This article in the New York Post by Bob Fredericks depicts President Trump’s reasoning behind pulling US Troops out of the Middle East. Leadership is crucial…the challenge is to combine management skills and leadership ability in the right way at the right time. It is crucial to be prepared, flexible, and ready to handle any wild cards or black swan events. I’m sure the President was briefed thoroughly and has the support of many, including, his military advisers. The Press, and perhaps the President, enjoys singling him out on certain decisions. President Thomas Jefferson believed in reducing America’s national debt, but when France’s cash-strapped Napoleon Bonaparte offered to sell a massive slice of continental America, Jefferson believed that this was an opportunity not to be missed. It was a massive strategic acquisition and decision that highlighted the benefits of boldness, flexibility, and the readiness to pounce. It seems that this is one of those moments. Here’s the report:
President Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to pull US troops out of northeast Syria, saying he was tired of “forever wars” and of having to meet grieving parents of slain service members.
Asked about his decision, which left America’s Kurdish allies in the fight against ISIS to defend themselves from a Turkish military incursion without backup, Trump criticized the Kurds after earlier calling Turkey’s move “a bad idea.”
“They didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us with Normandy,” he said, saying they only fight for “their land” at a White House event in which he signed a government transparency bill.
“With all of that being said, we like the Kurds,” he added.
Asked whether his decision to leave the Kurds to their own defense would harm America’s ability to form and maintain alliances, Trump dismissed the idea.
“Alliances are very easy,” he said.
He also responded to criticism from his usually reliable ally, Lindsey Graham, who along with other Republicans have ripped Trump for the move, calling him a war hawk.
“Lindsey [Graham] and I feel differently. I think Lindsey would like to stay there for the next 200 years and maybe add a couple of hundred thousand people every place,” the commander in chief said.
The president then described what it was like to meet parents at Dover Air Force Base as the bodies of their loved ones are returned.
They at first seem calm, he said, but some later break down.
“Sometimes they’ll run to the coffin. They’ll break through military barriers … and jump on top of the coffin. Mothers and wives, crying desperately,” he said.
- 10/09/2019
- Bob Fredericks
