If Donald Trump had actually done this as president, I would have probably voted for him in 2020. We have no business being in any of these countries. He let himself get rolled by the generals.
“One important piece is only now beginning to emerge: Former President Donald Trump’s last-minute bid to pull U.S. forces from Afghanistan and swaths of the Middle East, Africa and even Europe ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration — and why he blinked.
John McEntee, one of Donald Trump’s most-favored aides, handed retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor a piece of paper with a few notes scribbled on it. He explained: “This is what the president wants you to do.”
1. Get us out of Afghanistan.
2. Get us out of Iraq and Syria.
3. Complete the withdrawal from Germany.
4. Get us out of Africa.
It was Nov. 9, 2020 — days after Trump lost his re-election bid, 10 weeks before the end of his presidency and just moments after Macgregor was offered a post as senior adviser to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
As head of the powerful Presidential Personnel Office, McEntee had Trump’s ear. Even so, Macgregor was astonished. He told McEntee he doubted they could do all of these things before Jan. 20.
“Then do as much as you can,” McEntee replied.
In Macgregor’s opinion, Miller probably couldn’t act on his own authority to execute a total withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan because he was serving in an acting capacity. If this was for real, Macgregor told McEntee, then it was going to need an order from the president.
The one-page memo was delivered by courier to Christopher Miller’s office two days later, on the afternoon of Nov. 11. The order arrived seemingly out of nowhere, and its instructions, signed by Trump, were stunning: All U.S. military forces were to be withdrawn from Somalia by Dec. 31, 2020. All U.S. forces were to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by Jan. 15, 2021.
What the fuck is this? Miller wondered. …
It was a stunning admission. But it was one that reflected the mindset of some of the national security leaders and savvy bureaucrats who had repeatedly thwarted the commander in chief’s demands over four years. …”
These same people who celebrate generals and bureaucrats overruling the president currently can not shut up about the threat that Donald Trump poses to “democracy” … a man whom they impeached twice on the basis of dubious intelligence who doesn’t have permission to send a tweet!
Trump has always wanted credit for things he says he’s going to do in the future or wanted to do in the past. He had all the time in the world to do those things.
Unfortunately, Blumph let his “General” jew son in law dictate foreign policy and much of the domestic policy. Trump was all talk and no action and his subordinates knew it.
Someone should write a book about those glasses and bottles at any of those big conferences. Yes, they do have to wet their lips, at least, while talking under that high-pressure glare. Who provides that water? Do they test it?
President Trump had 4 years to get any part of this done, but, he did not.
If President Truman could fire Macarthur, President Trump could have fired these guys.
Just look at what President Obama did : he sackt practically half the officer corps, this because he regarded them as politically unreliable.
So, I am not accepting any excuses for the fact that this was not done.
Here are two opinion pieces from the LA Times Editorial Board. The first, written in November 2020 called Trump’s plans for withdrawal from Afghanistan “self-serving and reckless”. They even cited Mitch McConnell who they otherwise despise. The second column was written in April 2021. Here, they applaud now president Biden’s call for withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. Nothing had changed on the ground, only that Biden was now president.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-11-18/editorial-trumps-pullout-from-afghanistan-is-rushed-and-self-serving
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-04-13/biden-withdrawal-us-troops-afghanistan
On a related note, was any action ever taken about the military/civilian personnel that ignored (and later bragged about ignoring) Trump’s order to start withdrawing US forces from Syria?
Dump farted around for 4 long years, doing nothing but effusively praising & rewarding those uniformed glorified bureaucrats with record amounts of money, when he should’ve been firing them. They ignored & thwarted him time & time again because they had taken his measure and knew he’s just a loudmouthed weakling. Commie coon Obongo was a far stronger man who actually used the power of his office to crush obstructers (even though we hate his motives).
Imagine that.
God damned Dump was a cancer on the ass of White America. Still is.
Trump was grossly, grossly incompetent more than anything else. He could have done so much, dragging the worthless Republicans along kicking and screaming but securing the southern border, withdrawing troops and kicking out illegal aliens by the millions. This is just for starters. It could have been done with existing Executive Authority but Trump choked and it cost him the 2020 election.
No President has been able to control the military or intelligence agencies since Eisenhower, and the only reasons he could was that all of the military and agency leaders had served under him, and he was a legitimate war hero. As the testimony of LtC Vindman makes clear, the bureaucracy, even the White House staff, do not accept the authority of the President to set policy.
We have a Praetorian Guard. At some point they will dispense with elections and politicians.
The generals are all Irish. You can see it can’t you? Why? Because the Irish are the trusted henchmen for the Jews and the Jews arrange for those whom they can trust to be in the highest positions of military authority. It is plan to see if you only willing to look. Where are all the Polish Generals?