas of
“operations, intelligence and many other security spheres," which does sound good in theory but will
it play out in reality. That's something we have to wait and see for Russia's presence in Syria has created a
scenario in which Israel was basically forced into a dialogue
with the Kremlin in order to prevent friction between their two
countries, with the hopes that Russia understands Israel's security
needs.
So while it now seems that Russia does understand, that
understanding is causing a major rift between Russia and Iran with Israel
being the cause of the rift, Syria being the recipient of the rift's
fallout, and Russia possibly being the rift's biggest loser of all
for Russia will never secure as their own the much wanted Port at Tarsus if Iran was ever to gain control of Syria.
And while many will not admit it, it's
our presence in Syria and our alliance with the Kurds that is keeping
Iran somewhat in check. Now add in that while many world leaders
continue to talk tough about Iran, we must never forget that Russia
is still a key player in the Syrian game. But no matter if it's
because of Russia or because of Iran the fact remains that leaving
Syria at this point in time should not be an option for us. Too much
is at stake for our president to make a decision based upon misguided
advice...advice which has us not only abandoning those who helped us
the most, but has us kowtowing to both isolationists at home and
Levant seekers abroad, which could possibly trigger an even
broader conflict that very well might be the downfall of us all.
So like I said in the beginning, I will
continue to support my president even while I do not agree with him
on this issue, but I do hope President Trump realizes that not only is his withdrawal order wrong on so many critical levels, but that it appears
he's been “had” by Recep Erdogan, a man who is a master in the art of
taqiyya...need I say more.
Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.
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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article .
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In four more days...Friday, January 4th from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori return to the air with the hard-hitting news show you have come to expect. Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/
