After the longest war in the history of our country, it is time for
our troops to return home. In 2001, the United States responded to the
horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11 by sending our military to
Afghanistan on a mission to destroy Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. We
were successful in destroying their terrorist camps, killing and
capturing Al-Qaeda leaders, and forcing Bin Laden out of the country.
Amazingly, our military is still in Afghanistan, although the Taliban
control over half of the country. Of course, President Trump and his
supporters want to bring these troops home, but he is facing enormous
resistance within the government, including the Defense Department.
During the war in Afghanistan, the administration of President George
W. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003 to remove Saddam Hussein from power. It
was believed that he harbored weapons of mass destruction; however, none
were ever discovered. Eventually, Hussein was captured and executed,
and, fortunately, Bin Laden was also killed in Pakistan in 2011 after a
daring Navy Seal Team 6 mission.
After many twists and turns in Iraq, the terrorist group ISIS was
largely destroyed, the country was stabilized, and most of our military
forces departed. Today, the United States maintains 5,000 troops in the
country.
While some military presence in the region is worthwhile to monitor
terrorist strongholds, it does not have the same type of importance for
our economy. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, this region of the world
was incredibly important to our economy. Today, while it is still
critical to Europe and other areas of the world, it is not as vital to
the United States. Fortunately, our country does not “need” their oil,
we are energy independent for the first time in many decades.
This independence should give our country ample reason to bring many
of our troops home. After 18 years of fighting and spending trillions of
our American tax dollars in the region, we are still engaged in the
“war on terror.” The results have been mixed, with not only a strong
Taliban remaining in Afghanistan, but also a situation in Iraq which is
very complicated. While Iraq is more peaceful, terrorist activity has
not been eliminated. Looming over the region is the destabilizing
influence of Iran, the world’s largest supporter of terrorist activity.
When the Arab Spring movement started in 2010, governments in the
region fell. For example, Libya transitioned from a dictatorship to
total chaos, more terrorism, a breakdown of the country and an
environment which led to the attack against our consulate in Benghazi.
In Syria, an even more chaotic situation developed as a brutal civil
war erupted. The country has been torn apart, as refugees have flooded
Europe and other areas of the world. Today, Syria remains fragmented and
a magnet for terrorist activity.
The United States sent approximately 1,000 troops to Syria,
presumably to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups. However, what is
our national security interest in Syria? In fact, we should not be
involved in an internal battle in Syria as some of these groups have
been warring for centuries.
The United States will not be able to end such longstanding
conflicts, so our troops should not be stationed in the middle of these
battles. Therefore, President Trump was correct to order our military to
leave the northern Syrian territory near the Turkish border. These
troops may have been killed when Turkey invaded Syria to root out
Kurdish fighters operating in the region.
Today, the President deserves tremendous credit for orchestrating a
“permanent cease-fire” between the Kurds and the Turks in the region. In
return, we are lifting the sanctions on Turkey that were imposed after
their invasion of Syria. While some troops will remain to protect Syrian
oil fields from ISIS, this mission is in line with our goal to prevent
the terrorists from using these resources to build their organization.
With the cease fire and the protection of the oil fields, the
President’s policies in the region have been vindicated. It is tragic
that so many members of Congress voted to support a resolution
condemning the President’s Syrian policy. Only 60 GOP members, mostly
affiliated with the Freedom Caucus, did not vote for the resolution.
Sadly, many of the establishment politicians in both parties support
never ending wars. Most of these political swamp dwellers hated the
message of Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.
With his recent actions, the President is fulfilling another campaign
promise. This important pledge was to put “America First” and bring our
troops home. It is what the American people supported, in that
election, and it is outrageous the so many in Congress, the media and
the Deep State are trying to negate the 2016 results and the wishes of
the electorate
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