Ep. 5089 – Danny Sjursen on Syria and the End of America’s Forever-Wars – 10/11/2019

Scott talks to Danny Sjursen about President Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, which Sjursen views as the first instance of him actually following through on a major promise made on Twitter. Sjursen says that to surprise the generals and war planners with this kind of announcement is exactly what they deserve, and may be the only way Trump can actually pull back from any of our military operations without getting stymied by the deep state. Sjursen reminds us that what the neocon outcry is really about, of course, is keeping an American base in Syria to “check Iran.” He adds that although we often hear claims about the need to protect women and minority rights in places like Afghanistan, the same arguments are not made with respect to Syria, where Assad is clearly a better steward of these causes than his enemies would be.

Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He writes regularly for TomDispatch.com and he’s the author of “Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.” Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

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