Probably the right move. Probably later than it should have been. Given the impossible mission, we probably should never have gotten in in the first place. But there's a gnawing feeling that Trump is pulling out because he wants to make Putin happy. So I'm not sure how to feel about this.
It balances out the fail over Ukrane. Time to give Putin back the properties that Obama stole from him.
Backed up by McCain. Bradd Jaffy @BraddJaffy 21m McCain on reports Trump is canceling program to train Syrian rebels: “the administration is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin”pic.twitter.com/rbgj2L1ZzU
I'd like to see how they define "Syrian rebels" . Does that include the loosely defined Kurdish-Arab alliance in the Northeast of the country? Those are technically non state forces and could be considered rebels, even though they're not fighting Assad. Either way having less US involvement there is probably the right thing. I'll give Trump a pass on this, even though his motivations are not in Syria's interest.
Guys. The program is ending for the wrong reasons, but it's still ending. We're not getting involved in another decades-long civil war. We're not making enemies out of the losing side, or the side we opposed. This is a good thing, and if Obama had done it, I would have applauded him. The question I have is what Trump got out of it. He's a transactional man, and cares a lot about deficits of all stripes. Now that we're losing these billions in revenue, what did we get in return? If the American people got nothing, what did Trump get personally?
Who knows if this is over. This operation in SW Syria was a joint US-Jordanian operation. While Jordan won't continue this alone it would continue this if it believes it is in its best interest and gets the support of a benefactor Turkey/Saudi Arabia/Gulf State. None of these nations are supposed to pass on American arms without permission but I'm sure that they all could do so without consequences from the current administration.