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Reuters: Trump may withdraw troops from Somalia as part of global pullback
WASHINGTON/NAIROBI (Reuters) - President Donald Trump may withdraw nearly all U.S. troops from Somalia as part of a global pullback that includes reductions of forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said nothing had been finalized and that no orders for Somalia have been received by the U.S. military. But there appeared to be a growing expectation that drawdown orders would be coming soon.
The Pentagon on Tuesday announced that Trump will reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 by Jan. 15, just five days before his term ends, and cut U.S. forces in Iraq by 500 to the same level.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Reports that the White House will order all US soldiers out of Somalia have been circling for the past few weeks. And as predicted. The US foreign policy establishment are voicing their disapproval .... Trump's Plan to Withdraw From Somalia Couldn't Come at a Worse Time (Foreign Policy)
More News On Reports That The Pentagon Is Preparing To Pull All Soldiers From Somalia
Pentagon plan calls for pulling all troops from Somalia -- Stars and Stripes
Trump Mulling Near-Total Withdrawal of US Forces From Somalia Amid Global Pullback, Report Suggests -- Sputnik
Plan to Pull U.S. Troops from Somalia is Cold Comfort Amid Civilian Toll of Air War -- Amnesty International
9 comments:
During the the Iraq War the Pentagon had metrics and they had a plan. Granted there was not a plan for post invasion , when we went in but within a year (two at the most) there was a plan to turn over all patrolling and policing duties to the Iraqis. O5's and O6's were giving presentations to O4's and below detain what territory the Iraqi Army(IA) would patrol and how that territory would increase until the IA was not patrolling everything with the US as a backstop. By 2009 that mission was accomplished.
Having signed on the dotted line, they could have just ordered us to go. They did not have to give a presentation with metrics. But they wanted buy in. They got it.
There was also talk of WMDs and testing river water to look for trace chemicals of production. Much as the US can send aloft a n aircraft above South Korea to test for isotopes related to bomb manufacture. There were teams looking for past manufacture of WMD's in Iraq and they found those traces.
I believe that the US has to defeat Al Shabaab. We have nit defeated Al Shabaab in 8 to 14 years. AS one former SOF contributor at SOF.com wrote "IF you have not defeated your enemy in 3 years, you are training them." This is a sound comment is a variation or corollary of Nietzsche's comment of "That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.
The SOF guy is a SME.
Nietzsche is a smart guy.
Yet, these unvarnished assholes in the establishment piss and moan about Trump. These establishment types are bitter clingers.
They cling to policies that do not work. All I can see is that they are 1/2 assing the job.
Maybe if we pull everyone out and start tabula rasa, we can have a frank discussion of how many people we need, how much it will cost and how long it will take. Saying you are in for a duration is borrowing lingo and borrowing form an attitude and using it as a policy that makes a good sound bite, but they do not have their heart in.
The people complaining do not have a detailed plan. All plans go to hell, but you adjust. People had plans for a war against Japan in the 1920's or 1930's. These people were not only the Department of War, but journalists (Bywater), who knew the subject matter. In the Pacific they had a plan before the war and they kept updating it.
In Europe they had a plan in WW2 by 42 or 43. They know that, if they invaded North Africa to assist the Brits, it would delay the cross Channel invasion by a year and the whole war by 1 year.
It is not hard to come up with reasonable plans and communicate some of it to the public. Pompei cleared the whole Mediterranean Sea of pirates in 6 months to a year. All he had were rowboats. He divided the Med into zones, cordoned off the zones and made sweeps. Some pirates he killed and others he read the riot act.
If we cannot defeat several thousand AL Shabaab in a country surrounded by friend (to the US) allies and with good access to the Sea, how how we going to win in Pakistan where the Pakistanis train the Taliban and charge us $1,000 to $1,500 per truckload for the privilege of us supplying our troops in Afghanistan?
General Mattis had grounds to bitch some. He walked the walk, His son was in Afghanistan. These diplomats what are they doing? Do they have skin in the game? Actually they may have skin in the game, if they are like the diplomats in Ukraine, who were diverting some of the aid money.
IF we pull out, it puts a stake in the ground. Then if they want to go in, they have to make a case. They cannot use the the excuse that they inherited it.
I was against going into Darfur. We would apply just enough force to suppress the murderous thugs, but not enough to defeat them. As soon as we let up, they will pop back. Meanwhile the Left's antiwar crowd will being tearing up America in protest to the DNC's glee. Then other Leftists would make large 6 figure salaries working for nonprofits to bring in refugees while blaming the US.
"If yo have not defeated your enemy in three years you are training them." To express this another way if your enemy has not defeated you in three years they are training you.
Why exactly would we want to test for bomb making isotopes over South Korea? This makes no sense unless it is being used to test for something in South Korea. We should be encouraging Sou8th Korea to develop a robust nuclear deterrent as this would level the filed so to speak.
When I elected Trump, one of the things I looked at was his foreign policy hoping he would do something to end these pointless foreign operations that not only don't advance our interests but actually undermine them all while wearing our forces out for no good reason. Somalia is a proverbial poster child for such things. Of course I prefer a foreign policy like what New Zealand, Canada, or Australia has. While there perhaps are times and places where we may need to intervene, very few of the places where we are involved seem to fit this type of situation. I kind of liked Trump's foreign policy record of no new wars. Of course the economic record prior to unforced errors of the lockdowns in relations to the COVID panic was good too. While unlikely, perhaps he prevails in the courts.
"To express this another way if your enemy has not defeated you in three years they are training you."
It is reciprocal. This is true. However, American generals operate under considerable restraints. Pakistanis military and agents can enter Afghanistan, but Americans cannot reciprocate. You can know, but knowing is not enough.
Why exactly would we want to test for bomb making isotopes over South Korea?
http://myifrugeog3232.blogspot.com/2011/11/blog-2-fronts-and-air-masses.html
Troll school needs to beef up its basic science curriculum.
You know if you dip your toe in the water along a river bank and come back the next day and dip your toe in the river again, it is the same water. I learned this is a 12 grade Russian science book.
https://apnews.com/article/d620f9b5c6fd4522afbf7a596bb07bf3
"The Latest: Radioactive gas found after North’s nuke test"
"South Korea says it has found a small amount of radioactive element from air samples it collected following North Korea’s latest nuclear test.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said Wednesday the discovery of xenon-133 isotope is linked to the North’s bomb test conducted in its northeast on Sept. 3."
Thank you for the reply, however, I do not appreciate the troll insult. I am trying to learn. Perhaps we have a difference of opinion in some areas but I don't think this warrants insults. Maybe I am wrong. Thank you for the links. I will pursue them.
From your post, assuming I am understanding correctly these flights over South Korea are designed to test for North Korean activities. Perhaps this makes sense that the US and South Korea work on this together.
I've long had a problem with the ROE. Obviously to "reciprocate" risks massive US casualties which could and likely would lead to blowback on the US mainland. Now since we can't or won't "reciprocate" then GET OUT NOW!! Actually get out YESTERDAY!! We've already squandered to much blood and treasure.
I'm not sure why you needed the river analogy is necessary. I think any 3 year old will understand this. I would not think it would require a 12th grade science book in any language to learn this.
"Obviously to "reciprocate" risks massive US casualties which could and likely would lead ..."
Not obvious to Tony.
Your response is just more trolling.
I like you calm demeanor in what was obvious fun at your expense. Are you sure about the 3 year old? Sometime between 2 and 3 years of age children learn about contamination. There is the spider in the milk experiment, so when you say that it is obvious to any 3 year old. Perhaps it is not.
In my experience these things are obvious to 2 and 3 year Olds. Now I will try and explain what I meant by "reciprocate." If US forces were to enter Pakistan and cause destruction which might be warranted if the benefits exceed the costs and there's Amerucan interests involved, blowback is risked. The enemy may "reciprocate" by carrying out attacks on the US mainland and the death toll among Americans could be unimaginable. Let's just say more Americans could die in one hour than COVID-19 will ever kill. One must not be cavalier about such actions. These things are fraught with enormous risks. I think it is you you who is the troll today. Given the risks combined with the poor track records of some of these military abd (un)intelligence leaders it's not hard to explain why some elected officials might want to put a leash on them. I'll reiterate since we can't or won't "reciprocate, get out and do it now.
"If we cannot defeat several thousand AL Shaabab..." the US military leadership seems completely incompetent which likeky means that overall strategy and tactics aren't good either or at least aren't adequate to defeat this enemy. Hopefully we are learning something here!! If your enemy hasn't beaten you, they are training you if you're willing to learn!!
It seems obvious we either can't or won't win in Somalia. Rather than squander more blood and treasure get out now or as my grandfather put it "when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging!!"
Troll Be Imposter is very good at digging.
Anon (8:47AM),
I am not sure what the source of your animosity towards me is. Did I offend you in some way? If I did, I would like to know what it was. If amends can be made, I would like to do so. I think you know how to find me.
I actually think we are mostly in agreement. "Yet these unvarnished assholes....are bitter clingers." "They cling to policies that do not work." One definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. What's worse their policies are placing the lives of my loved ones in grave danger!!
More on "if you enemy has not beaten you in three years, they are training you." What have we learned? If we examine what and where the real threats to America are we might see that they are trying to keep us in places like Somalia and Afghanistan. Perhaps this suits their strategy as we are constrained from dealing with the real threats.
The "digging" reference was in regards to continuing the same policies that haven't worked and will not work. As continuing these policies only further saps our strength and further depletes us of both blood and treasure, its time to discontinue them. STOP DIGGING!!
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