Syria

[ClydeR]

Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Russia's abandonment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led to his downfall, adding Moscow never should have protected him in the first place and then lost interest because of a war in Ukraine that never should have started.

"Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by (President) Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

"There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place," Trump wrote. "They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine ... a war that should never have started, and could go on forever."

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, added that Russia and Iran, Assad's other main backer, "are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success".

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Is Trump's position internally consistent? He says..

• Russia should never have supported Assad.
• Having started supporting Assad, Russia should not have stopped.
• Russia stopped supporting Assad because of the war in Ukraine.
• The Ukraine war could go on forever.

Does it logically follow that the U.S. should not stop supporting Zelenski?

[ClydeR]

Biden and Trump have opposite views of how the US should react..

“It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room. “It’s also a moment of risk and uncertainty. As we all turn to the question of what comes next, the United States will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risk.”

Biden vowed to support Syria’s neighbors during the transition and to protect US personnel in their continued mission against ISIS. The president said he plans to speak with his counterparts in the area “in the coming days” and that US officials will deploy to the region.

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Biden’s comments come as President-elect Donald Trump — who takes the oath of office in just over six weeks — has urged a hands-off approach to the conflict, saying Saturday that the US should not get involved. Early Sunday, as rebel groups took Damascus, he said the regime’s fall showed the “weakened state” of Russia and Iran, both of which supported Assad.

[ClydeR]

What are the implications of Assad's fall for the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be DNI?

President-elect Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton said on Saturday that it will be "very interesting to see" Syrian files on "a number of Americans" while speaking about former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for director of national intelligence (DNI).

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"I think she's totally unqualified to be DNI and I think her positions put her beyond the outermost fringe of American politics. When she visited Assad in Syria, he was effectively a Russian-Iranian ally. And what she said about Syria not being a direct threat to the United States, that was her justification for going, it's completely false. The Syrians and their combination with Iran and Hezbollah have posed direct threats to Americans across the region. They certainly pose a direct threat to key American allies, Israel and Jordan, and it's going to be very interesting to see what the files that may be uncovered in the Syrian government, if the rebels succeed in capturing Damascus, what they show about a number of Americans," Bolton said.



[~Rocktar~]

A Thread For ClydeR

[Gelston]

Not only is there already a Thread for you specifically, but there is already a Syria thread too. Retard.

[ClydeR]

Gabbard is smart enough to put two and two together. As noted in my earlier posts, Ted Olsen observed that Syrian intelligence agencies undoubtedly have files about Gabbard's involvement with Assad. And Biden announced that he is sending personnel to Syria to assist with transition. If you think about it, as Gabbard obviously has, it could sow real doubt in Trump's mind before she sews up the nomination. See what I did? Trump might wonder what would happen if the Gabbard nomination goes forward and then, about 90 days from now, embarrassing records, possibly including audio or video, are found of conversations Gabbard had in Syria.

The shocking collapse this weekend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has reinvigorated scrutiny about Gabbard's past sympathies for the brutal dictator. Her 2017 visit to Damascus to meet with Assad — years after he gassed his own people — and her comments defending his rule have long exemplified the former Democratic congresswoman's unconventional foreign policy views.

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After remaining out of sight since the announcement of her nomination, Gabbard is now springing to action, traveling to Washington to meet with Senators today.

[~Rocktar~]

A Thread For ClydeR