Thread

For @ArthurPogonatus

I can answer all your questions, even though you're obviously not asking in good faith.

Once upon a time, so long ago that I don't blame you for having forgotten, there was something called the "Islamic State."

The Islamic State took over enormous swathes of Syria.

We sent American troops to help SYRIANS fight the Islamic State.

There were Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) to guide airstrikes, combat engineers to clear minefields, special-operations troops as advisors, and artillerymen to support SYRIAN combatants.

NONE OF THESE PEOPLE HELPED ANYONE ATTACK BASHAR AL-ASSAD'S TROOPS.

Assad lost control of his country. To say that we're there "illegally" is false.

I quote Article 51 of the UN Charter:

"Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right to individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a state."

The Islamic State was operating with impunity from Iraq and Syria.

Members of the Islamic State attacked the US, its citizens, and its interests.

Our right to self-defense allowed us to enter a part of Syria where Assad had lost control.

Period.

Secondly, Assad is a state sponsor of terrorism.

State sponsors of terrorism get to take their lumps when we decide to straighten things out.

We haven't overthrown Assad. What we did was help SYRIANS defend themselves against the Islamic State.

We remain at the Syrian-Jordanian border crossing of al-Tanf in order to defend our allies and our interests from Syrian, Iranian, and Russian aggression.

We they stop messing with us, we leave.

Simple.

Finally, the demand to hightail it out from all over the world is childish.

The Syrian Civil War started in 2011.

@realDonaldTrump said he'd bring home our troops, but again, there was an event that happened so long ago that I can understand why you can't remember it.

Barack Obama pulled ALL our troops from Iraq in 2011, and within weeks the Islamic State had retaken all the territory it lost when we were there.

In 2014, we had to go back to Iraq AGAIN.

Tell me: Why do people like you always insist on multiple trips into hell?

How about THIS:

We stay until the situation is such that we never have to go back and fight again?

It's an idea so insane that it just might work!

After World War I, we said, "Screw the world. Not our business."

Guess what else happened?

To make sure that we never got the urge to go overseas again, we unilaterally disarmed.

At one point, the army was down to 100,000 men.

Did the rest of the world leave us alone?

It did not.

The Japanese told us that we had to keep supplying them with oil to overrun their neighbors.

When we refused, they attacked us.

The Germans told us that we had to allow them to conquer all of Europe.

But we liked Europe the way it was.

The US was strictly neutral until 1937.

It was ILLEGAL to help any belligerent.

When the Nazis invaded Poland, Congress finally allowed the US to sell munitions to those fighting the Nazis.

Why did we do this?

We saw what was coming.

There was absolutely no way that fascistic EXPANSIONIST nations would create global empires but leave the US in peace.

IT'S STILL HAPPENING TODAY.

We've done nothing but HELP Red China, and what do we get in return?

Escalating aggression. Plagues.

I know that this is a VERY had proposition to accept, Arthur, but certain ideologies can't be appeased.

You can't pay them off or ignore them or ask them to leave you alone.

They WANT that fight.

So sometimes you have to give it to them.

All Assad, Russia, Iran, and Red China have to do is change their behavior.

That's it.

Since they refuse to do that, they get to pay the price.

Whether YOU like it or not.

END