Graham says he's 'increasingly optimistic' Trump's Syria strategy will succeed
The United States is not abandoning the Kurds, who suffered 10,000 killed in fighting against ISIS terrorists. (The United States, which supported the Kurds with arms and a relatively small contingent of special operations forces, lost eight lives in the five-year battle, Graham noted.
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President Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham (Photos: Leah Millis/Reuters, Alex Edelman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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After spending a week railing against President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, abandoning America’s Kurdish allies and opening the door for Turkey’s deadly invasion, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Sunday that he now supports the move.
“I’m increasingly optimistic this could turn out very well,” Graham told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “I am increasingly optimistic that we can have some historic solutions in Syria that have eluded us for years, if we play our cards right.”
Graham is a leading Neo-con from a Conservative state (South,Carolina.) and has in the past supported most of Trump's policies. With the except of those relating to the military. While Trump is also a leading Neo-Con Chickenhawk , he often hasn't been as hawkish as Graham would like!
So what changed? Simple-- Senators are up for election every 6 years and Graham is up in 2020-- so he's rapidly toning down his criticisms of Trump!
Good for Graham it’s not often that a politician learns from his mistakes and is man enough to admit he was wrong.
Good for Graham it’s not often that a politician learns from his mistakes and is man enough to admit he was wrong.
But why was he so vocal about his hawkish Neo-Con views in the firs tplace?
Yes if he doesn’t support the will of the voters and support the troop withdrawal there is a good chance he would not be re-elected.
That's exactly it! Trump pleads mercy and likely reminded Lindsey what Putin has on him, is more like it. One day, it's all going to come out anyway. The years Congress threw our country under the bus for personal greed and a promise of the wealth generated by the oil fields off Russia if we get the world and especially China tamed about Russia's land grab and theft.
South Carolina is a heavily republican state-- lots of military there as well (Most of him know the truth about the Kurds role infighting ISIS and Turkey)
OTOH, most are very pro-Trump.
Since senators are only up for re-election every six years (& this time Graham is one of those ) he has to walk a fine line in his comments...
He knows damn well the contribution the Kurds have made has said that::
The United States is not abandoning the Kurds, who suffered 10,000 killed in fighting against ISIS terrorists.
The United States, which supported the Kurds with arms and a relatively small contingent of special operations forces, lost eight lives in the five-year battle, Graham noted.
But OTOH he must "walk a fine line"-- remembering to also avoid appearing to criticize our Bone-Spur-Challenged Commander-in-Chief . . .
and likely reminded Lindsey what Putin has on him,
I agree,
I think it will (finally) all come out when his taxes are revealed.
Trump Taxes: President Ordered to Turn Over Returns to Manhattan D.A.
;A judge rejected the president’s argument that he was immune from criminal investigations.
That doesn't make a lot of sense unless you think Graham suddenly forgot just for last week that he was running for reelection. It seems for more likely that - like many people tend to do - he had an initial freakout over something Trump did or said and then gave it a chance and tried to see the other side of it. Sounds like he's trying to have an open mind.
His 1st response was before he saw the polls on how many Trump supporters supported abandoning the Kurds.
Why Graham initially opposed the withdrawl of U.S. forces from Syria-- and our betrayal of the Kurds:
The United States is not abandoning the Kurds, who suffered 10,000 killed in fighting against ISIS terrorists.
The United States, which supported the Kurds with arms and a relatively small contingent of special operations forces, lost eight lives in the five-year battle, Graham noted.
Who cares? Really. So 1 neocon temporarily change his stripes. 1 down countless neocons and chicken hawks to go.
Maybe someone finally beat it into his thick skull that we were in Syria illegally; and were receiving mounting pressure from Syria, Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey to get out. Our proxy civil war in Syria was decided long ago. Assad will not be removed unless Putin wants him gone. ISIS/ISIL is no longer a military force in Syria. Want to find them look to Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Afghanistan, and throughout Africa.
What is left of ISIS/ISIL in Syria is now the problem of the remaining countries to take care of.
Turkey is also their problem as well; and they are welcome to it. No more risk of an intra-NATO war. Our NATO "allies" have already proven they don't want anything to do with confronting Turkey. No US to do the heavy lifting and they wimp out.
The voters of South Carolina-- among others!
Hopefully they are more informed than Graham was; and maybe is.
Trump needs to figure out who the Kurds PR people are. They have the US media snow jobbed; and it seems at least a portion of the US public.
Right..... And how do you explain the comments of the soldiers in the field that were allied with the Kurd fighters and their disgust with feeding them to the Turkish wolves?
And again you want to stand on your little "legal" soapbox to support why we shouldn't have been there. Fine let that keep you warm, all while you boldly support the immorality of the situation which far outweighs your little legal technaicality.
Time and again we have a clear examples that character and morality have been eliminated as party planks of the GOP, are void in Trump supporters, and those that takes their talking points from Fox News and Brietbart.
Well they certainly have me "snow-jobbed"!
When I first learned about the Kurds I researched them further. History.
Then their role in modern times.
The more I learned the more "snowed" I became-- I'm now when of their biggest fans!
Alas-- I'm getting older.
And I'm old enough to remember when the GOP wasn't always like that.
But in recent years they've gone rapidly downhlll...they've now become the party of sleaze...of lies by our Bone-Spur-Challenged "Commander-in-Chief"....a real threat to democracy both at home and abroad
Obviously you don't.
Have you actually read the article before commenting?
. . . the Kurds, who suffered 10,000 killed in fighting against ISIS terrorists.
The United States, which supported the Kurds with arms and a relatively small contingent of special operations forces, lost eight lives in the five-year battle, Graham noted.
Actually I consider myself a Goldwater Republican. Been pretty moderate over the years too. What broke it for me was Raygun embracing the religious right in the 1980s. Still voted for a bunch of pubs over the years. Last one was in 1996..... Since then..... they lost my vote forever! Had a chance with Johnny-Mac, but his flop on waterboarding stopped my voting for him.
Aren't those two statements contradictory? (Most people wou;dn't consider Goldwater to have been a "moderate" or even a "centrist".
In his own words (here's a cool historical video: 29 seconds long!)
Krishna, I think you answered that perfectly in a previous post.