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Does it really require an outsider to execute something like this? Most politicians and the military industrial complex take us for a ride it seems.

simonh 6y ago
Pulling out most forces from Afghanistan and Iraq has been tried several times already. It’s how Islamic State managed to establish themselves in the first place. The last pullout from northern Syria apart from betraying the Kurds also allowed hundreds of hardcore IS prisoners to just walk free. So far it’s been counterproductive, but here’s hoping.
- lumost 6y ago
  One could make the claim that 20 years of US involvement in the Mideast has created unstable power structures that requires perpetual military support to maintain. There’s no guarantee that N more years of additional military involvement will stabilize this power dynamic.
- inquirerofsorts 6y ago
  > It’s how Islamic State managed to establish themselves in the first place. No that was widely credited to the power vacuum created by the United States of America when they publicly hanged the President of Iraq for all the Muslim world to see. [1][2][3] Serious error of judgement by White House royalty trying to make their ancestors proud. The US gave the Taliban a decade of training, funding and weapons.[4][5][6][7] They gave ISIS the perfect environment for them to grow big and everyone knows it. It doesn't matter what business you are in, everyone is always trying to create more work for themselves, the military and intelligence services are no exception. [1] https://www.csis.org/analysis/americas-failed-strategy-middle-east-losing-iraq-and-gulf https://www.csis.org/analysis/americas-failed-strategy-middl... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/11/23/how-the-united-states-helped-create-the-islamic-state/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/11/23/... [3] https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/iraqs-power-vacuum-counterfactual-analysis-saddam-husseins-authoritarian-rule https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/iraqs-power-vacuum-cou... [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone > described as the "biggest bequest to any Third World insurgency." [5] https://theintercept.com/2019/08/21/taliban-peace-talks-afghanistan-militias/ https://theintercept.com/2019/08/21/taliban-peace-talks-afgh... [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA%E2%80%93al-Qaeda_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA%E2%80%93al-Qaeda_controver... [7] https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/who-is-responsible-for-the-taliban https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/who...

simonh 6y ago

Pulling out most forces from Afghanistan and Iraq has been tried several times already. It’s how Islamic State managed to establish themselves in the first place. The last pullout from northern Syria apart from betraying the Kurds also allowed hundreds of hardcore IS prisoners to just walk free. So far it’s been counterproductive, but here’s hoping.

lumost 6y ago
One could make the claim that 20 years of US involvement in the Mideast has created unstable power structures that requires perpetual military support to maintain. There’s no guarantee that N more years of additional military involvement will stabilize this power dynamic.
inquirerofsorts 6y ago
> It’s how Islamic State managed to establish themselves in the first place. No that was widely credited to the power vacuum created by the United States of America when they publicly hanged the President of Iraq for all the Muslim world to see. [1][2][3] Serious error of judgement by White House royalty trying to make their ancestors proud. The US gave the Taliban a decade of training, funding and weapons.[4][5][6][7] They gave ISIS the perfect environment for them to grow big and everyone knows it. It doesn't matter what business you are in, everyone is always trying to create more work for themselves, the military and intelligence services are no exception. [1] https://www.csis.org/analysis/americas-failed-strategy-middle-east-losing-iraq-and-gulf https://www.csis.org/analysis/americas-failed-strategy-middl... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/11/23/how-the-united-states-helped-create-the-islamic-state/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/11/23/... [3] https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/iraqs-power-vacuum-counterfactual-analysis-saddam-husseins-authoritarian-rule https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/iraqs-power-vacuum-cou... [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone > described as the "biggest bequest to any Third World insurgency." [5] https://theintercept.com/2019/08/21/taliban-peace-talks-afghanistan-militias/ https://theintercept.com/2019/08/21/taliban-peace-talks-afgh... [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA%E2%80%93al-Qaeda_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA%E2%80%93al-Qaeda_controver... [7] https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/who-is-responsible-for-the-taliban https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/who...