General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWoopsie, trump appears to be losing the Military
Talk about tying the hands of our Generals on the ground and the shame the troops feel ...
Human intelligence networks driven by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces may all but collapse following President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria ahead of a Turkish assault to drive out the Kurdish-led militia.
And limited troop presence in the war torn region coupled with a congested airspace over northern Syria could hamper U.S. air collection assets and loitering surveillance times over suspected ISIS targets.
https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2019/10/18/loss-of-us-intelligence-collection-from-syria-withdrawal-threatens-fight-against-isis/
Amaryllis
(9,524 posts)Don't know if it will happen...but Mutiny on the Bounty.
Miigwech
(3,741 posts)MyOwnPeace
(16,925 posts)when we have to be concerned enough to keep an eye on the military as to how they "feel" or react to anything the "pResident" does?
Don't they do that in "banana republics?"
GAWD, what have we become?
WE HAVE ONE WAY TO WIN - GET OUT THE VOTE!!!!!!!
Miigwech
(3,741 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Miigwech
(3,741 posts)... leaving our allies the Kurds, to be slaughtered ... the grunts and special forces know the truth about trump's lack of VALOR
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Wondering why he made that comment.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,012 posts)blame the 'spline-less Dems' or such.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)getting training to return home and join OathKeepers, Proudboys, III%ers or something.
I know that is not true of all; but, if they supported trump before, the same hatred/desires are still there.
They don't give a damn about the Kurds. Unfortunately, way too many civilians were bashing trump for sending troops into Syria, now they are mad because he's pulling them out (although he shouldn't have given Turkey go-ahead to bomb them or abandon them after commitments were made).
Nm
ornotna
(10,799 posts)After all, Dump will be able to get reliable intel from his strong and powerful friend Vlad. He would be able to give "the best" advice ever.
What could go wrong?
OAITW r.2.0
(24,455 posts)No contest, Trump v. Putin. He owns The Donald.
empedocles
(15,751 posts)lastlib
(23,213 posts)as long as it's in the service of a dictator. Be it Putin, Kim, Erdogan, or whomever else, he loves to serve the dictators, and fuck the democracies.
keithbvadu2
(36,775 posts)Trump puppet Putin MBS Kim Erdogan
dlk
(11,552 posts)We are much less safe now and will be for many years to come.
where are those ISIS followers going to go. We are sitting ducks.
MyMission
(1,849 posts)I heard about this several months ago. Haven't seen anything recently, but I just found this article on the AlterNet. Don't know where it stands, or if it was discussed here on DU.
Voting Rights Roundup: Trumps China trade war may rocket up cost of mailing overseas ballots to $60
BY STEPHEN WOLF, DAILY KOS - 2 MONTHS AGO
"Military and Overseas Voting: Donald Trumps trade war with China has already victimized many American farmers and businesses, but a new group of citizens could soon pay an unexpected price: Voters who cast ballots from overseasincluding members of the militarymay have to pay $60 or more to send their ballots back to the U.S. in order to be counted.
What does overseas voting have to do with trade policy? As Bill Theobald at The Fulcrum explains, the Trump administration is seeking to punish China by withdrawing from the 192-member Universal Postal Union, which for a century and a half has set international postal rates. The UPU allows China to ship packages to the U.S. at a discounted rate, a policy designed to help developing countries that Trump wants to see changed.
To get its way, the administration has placed the U.S. on track to leave the UPU in October, just a month before critical elections in many states. If that withdrawal comes to pass, normal mail service could be disrupted for Americans living abroad. As Tierney Sneed noted in a detailed analysis in June, such voters already face tightand sometimes impossibleturnaround times between when they receive ballots and when they must send them out to meet their states absentee voting deadlines.
Shipping services like FedEx or UPS offer the only alternative, but theyre prohibitively expensive. According to Jared Dearing, the executive director of Kentuckys Board of Elections, it could cost upward of $60 just to send in a ballot, prices that would be paid by both civilians and service members living overseas.
Making matters worse, Sneed now reports that many election officials are preparing to send out absentee ballots just before the UPU meets in late September to discuss Trumps demands. These administrators therefore dont know whether to tell overseas voters to proceed as usual or to expect new issues in terms of the cost and time it will take to send back ballots.aking matters worse, Sneed now reports that many election officials are preparing to send out absentee ballots just before the UPU meets in late September to discuss Trumps demands. These administrators therefore dont know whether to tell overseas voters to proceed as usual or to expect new issues in terms of the cost and time it will take to send back ballots.
Turnout is already quite low among Americans abroad: A study published last year by the Federal Voting Assistance Program found that just 7% of voting-age civilians participated in the 2016 elections. The expense and uncertainty surrounding Trumps conflict with the UPU are only likely to send those numbers even lower.
And while overseas voters may appear to be unintentional victims rather than deliberate targets of Trumps wrecking-ball approach to negotiations with foreign nations, Democrats are likely to suffer more. According to voting expert Michael McDonald, overseas civilian voters are some of the strongest Democratic constituencies, and they well outnumber overseas military voters. That fact can only make it more likely that Trump proceeds on his current course."
He set this up months ago. We have large numbers of military not deployed but still serving overseas.
keithbvadu2
(36,775 posts)A letter to Kurdish soldiers from a US military wife
"Months later, he returned and recounted to me what he could about his experience. I asked how he had made it through. He replied, "We had help. We had the Kurds."
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/10/17/opinions/letter-to-kurdish-soldiers-from-military-wife-opinion/index.html?__twitter_impression=true