Syrian Kurds are close to declaring Independence

#229
#229
Grand Vol said:
I agree the best defense is a good offense.

Now, answer me this...

Exactly what have we accomplished in the 18 years of occupation in Afghanistan? What was the outcome of 7 years of occupation in Iraq?
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Well, the Taliban and Al Qaeda terries would likely agree that their networks and foothold has been pretty banged up.


Grand Vol said:
What will be the end outcome of 5+ years of occupation in Syria?
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We're not occupying Syria, we have number of SF advisors and offer support for the Kurds, who are fighting for the same interests we have.

Grand Vol said:
Why are we occupying nations where the outcome can be predetermined as "we're going to spend an inordinate amount of money and treasure for zero gain because they really just don't want us there"? You've been there, done that and you damn well know like I do nothing will be gained by continual occupation of nations at civil war. I supported the strikes against ISIS and even putting SOF teams on the ground to take out high value targets. I also supported giving the Kurds the weapons they needed to defend themselves (I keep asking that question that's getting dodged) when they were the only fighting force that had a chance against ISIS.
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Again, you're conflating pulling our support and abandoning our allies as no longer occupying, when we were never "occupying" to begin with. Look, I agree in some respects that we shouldn't be putting our nose where it doesn't belong, but offering tactical advice and munitions to an indigenous population that has our same interests, this is a no brainer. fqing them over will come back to haunt the U.S. both in terms of the vacuum this will create in the region that will be filled with ISIS and in our ability to have allies trust us to have their back.

Grand Vol said:
I don't support following up with ground troops with no end in sight. Go over and kick their ass, absolutely. Occupy them? No.
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As I stated, the Global war on terror isn't something you can win in a battle and move on, it's an ideology.
 
#230
#230
Grand Vol said:
I guess I could go and wait with @Septic by his mailbox for my answer.
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You need to have patience, I was getting my teeth cleaned. Now I'm heading back out to the mailbox to wait for the mailman.

Today is the day the mexico check arrives, I just know it.
 
#232
#232
37L1 said:
You have it? What a shame?
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It’s a psychological theory so... yeah, probably to some degree.

I’m an expert in one, relatively narrow, subject. I have some experience in a number of other fields.

The degree of confidence I have in the validity of my other opinions varies significantly depending on how relevant my experience seems and how important the topic is. If I’m going well outside my experience on an important subject, I try to inform my judgement with the opinions of multiple people with more experience and expertise in that particular field. I weigh their opinions based on the validity of their explanation.

If I’m spitballing, I usually include some equivocation.

I don’t come on here and pretend my opinions are imbued with any objective truth and have to be disproven to be invalidated.

I am generally confident in the opinions I postand generally I look to see how well considered the responses are and whether there’s anything I haven’t already thought about. Usually, what I get is a bunch of buck passing whataboutism to the point that maybe I see that when it’s not there, but sometimes you guys surprise me and I see something I hadn’t thought about. Which, in addition to being a relatively decent news aggregator, is why I still read this board.
 
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#233
#233
RockyTop85 said:
It’s a psychological theory so... yeah, probably to some degree.

I’m an expert in one, relatively narrow, subject. I have some experience in a number of other fields.

The degree of confidence I have in the validity of my other opinions varies significantly depending on how relevant my experience seems and how important the topic is. If I’m going well outside my experience on an important subject, I try to inform my judgement with the opinions of multiple people with more experience and expertise in that particular field. I weigh their opinions based on the validity of their explanation.

If I’m spitballing, I usually include some equivocation.

I don’t come on here and pretend my opinions are imbued with any objective truth and have to be disproven to be invalidated.

I am generally confident in the opinions I postand generally I look to see how well considered the responses are and whether there’s anything I haven’t already thought about. Usually, what I get is a bunch of buck passing whataboutism to the point that maybe I see that when it’s not there, but sometimes you guys surprise me and I see something I hadn’t thought about. Which, in addition to being a relatively decent news aggregator, is why I still read this board.
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That is about a fair an answer as I would hope to read.
 
#234
#234
Septic said:
Well, the Taliban and Al Qaeda terries would likely agree that their networks and foothold has been pretty banged up.
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Which happened about 15 years ago. Since that time?

Septic said:
We're not occupying Syria, we have number of SF advisors and offer support for the Kurds, who are fighting for the same interests we have.
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2,000 troops is a bit more than "advisers" and whatnot.

Septic said:
Again, you're conflating pulling our support and abandoning our allies as no longer occupying, when we were never "occupying" to begin with. Look, I agree in some respects that we shouldn't be putting our nose where it doesn't belong, but offering tactical advice and munitions to an indigenous population that has our same interests, this is a no brainer. fqing them over will come back to haunt the U.S. both in terms of the vacuum this will create in the region that will be filled with ISIS and in our ability to have allies trust us to have their back.
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I bolded the portion that is incorrect. We were never "allowed" to send weapons to the Kurds. Those weapons had to be sent to the central Iraqi government and then "distributed" to whomever needed it. You saw how that ended up...

Septic said:
As I stated, the Global war on terror isn't something you can win in a battle and move on, it's an ideology.
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Of which I agree. Again, we need to have the capability to go over and ball kick anyone in their front yard. I strongly support such actions and believe we should be doing that if we are to be the "world's policemen." We have plenty of special operations folks that are real good at killing people and breaking their toys. Let them handle business in the methods they handle business. Or via airstrikes. Or combination. Whichever.

I don't support long term engagements where the end goal is unclear or the ambiguous "national security implications."

My position on this has been clear since ISIS first started rising. Kick them in the junk, give weapons to those who can fight and move on. We do NOT need to occupy another foreign country regardless of how much we might not like their leader. Yes, 2,000 troops makes for an "occupation" regardless of how you try to slice it.
 
#236
#236
Septic said:
You need to have patience, I was getting my teeth cleaned. Now I'm heading back out to the mailbox to wait for the mailman.

Today is the day the mexico check arrives, I just know it.
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Maybe we should consider Uber Eats today?
 
#237
#237
Grand Vol said:
It was a veiled slight at me.

Objective, sure. However, since I won't join the "ORANGE MAN BAD!" train, he's trying to poke my eye.
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I said fair, for him. That is about as good as it gets. You didn't expect to be off scott free did you?

Paraphrasing or reading between the lines:

I know a lot of things. I know I don't know a lot about a lot of things, just enough to argue. If I'm unsure, I do some research that only bolsters my position so I can appear to be "winning" but do admit sometimes that I learn something I wasn't prepared for. GV's posts ain't one of those times.
 
#238
#238
37L1 said:
I said fair, for him. That is about as good as it gets. You didn't expect to be off scott free did you?

Paraphrasing or reading between the lines:

I know a lot of things. I know I don't know a lot about a lot of things, just enough to argue. If I'm unsure, I do some research that only bolsters my position so I can appear to be "winning" but do admit sometimes that I learn something I wasn't prepared for. GV's posts ain't one of those times.
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He still hasn't explained fully what National Security risks are at stake in northern Syria.

Or the fact his stance on the matter is directly in line with John Bolton lol
 
#239
#239
Grand Vol said:
He still hasn't explained fully what National Security risks are at stake in northern Syria.

Or the fact his stance on the matter is directly in line with John Bolton lol
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It is amusing how positions have changed depending on what Trump does, for both sides of the argument.

See I told you, I'm "Libertarian", I get to throw rocks at everybody from my high pedestal.
 
#240
#240
37L1 said:
It is amusing how positions have changed depending on what Trump does, for both sides of the argument.

See I told you, I'm "Libertarian", I get to throw rocks at everybody from my high pedestal.
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I've been pretty steadfast in my opposition to doing anything in Syria. I was accused of being anti-Obama when he intervened, yet crickets since I have continued to oppose under Trump. Since Trump announced the withdrawal, I'm now accused of being a Trump sycophant because I support the measure because we had no business being there in the first place.

Crazy world.
 
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#241
#241
Grand Vol said:
I've been pretty steadfast in my opposition to doing anything in Syria. I was accused of being anti-Obama when he intervened, yet crickets since I have continued to oppose under Trump. Since Trump announced the withdrawal, I'm now accused of being a Trump sycophant because I support the measure because we had no business being there in the first place.

Crazy world.
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Start with the Bush Administration and blame it for the CF. Once you have done that, realize the debt we owe the Kurds, which we have to continue to support, is an obligation at this point and pulling our troops is just stupid. It is void of any strategic logic.
 
#242
#242
Mick said:
Start with the Bush Administration and blame it for the CF. Once you have done that, realize the debt we owe the Kurds, which we have to continue to support, is an obligation at this point and pulling our troops is just stupid. It is void of any strategic logic.
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So, Bush is entirely to blame for the Democrats whipping up support for withdrawal from Iraq and forcing that into a ballot issue?

Yes, we do owe the Kurds a debt of honor. We should have forced the issue in the aftermath of OIF and given them an autonomous homeland in northern Iraq.

Now, explain to me the strategic significance of northern Syria...
 
#250
#250
Former CENTCOM commander Gen. Votel
"The abrupt policy decision to seemingly abandon our Kurdish partners could not come at a worse time. The decision was made without consulting US allies or senior US military leadership & threatens to affect future partnerships"
 
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