Leaving Syria

"We walk, and Afghanistan reverts back to the Taliban. Only now the Taliban has metastasized into something infinitely more vicious and potent because they're now 2-0 versus superpowers. They butcher the people who helped us, who voted and were stupid enough to put their faith in our word. So call it not only the end of hope for tens to millions of Afghans, but the end of American credibility, the end of America as a force of righteousness in the world. And when we're forced to go back in a couple of years, and please quote me on this, we'll be squared of against a shattered Iraq, a hopeless Afghanistan, and a nuclear Iran. How many troops are we going to need then? I guarantee you'll be adding some zeros."
--Senator Jasper Irving (Lions for Lambs)

Earlier this week, President Trump announced that he is ordering the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. The uproar from the military/industrial complex predictably followed.

Defense Secretary James Mattis, a card-carrying member of the complex, subsequently resigned, citing irreconcilable differences with the president on foreign and military policy.

Joining the chorus, other war proponents claim that a delicate balance in the Middle East will be upset, implying that the only way the world can operate smoothly is if U.S. troops are deployed around the globe and put at risk while pounding the beat as world policemen.

I join Rand Paul in applauding this move. Trump is doing something that his predecessor could have done but never did.

Hopefully the president can withstand the criticism. And make this the first in a string of withdrawals.