The American Politics Thread

In regards to Syria, Mattis stated, “It’s in a situation of disarray right now. Obviously, the Kurds are adapting to the Turkish attacks. And we’ll have to see if they’re able to maintain the fight against Isis. It’s going to have an impact. The question is, how much?”

Asked if the US would regret Trump’s decision, Mattis said: “We have got to keep the pressure on Isis so they don’t recover... And in this case, if we don’t keep the pressure on, then Isis will resurge. It’s absolutely a given that they will come back.”

“The Republican Party has got to get a grip on itself. Right now, Republican leaders and members of the Congress in both the Senate and the House are holding back because they’re terrified of what will happen to any one of them if they speak out. Will they lose a primary? I don’t know why that’s such a disaster, but will they lose a primary?

They need to get a grip, and when they see things that are not right they need to say something about it. Because our foreign policy is in shambles right now in my humble judgment, and I see things happening that are hard to understand.”

Army four-star General Barry McCaffrey, Field Commander in Desert Storm and United State Southern Command:

The former four-star general and battlefield commander in the Gulf, Barry McCaffrey, said the Syrian withdrawal was “inexplicable”.

“Mr Trump seems to have single-handedly and unilaterally precipitated a national security crisis in the Middle East,” he said, adding that the president had put the armed forces in a “very tricky situation”.

Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, National Security Advisor (under Trump):

“Our forces there served as a useful means of preventing what we see now, which is a Turkish-Kurdish civil war that has profound political as well as humanitarian consequences,” McMaster said. “What we have in the Middle East right now is the potential for four simultaneous crises.”

He was asked if it would ever be acceptable for a president to seek aid from a foreign government, McMaster responded: “Of course no. Absolutely not. What has to happen here is seeing our democracy play out, the separation of powers play out, and for the American people through the representatives in Congress to make a judgment as to whether that happened.”

Navy Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe: 

"This is heart-rending for anybody who has shed blood, who has deployed forward. I'm getting so many inputs from all around the military ... they know how this hurts at a very personal level." 

"It's not only the betrayal of the Kurds, it is the way it is going to allow those embers on the floor of the forest fire that we thought were out to kind of re-flash...Pulling them out will absolutely allow the reforming of that mass of Islamic State fighters."

Navy Admiral William McRaven, U.S. Special Operations Command, SEAL Team-Leader, Leader Operation Neptune Spear (special ops raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden): 

Trump “embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.”

“As I stood on the parade field at Fort Bragg, one retired four-star general, grabbed my arm, shook me and shouted, ‘I don’t like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the Republic!’”

“If this president doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office — Republican, Democrat or independent — the sooner, the better. The fate of our Republic depends upon it.”

Decorated veterans, some Republican (Mattis and McMaster selected for major roles by Trump himself, or, in the case of Colin Powell, by G. Bush) and some Democrat, all Army, Marine or Navy commanders with direct and in-the-field knowledge of the Middle East, all condemning Trump with a singularity and concern that is uncommon among former field commanders. All questioning Trump's incompetence, and a few wondering exactly where Trump's loyalty lies.