“I think the burden is really on Mattis and others who want perpetual war to explain why, if there is no military solution, we’re sending more troops,” said Rand Paul today.
Rand Paul is not wrong and he went on to say we have our heads in the sand over in Syria pretending that Assad, Putin, Iran, and Turkey have no say in the future.
Fact is they won because it was not a priority for us who rules the land as long as it wasn’t ISIS.
We have no plan or desire to oust Assad so eventually the regional forces will take over that swath of territory, why is this so hard to understand?
From Politico: The American people are tired of war,” the Kentucky Republican said in response to questions about President Donald Trump’s announcement that U.S. troops will be pulled out of Syria.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Paul cited “roads, bridges, schools“ as things in America on which money now being spent on combat on Syria and elsewhere could be better spent.
He also was sharply critical of military leaders, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who he said wanted to continue fighting “forever” wars without a strategy to end them or win them. Mattis resigned not long after Trump’s Syria announcement.
“I think the burden should be on General Mattis and those who want stay forever,” Paul said to host Jake Tapper.
Paul said a complicated diplomatic solution will still be needed to resolve the situation in Syria, involving Russia and Turkey, among others.
“We’ve made it toxic for anyone to talk to Russia. If we don‘t talk to Russia, we’re never going to find a peaceful solution to the Syria mess,“ Paul said.
Paul went on to say if we pulled out of Afghanistan we would save at least $50 billion a year and that money would be more than enough to build a border wall.
From USA Today: President Donald Trump has ordered the more than 2,000 U.S troops in Syria be withdrawn as quickly as possible from their posts, according to a U.S. official.
The withdrawal is based Trump’s decision that the mission against the Islamic State is complete, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly before it is announced.
In a tweet on Wednesday morning, Trump declared victory over the Islamic State in Syria.
“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he wrote.
"I’m very proud of the President. This is exactly what he promised … I think people believe that we’ve been at war too long and too many places and that we do need to turn attention to problems we have at home,” Sen. @RandPaul says of Trump’s decision to pull troops from Syria. pic.twitter.com/oDrFrCzzf8
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) December 23, 2018
Sen. Rand Paul on @FaceTheNation: "I think the burden is really on Mattis and others who want perpetual war to explain why, if there is no military solution, we're sending more troops" https://t.co/8eK2FkExyj pic.twitter.com/MIWCV9aVbv
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 23, 2018
