I’ve been dealing with a particularly heavy cold this week, and my only hope was that everyone would just BE COOL and not start World War III while I was sick. I was completely hazy yesterday and I took a very strange and long nap, and when I woke up and turned on MSNBC, it was like WWIII started while I was asleep. The Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, has suddenly resigned because of Donald Trump’s ill-informed decision to pull troops out of Syria. In addition to that, it looks like a government shutdown is going to happen, the stock market is going haywire, Republicans are freaking out and Fox News is trying to force Trump to build The F–king Wall.
Mattis was often billed as “the adult in the room,” someone who wasn’t a Deplorable wingnut, someone who actually understood how to run the Pentagon. Maybe that’s true, I have no idea. I do know that his resignation seems to be freaking out all of our allies, and I also know that Mattis was never going to save us – it’s bizarre to think that anyone who would willingly agree to be part of the Trump Administration wasn’t already compromised beyond belief. So Trump enters the Christmas season without a chief of staff, a Secretary of Defense, an Attorney General and more. Trump also says that the government shutdown will “last for a very long time.”
Here’s another way to look at everything:
Oh my lord, this quote.https://t.co/WPaIwic2Ep pic.twitter.com/YP9OLL0fzE
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) December 21, 2018
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Mattis leaving has me more freaked out than in any time during this whole nightmarish past two years.
Me too. His statement was terrifying and spoke volumes. I feel intensely vulnerable.
As soon as I heard about him abruptly pulling out us of Syria (Happy Christmas, Putin!), I told my friend Afghanistan is next, and sure enough…(Happy New Year, too!).
Mattis, while one of the administration, at least was a career soldier, a general who knows how the military/Pentagon works. With an idiot like Dump, who won’t even read briefings, capriciously making “decisions” without input/advice from his generals, what is the =^&^%$# point of it all!
It’s VERY scary to think that now, the ONLY thing that could stand between us and annihilation, is a soldier (with the “football”) that might refuse to take a direct order.
In the meantime, I am going to hold my loved ones *very* close this holiday season!
Sadly I suspect the news cycle has it wrong. In my observation trump is aligning w whatever despot is his loan shark- there is no impulsivity. The war on Christmas just might have a new meaning.
The reason we’re in this situation is that we got so lazy and comfortable about the safeguards that hold back a Pres.
We weren’t prepared for the idea that a goofball like this could be this dangerous. This is a wakeup call even for those who always knew they hated him.
We need to grow up and pay attention because if we don’t, there are people in plain sight who will take us all over. And there are a lot more we can’t see. So far it’s been really easy; people didn’t riot when Trump won the Electoral College, or when Gore got cheated out of being Pres. by SCOTUS. We’ve let it happen.
Same here.
Yes
According to WaPo, this morning, Mattis is leaving Jan. 1. BEFORE a Mueller drop. He is “bat out of hell”-ing. fast. This is saying SOMEthing!
He was asked to leave cuz rump finally figured out that resignation Ietter was a big fat diss. He has a Boeing exec as acting. God help us all.
I’m frightened
This is the most scared I’ve been since he was elected and that is saying a lot. Did anybody see Tim Ryan’s freakout on the floor last night? It was cathartic to watch (he is all of us) but also so terrifying…he sounded as panicked as I’ve ever heard a politician sound.
Things will get worse, too, before they get better. We haven’t seen rock bottom yet.
Everyone please enjoy the holidays because we really don’t know what’s around the corner these days. Be grateful for every second of semi-normalcy because we are in for darker days yet.
Yeah I was thinking similar Kitten. Enjoy this holiday because who knows what’s next. I’m going to Woodstock for new year’s. Christmas with the kiddies (nieces and nephews) then Woodstock with friends. I’m concentrating on that because this may be our last hurrah.
Aw I love Woodstock, Darla 🙂 Hopefully seeing those innocent little ones will bring you some much-needed Christmas cheer.
I hope you and all of my C/Bers enjoy the holidays. I’m very thankful to have all of you, truly. Some days it feels like C/B is the last sane place in an insane world.
I feel the same way! Happy holidays Kitten.
Me too. I just hate this man so much.
I am terrified, but pulling out of Syria and lifting sanctions on Oleg Deripaska actually gives me some hope that Trump knows the end is near and he is handing out as many favors as he can to Putin because he is still trying to build Trump Tower Mosco.
The past two weeks have been so crazy, at this point it wouldn’t surprised if Trump and Melania grab their money and board a midnight flight to Venezuela.
The timing of Trump’s announcements was that after the President of Turkey asked him to withdraw from Syria, he announced doing just that by tweet, surprising the Pentagon, his Secretary of Defense (who had thought he had talked Trump out of it), the State Department, and Congress. Then Putin weighed in shortly thereafter during his annual (!) press conference, saying Trump should also withdraw from Afghanistan. A few hours later, Trump announced that also by tweet.
So Trump is on a tight leash, but not by his staff. I don’t know how he managed to partially lift sanctions, I thought Congress has reined him in on that. Guess not. It seems the sanctioned guy has nominally left the company and transferred his shares to a sanctioned Russian bank, allegedly leaving the company free of sanctions. Not sure if that’s entirely a proper way to wiggle out of sanctions, though, but it is obviously a big favor to Putin. Putin’s personal fortune is taking a hit from lack of his “commission” from the company’s project due to sanctions.
Meanwhile, acting Attorney General Whitaker has decided to ignore the advice of the FBI ethics people and refuses to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation, and bipartisan legislation to protect Mueller is being blocked by Mitch McConnell I n the Senate. I would not be surprised if Trump is using these withdrawals to distract from his planned attacks on Mueller. The lawsuits pursued by several state AGs continue, though, questioning the legality of Whitaker’s appointment and its effect on state cases that refer to the US AG.
I love how they tried to lie about the ethic counsel’s recommendation. Like did they seriously think the ethics staff would stay silent on that?
I keep hoping that he’s scaring the Republicans so much, they’ll be eager to impeach even if it means a compromised Pence has to go too.
Yeah, it won’t be Venezuela, though. There are horrors happening everywhere right now.
I say about time the US left other countries.
Not when it leaves the Kurds totally ucked and gives Putin all that he wants in the Middle East. It is moronic beyond belief to unmoor an area suddenly and not really for any reason other than Donald is creating the chaos that Putin has directed him to create.
I thought that everyone has complained for years tha5 the US should stay out of other countries business. Does the US love war or something? How is Syria a US problem?
Louise, not getting involved in the first place is what we all want. The issue is now we’ve completely destabilized the region, and that allows other less well meaning countries to step in. I’m all for staying out of other countries’ business, but I’m not down for shitting on their land and not cleaning it up.
To answer your questions: control over the opiate production in the Middle East is a huge power factor that the US wants to, and probably should, retain. Syria is a US problem because it’s essentially a proxy war with Russia. By leaving Syria, it leaves Russia the ability to control more land in the Middle East, and that’s a huge problem.
And yes, the US as a country loves war. Our economy is literally built around war and defense contracts. You might read about “Permanent War Economy” if you’re interested.
Louise! “How is Syria a US problem”? For shame. Was Rwanda a US problem? Was the Holocaust? Maybe not. Guess we can just shrug away millions of human lives, right? As long as they didn’t happen to be born below the 48th parallel.
A. The US does love war. This should be obvious from its history. It’s an aggressive and militaristic country.
B. The US is responsible for a lot of the instability in that region, including the misbegotten war on Iraq.
C. The US destabilizes and then finds itself involved in the ongoing power struggle in a destabilized region, and then keeps footholds in the region ostensibly because of the humanitarian crises that it helped to create.
D. The US is in the Middle East for the oil the way Great Britain first got into the Middle East for the oil (WWI). Reduced demand for foreign (or any) oil would likely change a lot of things.
E. Humanitarian crises are humanitarian crises no matter where you live, which is not to say that the US military was sent to Syria for humanitarian relief.
There’s no perfect solution for this mess, but this sudden reactionary move piles crisis on top of crisis and makes it even hard to save lives and reach a more just resolution.
It reminds me of the voters left and right who thought Trump would “shake things up” without thinking about who would get hurt in the shake-up.
It definitely looks Trump is being directed solely by Putin in these decisions. Putin probably realizes Mueller is baring down now and he has to really squeeze Trump to get any last favors done before he is impeached/indicted.
Betsy, it seems to me that President Trump is trying to fulfill all the promises he made to Putin during their 2 hour private closed door meeting in Helsinki (with just them and a translator) before he’s run out of office.
I know it’s fashionable in some circles to say this, and the American Empire has been responsible for abominable and shameful interference, exploitation and carnage in many parts of the world. However, sudden power vacuums create instability – vacuums into which rush at least equally destructive forces. No one is happy about this except for the Syrian dictator and the architect of destabilization, Vladimir Putin.
It’s telling that even a general with the nickname “Mad Dog” who obeyed other cruel and callous Trump orders finds this to be a bridge too far.
Given the timing, Trump was likely ordered to do this before the new House of Representatives is sworn in and as the legal walls are closing in on Trump, he’ll dance faster for his master.
So tired of other governments not being able to run their own countries. Let the Middle East work it out on their own. The US is not the worlds police force. Young US soldiers should not die because of ISIS. I see now that people who talked about the US staying out of other countries didn’t really mean it. You guys are really something thinking you are the moral compass for the world. And no Rwanda was not a US problem. If other countries are that brutal to each other then why should the US interfere.
Louise: so glib. In case you’re wondering why your parents and grandparents jumped into a middle class status along with most of Americans, it was precisely because the US sent troops to deal with brutal governments and so on.
Say thank you, president Eisenhower.
Destabilization and superpowers make it literally impossible for the Middle East to work it out on their own. The region has been in shambles for too long, and guns, drugs, and oil prevent installation of a new, effective government. It’s much, much more nuanced than just leaving them alone.
Louise, may we ask in which part of the world you live?
There are many Americans who feel shame about their government’s actions, past and present.
However, if only more countries stepped up to genocide. Perhaps my ancestors would not have been shot to death or gassed by Nazi Germany. People saying, “Why should we care about people far away?” is why that happened.
The US happens to have the capacity, but its humanitarian missions are far too often interwined with military adventurism and that taints the work and the outcome.
Canada with its oxymoronic “peacekeeping troops” has tried to separate the two with mixed success. But then, the previous Conservative government inked a lucrative arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
International groups were designed to pull together nations to intervene in situations of genocide. They, too, are facing loss of support. Why the peoples of the world can’t pull together and defeat hatred is an everlasting mystery.
@Louise – as others have posted, the middle east has always been a powder keg and post WWI, the old Ottoman empire that kept everything reasonably stable was dissolved with chaotic results. Post WWII the allied powers divvied up the ME into countries that weren’t based on cultural lines, which was a recipe for tension and hostility. Factor in the Jewish incursion into Palestinian territory, Saudi Arabia’s highly puritanical sect of Islam to which most Islamic extremists subscribe, the cold war between US and USSR for control and you have the makings of WWIII. It’s not a simple matter of getting out of Syria and letting them take care of their own business, it’s keeping some very dangerous dictators from taking control.
Louise, no matter what your thoughts are on military intervention in other countries…can’t we all agree that ANY moves should be well thought out? He didn’t let the military know before he announced the withdraw. This is a sloppy rush job.
These matters should not be decided on whims and handled in a haphazard way.
I wish. How can you talk about peace and whatnot when you are sending bombs? But then again, it was always like that. Strong one exploit weak.
The problem is that it is an impulsive decision and not made with consultation with the people directly involved, such as the Kurds and NATO in Syria (not to mention surprising our own people in relevant positions).
The Kurds in particular must be having coniptions right now. They have been depending on US air cover for their own military actions against ISIS (which has not vanished, despite Trump’s fantasies). If that disappears suddenly, they may not have enough time to get substitutes in place or find other strategies. This is why sensible people consult with others before such a move.
When the US started to pull out of Iraq, the schedule and terms were negotiated with the Iraqis and the agreement was signed by GWBush. Obama didn’t like aspects of the agreement and asked the Iraqis if it could be renegotiated, and the Iraqis said no, they were satisfied with the prior agreement. So Obama implemented it as signed by Bush.
That’s how these withdrawals typically go. The President doesn’t just order it by random tweet without thinking about the complications and consulting with the proper people here and in the other countries. He’s acting like an absolute ruler, not the President of a democracy. Once again, he is ignoring allies and just doing what he thinks will distract his core supporters and the media all the indictments and guilty pleas. I bet Trump couldn’t even find Syria or Afghanistan on a world map.
Great points!
I spent yesterday reviewing 40 years of Kurdish history in the region.
The Kurds have always been screwed and should have known by our lack of shared outcome targets that they never should have relied on the USA.
The truth hurts.
Remember that when the Taliban rebuilds and sponsors terrorism in your countries.
The Orange Dotard has been completely freaked out over the last 48 hours. The press needs to start pestering Pence and the Cabinet on why they haven’t invoked the 25th Amendment. Those tweets yesterday and today, particularly the farming video, show sanity has left the building. Also Melanoma and Nagini need to be accused of elder neglect
I saw that video on TV last night and did not realize HE had tweeted it. “Let’s make the farmers laugh by showing this Hee Haw-type video of ME!”
This has always been a reality show/soap opera to him.
People initially thought it was from a parody account. It was so out there. And his sons, who should be concerned about their father’s mental health, retweeted it. Meanwhile, Nagini was tweeting pictures of white farmers and ranchers and applauding herself.
Ivanka and Jared get to consolidate their dynastic influence even more. Who’s left as the players – them, Miller, Bolton? Brrrr…
Did enjoy the sequence of executive time tweets showing Trump getting weaker and weaker on the possibility of the Senate giving money for his wall. He’ll always have the House vote to keep him warm. (And yeah…anything can still happen.)
He is completely out there this morning, insisting that he destroyed ISIS and no President has ever been tougher on Russia and China. Teddy Roosevelt should give back that Nobel Prize.
I’ve been calling him “Caligula” for a while. The penchant for cruelty, the mental instability… I think it fits.
In other news, my spouse works for the government. Can’t wait to figure out how we’re going to handle our finances if he’s furloughed (again!).
I tend to reference Nero, “and Nero fiddled as Rome burned…”
But Caligula works just as well.
I was waiting for this post. Kept hitting refresh until it appeared…. I am so scared right now I can’t even think. This country is the titanic and it seems no one can stop us from sinking!
If only because we can’t really do anything am I enjoying Pete Evans, Louise Mensch and Andrew Lauder on twitter. Their take? Mattis is resigning because the end of Trump is in sight. Mattis isn’t going anywhere until the end of February.
End of February being a few weeks after the Dems take over… The date is interesting, isn’t it.
Interesting, and I hope you are right.
Mueller let it drop that he will deliver his report mid-February. Which is interesting, because it seems to coincide with Mattis leaving. Also, it gives the Dem led House 6-7 weeks of publicly televised hearings leading up to that. . .
Adam Schiff said that since the judge delayed Flynn’s sentencing and that Flynn MUST continue to cooperate with investigations until he is sentenced — well then, he can come on down to the House and testify ON TV. . .
So, I don’t know how this is all gonna turn out, but we are in for some CRAZY times. Unprecedented in our entire history. . .
I try not to get too into the CTs but that’s my hope as well. A true military man like Mattis wouldn’t be just like, “eff this guy, I want to go retire on my boat.” I have to believe he would only leave if he felt the Pentagon was in secure hands. With his security clearance, he knows the stakes and the evidence better than anyone.
I have to believe this.
I think his contract is up on February 28, and ordinarily he and Trump would be deciding then whether to renew it. Since that is reasonably close to now, he has offered to stay through that date and help orient the new person (if Trump can find anybody).
He probably would love to go early, though…. But the potential person nominated has to be confirmed by the Senate.
“Mueller let it drop that he will deliver his report mid-February.”
I will be holding my breath until then. What a crazy time we live in!
Louise Mensch is questionable in her sources. She is the one behind the Supreme Court marshal arresting trump and that will never happen. Take whatever she says with a huge grain of salt.
As for Mueller’s report dropping in February, there is no way that comes from him. His office has leaked nothing from the beginning. Info has only come from dumps office or speculation. There is no way he is going to tip off his hand to that criminal cabal. He’s smarter than that.
Louise Mensch is a paid instigator from the right. See the photos before the inauguration with Milo Y. She just got stuck doing the job long-term because the dirt hit mainstream vs conspiracy territory.
He has plunged our country into utter chaos. @Betsy-I hope you’re right.
Wouldn’t Mueller’s drop be the PERFECT Valentine’s Day gift to America.
I wanted it for Christmas.
Republicans made this happen. They protected Trump and will continue to protect him. If anyone is expecting someone in the Republican party to step up, it’s never going to happen. We’ll just continue to get the “GOP sources say they’re frustrated with the presidents behavior” drops in the NYT.
Yes, I think of the GOP as making gentle, farting patriotic noises even as they are a criminal organization content to do the oligarchs’ bidding.
Betsy, you win the internet today with your dead-to-rights description. Brava.
Yes. This is all so predictable. We knew he wasn’t qualified, we knew he was dangerously impulsive. We knew he was a puppet for Russia.
And yet the GOP said this was acceptable and supported this imbecile. We should never let them forget it. Elected officials and everyday citizens who supported Trump must own their responsibility for this chaos.
Trump’s unsuitability was clearly apparent in the primaries, but the people of my former party elected him, and the idiot politicians of my former party have supported him. Yeah, I left the party after Dump was elected.
Thank you for doing the right thing.
Every day is a fcuking nightmare.
I am with you! Mattis was the only person I really trusted in the White House, especially with individual one being such a liar and incompetent, stupid idiot. I also heard not to be surprised if acting A.G Whitaker fires Mueller in a couple of days. Heaven Help Us!!!!
If Mueller is fired, there are still plenty of cases pending at other levels of the justice system, and Mueller and the FBI have gathered an enormous amount of information that can be turned over to the new House of Representatives come January 3rd. Though it’s a blatant abuse of power to fire Mueller, of course.
No, Whitaker cannot. The DOJ just released a statement yesterday saying that Rod Rosenstein is now IN CHARGE of the Mueller investigation. Not the intern AG. So, Mueller is safe. Rosenstein has always gone to bat for Mueller and won. I’m not that worried at this point on that one front.
Fluffy Princess, that is WONDERFUL to hear!!!!
Can you provide a link, just to soothe my soul a little bit? I did search and can’t find it. Thank you!!
Also, the Dems get the House in a few weeks. They will bring Mueller in and have him read the report if dump tries to fire him.
When I read his resignation letter last night, I was mixed with two extremes…elation and fear. While I’m proud of Mattis for FINALLY and publicly setting things straight, individual 1 is, as always, an unpredictable moron. While I’m elated the markets are acting out (his base’s claim for efficacy), it never bodes well for the country as a whole.
Did you see Kelly Anne Conway’s husband review of letter? Classic!
https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1075891849263529985?s=19
Oh yes! When I read that I wanted to be invited to dinner at their house! What’s preposterous to think about is that maybe Kelly despises what’s happening, but she continues to lie about it? I’m not sure which is worse. Fighting with her husband and holding her ground or agreeing with hubs and doing a job she can’t stand. Either way she’s deplorable lol.
Oh please…the Conways are buttering their bread on both sides…working as a team. This way, whichever cream floats to the top, they’ll be there to skim it. They’re Beltway insiders par excellence
Mary Matalin worked for Bush; James Carville worked for Clinton. They are still married.
Yes exactly, Mabs, I felt the exact same way.
The market always consists of a bunch of skittish babies. It goes down every time anything new comes along, it seems…. Not sure market fluctuations mean as much as say, consumer holiday spending, in assessing the true health of the economy.
Dumpster Fire is pulling Troops out of Syria because that’s what Putin told him to do. We need to be very, very concerned. An impeachment cannot come soon enough.
And then a few hours after Putin mentions that the US is still in Afghanistan, he tweets that we’re pulling out of there also. Oh and dropping sanctions again Russian oligarch with ties to Putin…all in 1 day. In plain sight. He’s not even trying to hide that he’s working for Putin anymore.
Speaking of dumpster fire, perhaps Bansky had the orange imbecil in mind for his most recent installment. Children the world over will be licking the ashes thinking it’s snow.
Was he the one that called trump a f*****g Moron? Or was that Rex Tillerson.
They all knew what they signed up for, like that racist John Kelly, they all leave with what little reputation they had in tatters.
You must be a liar and dishonest to willingly take a job in trump’s administration.
That was “Rexxon”. I agree – There are no heroes in this. Just rats bailing – or being tossed out.
While I believe we should start pulling our troops out there are ways of doing it and suddenly up and pulling out with no notice or plan is ridiculous. He is also pulling out 1/2 the troops from Afghanistan. It is off that this comes after a conversation with Erdogan (wonder what Trump was promised and how it will benefit Trump and his family) and now Putin is praising this move. The shut down – he’ll change his mind at the last minute because the House bill will not get through the Senate and Trump will not give up his golfing for this.
There is also a GoFundMe page for donations for the wall.
There’s a counter GoFundMe campaign for ladders.
that whole thing is being organized by a known scammer who also has association with (shocker) racist and anti-Semitic groups.
the thing about donating money to the US gov’t is that you can’t designate what it’s for (all money has to be donated “without conditions”) so you can’t say “it’s only yours on the condition that it’s used for the wall” and the usage has to be determined by Congress, which can then only spend the money through legislation, which the president then signs into law. CONGRESS decides how the money is spent, half of Congress is the House. which will be a Dem majority in a couple of weeks.
Funny how all the economically anxious people have money to give.
The people donating to the Wall are the same people who rail against paying taxes.
Yea my friends who work at the DoD and the pentagon are super freaking about this resignation.
Resignations have happened before, but from what I’ve seen glancing through the history files, it’s generally a reverse dynamic – the president asks them to resign over a failure in leadership or other issue. This is a resignation with a hefty rebuke of the administration attached. Uncomfortable uncertain times we live in.
I think he’s the first Secretary of Defense to resign in protest, apparently even considering when they were called Secretaries of War.
To answer the question. Not too freaked out.
While Mattis was seen as (and probably was on occasion) a “moderating force” against Emperor Zero, Mattis still was involved in that “sweeps week” debacle just before the midterms with the caravan. Mild eye roll.
The issue now is that there is no one in the administration who will call out EZ on anything—after all, no one knows more about tech and technology. Big eye roll.
Parts of the government will be shut down because the House punted the spending bill to the Senate knowing that they don’t have the 60 votes needed to fund his “wall” made from aluminum slats and oh look Oleg Deripaska’s Rushal company just had sanctions lifted… Yuge eye roll.
I’m guessing that prosecutors will be dropping some big names soon into the indictment bowl, swirling it around, and playing bingo prison with the names that get pulled out.
Popcorn futures, people. Even though the stock market is diving. 🍿
I always enjoy your posts Eric. Thanks for this one.
Who thought we would get a break from crazy.. just a little..during the holiday? I’m exhausted thinking about what 2019 will be like. The past and future suck at the same time.
25th! 25th!! 25!!! Is this a fucking dictatorship? What the hell happened to checks and balances? And Paul Ryan-bite me!
As long as the Senate has a solid Republican majority and is led by Mitch McConnell, and as long as the Supreme Court remains stacked with obvious partisans, yeah, it’s a fucking dictatorship.
Hell was going to break loose the minute the Democrats were projected to take the House. This is a dangerous interim until they can take hold of some power, and Putin-Trump-McConnell will do whatever they can to prevent their being sworn in and getting their majority, their subpoena power, and their master strategist, Nancy Pelosi.
I want to vomit…
We just need to limp across the finish line and get someone with a heart and brain into the White House.
My first reaction was “we are so screwed.” And way scarier than Melania’s blood trees is the room in the White House where all the Republican Congressional testicles are stored. Somebody needs to get those guys their balls back…..
We’re definitely fucked. Bigly. Trump is absolutely out of control, and clueless. Pulling troops out of Syria is clearly a Christmas gift to Putin. One minute Trump says ISIS is completely gone, then he admits it’s not. According to him, no immigrants are passing the border because security it tight, but for some reason we need a wall (artistically designed steel slats).
On CBS This Morning they said it would mean releasing 3200 ISIS prisoners. Who would then spread out and continue their terrorism.
It is also a gift to Erdoğan to say thanks for buying billions in Patriot missiles. Erdoğan has said that he intends a slaughter of PKK fighters (ie. Kurds…ie. OUR allies in fights against ISIS across the Middle East).
It is also a concession to Erdogan to keep Jared out of Turkish prisons as an accessory to the murder of Khashoggi.
That’s interesting, man, that’s interesting.
Imo, Don the Con has been compromised long before he ran for POTUS, he was . Anyone remember Helsinki? Remember when he met with Putin without anyone in the room, just the two of them. Remember no one as of today knows what they discussed. I’m just saying Putin gave him his marching orders to get out of Syria now and he says, yes, massa. I will never believe he’s just lying about everything for no reason, he has to lie or Putin would tell everything and he just cannot let that happed.
Last week Judge Sullivan was asking if about Flynn committed treason, we did not understand why the Zjudge was so angry, IMO, the judge saw things we don’t know and told Flynn to go back and spill his guts some more or he is going to jail; all I’m saying is, what are Don the Con and his crime family and the deplorables hiding. Don the Con called Michel Cohen “Rat” but wished Flynn good luck. Somethings don’t add up. IMO, the country may be run by Putin already. Remember Flynn was at Putin’s table in Russia and came back to US to have a high position in 45’s cabinet. Something is rotten at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, just saying.
Country’s been run by Russia for some time, from its monetary donations to the NRA/Republican Senators and Representatives to its interference via gullible and greedy media companies (including social) to its secret back channels to the US Treasury (see the latest Buzzfeed reporting on corrupt FinCEN officials emailing to Russia).
People on the Left won’t believe it because they think it’s anti-Communist Cold War hysteria.
People on the Right won’t believe it because that would “never happen in America,” right? Either that, or they’re authoritarians who are in synch with Russia’s authoritarian political culture and hard-right Christian theology.
Good times.
Frankly, I am also concerned where all the troops being pulled out of Syria and Afghanistan will be deployed next. Something is brewing for next year….
It’s not big numbers, so there’s no seeming plan for an all-out ground war … those days are over. Information and cyberwarfare seem to be where it’s at. However, ramping up the rhetoric about China – starting with the trade war – is concerning.
Will be used for building his bigly wall.
I tend to think it’s one of two options:
1.) He wants to permanently militarize the southern border and maintain troops there full-time; or
2.) He’s pulling them back to fortify the military to prepare for a strike on Iran,
Why do the posters here think the US needs to have troops all over the world?? Let other countries work out their own problems!! Young men are dying from the US to fight ISIS. Why? Let other countries like Iran, and Saudi fight them. As well let Putin fight them.
Remember those murders who brought down the WTC came from that part of the world. We need eyes and ears over there or WTC, ISIS is still alive and will strike us again. We needs allies so if we get into a war we are not fighting by ourself/alone. In other words, one hand washes the other. We are not there to help them, we are there to “keep us safe”. Putin owns 45, he sold his soul to the devil for money we need to be there to keep the homeland safe. Putin is happy 😃 to be there for oil and land, just a thought.
Your comments are right on point as to why we leave troops in places like Syria.
So this is interesting. If the US has a good immigration system these people won’t be in the US to strike again. Because vetting would keep them out? Yes?
“Louise” here is very transparent…
The issue is not that we should be the police of the world but that when we make promises to allies, we keep our word. We made a promise to the Kurdish forces that we would stand by them and now we are withdrawing our troops and leaving them to fight the Turks and ISIS alone, which means that ISIS will control the country again.
Seriously. At the risk of sounding patronizing, I think that Louisa’s jejune comments speak to someone who doesn’t know much–if anything–about foreign policy. We all wish it was as simple as she seems to think it is but alas, it is not.
What is the weather like in Macedonia Louise? Or is it Moscow?
Honestly you don’t announce troops withdrawals like this without helping ensure there are plans in place for the ones left behind. He’s just an idiot doing what Putin tells him. No other leader on earth is this dumb. So no this is not how to fix the Middle East issue and either one is trolling or just incredibly stupid to suggest otherwise.
No one thinks we should be in eternal wars, and we’ve lost way too many men in Afghanistan and we need to withdraw immediately from Afghanistan. But three Americans have died in Syria will tens of thousands of Kurds have (and possibly more), so it’s not our folks dying in the fight against ISIL in Syria but the Kurds. And by withdrawing without any sort of plan to use as leverage against the Turks, Rojava is going to be decimated and genocide is very likely going to happen. Erdoğan is already talking about “cleansing” the land.
This could have been solved with some diplomacy, or wheeling and dealing, or even slowly withdrawing from Syria like we did in Iraq back in 2011 and we are now doing in Afghanistan. Not an abrupt pull out with no plans.
My issue is that Trump is clearly following orders by Putin, not the American people and not based on any truly spiritual, humanitarian leanings of the president.
Sure, I’d love for our troops to come home, but not if we’re the ones who did the destabilizing in the first place. The Western world has had more than a slight hand in helping create the situation in parts of the Middle East. The time for hands-off approaches was fifty plus years ago before we started intervening in everybody’s business.
Louise, let me make this simple for you as you’re clearly a troll. Putin will demolish “those countries” in a heartbeat. He will not hesitate to drop a nuclear bomb on them, thereby taking control of the middle east. Do you really want that to happen? Trump has been rolling over and sitting up for Putin and Russian money for 20 years, he doesn’t CARE about the US or the very good chance WWIII will kick in. He only wants money and control.
Jaded – one comforting thought is that Putin will indeed hesitate to nuke the Middle East because he actually knows nuclear weapons backfire and those countries are in his neighborhood. The political costs for him domestically would be very high also. This is why Soviets had and I assume Russia has a No First Strike policy (the US does not). Russians are very aware what war is like on the ground and that they have never used nuclear weapons and want to keep it that way. They do not want to be like Americans, who have used primitive nuclear bombs on two cities with devastating results and whose Presidents have almost all threatened non-nuclear countries with nukes to get what they want.
It’s the Americans you need to worry about dropping nuclear bombs, since Americans tend to be quite accepting of the idea that it’s fine to nuke anybody we don’t like or are afraid of. Most Americans accepted the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, buying the false story that it saved a million American lives in a never-gonna-happen land invasion of Japan. I’ve heard Americans casually say such and such a country should just be nuked into oblivion — even countries as big as the old USSR. We have a POTUS who thinks the same way and who has absolute authority to launch nuclear missiles with no consultation with anybody.
It’s a bit cliche, but it really looks like “Louise” is a Russian troll.
Other places get them, why not here. This is a pretty safe and sane place so I could see people being put here to stir chaos like they do in other places.
Louise….So in your opinion what should the world have done when Hitler invaded Poland? Let Hitler sort everyone out and mind their own business? How about when he was sending Jews to the gas chambers? Sit down and read some history and think about it before blindly posting. And BTW, I am a long time lurker/occasional poster how long have you been reading Celebitchy?
I don’t like the idea of soldiers on foreign soil either but countries have to do the right thing. My father volunteered with the Canadian Army in 1942 at age 17 and when he came back he was never the same. So I know the cost but he knew it had to be done.
Probably I don’t know the American system too much, but for me it’s crazy how no one can stop this dotard from doing all the hell he wants to.
It isn’t that he can’t be stopped, it is that the GOP (which currently controls the branch of government responsible for reigning him in) refuses to do it.
This ^^^. They are all COMPLICIT.
I think ‘freaked out’ is a very healthy response to what is currently happening.
And Whitaker did not recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. He personally cleared himself.
Happy Holidays!
We’re F#cked!!
The US looks so weak right. We are in a perfect spot for an impending security crisis.
Which was the goal.
I don’t agree the world is actually quite worried without the US paying all the bills and policing the world. I think what people don’t understand is that this is what those who voted for trump wanted. The war hawks, that have previously run the country are leaving. Trump is putting into place the people he wants. Most presidents are actually figure heads with those around them telling them what to do. It is driving them crazy that Trump is doing his own thing. The country is in chaos but personally I think needed chaos. It’s makingbpeople think about what we really want. If a new president is in in 2 years will they want war and sending troops back into the Middle East?
It’s because Trump is doing things without first – about anything. Then he either reverses himself 24 – 48 hours later or creates such chaos. There’s a reason the president takes advice from others. One cannot be an expert on everything and so depends on those whose job it is to concentrate on that area because they are (or should be the experts) in it.
It’s not Trump “doing his own thing” that is concerning people. It’s that “his own thing” is delusional and not based on fact. Like when he said we’ve already defeated ISIS, when they still have 30,000 members.
The war hawks are still there. Trump refuses to pull our support from the Yemen war, remember? How does that mesh with the narrative you are trying to write????
Trump is not going to stop frivolous military spending, he just won’t direct it towards legitimate threats. He’s ready to spend tens of billions of dollar to “protect” us from asylum seekers and children, meanwhile leaving us vulnerable to cyber threats from Russia and China.
Your comments are very peculiar, Sputnik.
Trump is certainly not doing his own thing, which is why Mueller is investigating him and all roads are leading to Russia money. Deutsche Bank offices were just raided for Russian money laundering ($230 billion). That is a bank that “loaned” money to Trump because no US bank would give him loans. Trump is completely compromised, he is a total puppet.
Pretty sure most Americans (as opposed to people working out of 55 Savushkina Street) want a president who’s not a Putin puppet. And a stock market that’s not heading rapidly for bear territory.
I’m of the belief Mattis wrote the anonymous op-ed piece in the NYT and that there were those within the government who knew he authored it.
His resignation letter sounded, to me, like a call to arms, a sounding of an alarm. This is not a drill…
I pegged Kelly Anne to be the author. I didn’t think someone established wrote it.
@PunkyMomma–Salon has an interesting article exploring that possibility… https://www.salon.com/2018/09/20/right-to-remain-anonymous-who-is-the-senior-official-who-wrote-the-times-op-ed/
Wow. @Knitter. Thank you!
I can’t wait to find out who wrote this!
While I agree that most people who willingly entered this admin, are horrible human beings, I do not put General Mattis in that category,
He was asked to lead the pentagon and oversee our national security and defense.
He’s a solider, serving his country. He wasn’t a sycophant, and there are examples throughout his entire term at Sec Def where he refused to bow to Emperor Trump.
I genuinely believe he took the job out of a need to serve and yes, to try and keep us out of world war 3.
I tend to agree with this interpretation, but I also think it’s possible that I could find out later that I was wrong.
Mattis fell on the right side of most issues. He opposed banning trans troops, supported the Iran deal, etc. I honestly think Mattis is basically a decent human who thought he could help moderate Trump and do some good. What he got wrong was presuming that Trump would listen. There is a presumption that the President will value the opinions and expertise of his Cabinet and weight their input. Trump does not. He does what he wants, opinions be damned. I could see how Mattis tired of it.
Right now my main sympathy is for the government workers who will not be getting paid as part of Trumps temper tantrum. Since he only cares about getting his way and neither he, nor any of his family or cohorts, will be financially impacted by a government shut down it’s like s big fun joke to him.
While in the past workers did get retro pay after Gov’t shut downs Congress has to approve it; Trump is well known for not paying his bills so imagine he’s going to try to get out of back pay too. He’s been perfectly clear about the disdain he has for the hundreds of thousands of people who technically work for him. I have a family member who works for the DOJ/BOP. Many of them are considered essential staff so not only have to work unpaid during the shut down, they are also at risk because many guards and non managerial staff are NOT considered essential and facilities run on a skeleton staff.
Here’s my very cynical take on the Syria withdrawal. Yes, Trump is doing it because Putin wants him to do so. Yes, Trump sees the handwriting on the wall and wants to burn this country down before the Mueller investigation is over. But to me, there is more going on here. We know that Erdoğan called Trump to tell him that Turkey is going to go after the Kurds quite soon. Trump then publicly stated that he was sending troops home. I think he made a deal with Erdoğan. If Trump removes the troops allowing Turkey to take over (i.e. slaughter) the Kurds, then Erdoğan won’t pursue anything else with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. We know Putin and MBS are tight. They made that clear in Argentina with their bro-handslap/shake. To me, this is a 4-way deal between Erdoğan, Putin, MBS, and Trump. If I’m at all correct, those are some pretty scary friends Trump has and is making deals with.
Yes to all of the above.
Agree about Erdoğan but won’t put t past Putin and Erdoğan coming together to purposely manipulate clown face.
Totally possible. I also agree with another comment that it could also possibly relate to Jared’s involvement with the Kashoggi murder (Turkey agreeing to keep Jared’s name out of their investigation in exchange for being handed the Kurds).
Trump is lashing out like a petulant child and burning what he can to the ground. This screws the Kurds but, well, America has a very long history of leaving allies twisting in the wind and America has done it before to the Kurds (and may very well do it again).
This move by Trump pisses off all his war hawks and the money people, who can no longer piggyback off the American military and make obscene blood money, now they’ll have to do it directly without American cover for their war crimes. The Republicans are, as expected, having to set themselves and their future on fire because Trump is God Emperor of their base and they want power more than doing the right thing for their country. This kind of acceleration was always going to happen as Trump slowly realises there is no out for him or his family. The only thing now is whether Republicans vote to impeach or not. They will but too late to save themselves and bear in mind, this is going to get worse, probably a lot worse first.
My belief is that there are (were) certain people in this adminstration who abhor the Tang Tyrant as much as all other sane and reasonable people and were simply involved with him to babysit. Mattis was one of these people and we should all be scared sh-tless about his resignation.
Honestly, I was amazed he took the position in the first place, much less that he lasted this long. Don’t be surprised of more to come. The rats are fleeing the sinking ship right now. Mattis knew if he didn’t get out now, his reputation would only be tarnished further. Whatever his motivations in the first place (ambition, devotion to his country, concern for the military, etc.), there’s nothing he can do to overturn the damage done by the administration.
I’m wondering if some of the support for remaining in Syria and Afghanistan is habit rather than something else. We’ve been in Afghanistan 17 years now and even military leaders admit we’re not making progress. While there’s some evidence that our participation in Syria’s conflict has been helpful, we are also directly responsible for many civilian deaths, the devastation of whole towns and cities, and it’s most likely that — under any conditions — when the U.S. leaves, we’ll leave a country that’s been leveled and gutted. I don’t like anything about Trump and I know his motives have nothing to do with anything but his masters’ wishes and his giant ego, but I would like to see the U.S. pull back from being the world’s foremost participant in war as a way to end conflicts.
I think there is a difference between agreeing with this sudden unorganized and unplanned withdraw, and agreeing the long term strategy for remaining in Syria and Afghanistan. Don’t confuse disgust with this roll out with “support for remaining in Syria and Afghanistan”.
The military didn’t even know about this change in strategy. How can a plan be well thought out and implemented if you make the decision before consulting the experts? I think options and nuances of a pull back should be considered and discussed, but this was not that.
Syria and the “shutdown” are distractions and a smoke screen for Putin taking over Ukraine,The Baltics,and E Europe.
Yup! And all so that he can get a condo built over there post presidency.
I sympathize I have a heavy cold as well and I spent yesterday in a daze. Then my phone news alerts went crazy. Omg I gave enough trouble dealing with Emperor Babyfusts (TM Celebit hey) when I am at full strength. I am about to go to my mom’s and she is obsessed with msnbc so I am sure that will help my mood. Thank goodness Fox News is banned in her house at least.
My husband is a civilian who works for the Navy. When he heard the news of Mattis quitting last night, he put his head in his hands and said that he was terrified. He’s not one to overreact, and now I am also terrified.
Well..it is less likely for the military to now take up for and stand up for Trump if he tried to stage a take over. Trump may have appeased Russia but he shot himself i the foot with his own military.
Yikes
Oh God RBG had surgery to remove cancerous growths from her lung. Best wishes to her. Also we are officially fudged
He is a Russian puppet. Period. Every move he wants to do with the military benefits Russia and it will give Russia the permission to move into the Ukraine. This is all about Russia and Syria, he is doing exactly what they want him to do. This is all for one country and one country only Russia.
What should really disturb us, it was rumored John Kelly and Mattis made a pact where at least one of them would stay to watch & guard baby hands from burning down the country. The pact was at least have one adult in the room. When Kelly was fired, it was up to Mattis to stay no matter what. Mattis is hardcore and probably not the type of man to go back on his word but he felt it was important enough to break that pact with Kelly. The middle East is getting ready to turn into a bloodbath and watch out for Russia now invading Ukraine/Baltics again. Mattis made the right decision for himself to step down as an honorable man of his postion but oh boy is the rest of the world f&cked.
This all combined with just reading the RBG had surgery for lung cancer today has me shook.
Just heard that. What I hope happens to IQ45 I can’t print, but feel free to infer.
I guess Turtleneck is licking his lips now. He’s in a second place tie with Dickhead Cheney on my Hatred List.
Cheney at least answers to money, you can predicate his moves. Trump is 100% unhinged and answers to no one or anything. As horrible as Cheney is he at least knows his limits
@Jerusha:
Amen to that. I hate them both so hard one of us would burst into flames if we ever met.
I cannot wait to hear what really is behind this all. Hope we’ll learn the truth someday. Hope all the players will be exposed. Hope they’ll get what they deserve.
Amazing the clown is still the president. I’m so disgusted.
We should definitely be worried about Mattis’s exit. I support ending these long ass terrible wars but Trump’s (non) method is batshit crazy,, dangerous, likely to destabilize the region further and will screw over the Kurds AGAIN. It’s like Trump is compelled to create chaos and destruction and make us weaker and less safe.
One reason losing Mattis is a big deal is that he’s apparently been a cornerstone of trust and sanity for leaders outside the US – both allies and (fr)enemies. (RE: (Fr)enemies. Mattis’ presence reduced the chance of deadly accidents & miscommunication).
Also don’t forget: Trump has not really been tested with a national security crisis. With Mattis gone? I feel even LESS safe.
Bottom line: Yes, this is very very bad news although I AM glad he went public with his disagreements with Trump and basically called him out for being hostile to allies, hostile to alliances and weak with malign actors like Russia & China. I know it won’t matter to the nutob MAGAts but I think it’s important to remember there are ALOT of people out there that are politically disengaged that can still be persuaded. (It’s easy to get a skewed view about the electorate when you’re on twitter or Facebook alot)
RE: The shutdown
Mitch has to go nuclear to pass the House adjusted CR. I just don’t think he’ll do it. That would open the door to all kinds of far left legislation making it through in the future and I think Turtle actually cares about conservatism and the future of the GOP. (Trump on the other hand couldn’t give a shit. He just wants to WIN and fill the cold black hole in his soul). So yeah we’re headed toward a shut down and I’m sorry Trumpies but that wall is NEVER going to happen. The day back the loony far right anti-immigration types like Stephen Miller & Tom Cotton stopped Trump & Schumer’s DACA for $20 billion Wall deal was the day it died. This wall drama is all show to keep Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of his loathsome base on his side.
Mitch boy can’t use the nuclear option for budget legislation. It’s against the law.
Putin must’ve gotten a lot of write in votes in the last presidential election. It’s never been more clear who really is running this country. What Putin wants the Donald gets it for him. How can 38% of our country not see this point?
Easy answer, they’re stupid. Also, bigoted in many cases.
They are moronically stupid and racist af
I blocked my mom on Facebook recently, I had to otherwise I wouldn’t be able to continue to have a relationship with her.
The things she says and reposts are disgusting and factually not true and sheep like propaganda.
Christmas is basically going to be me only hanging out next to my husband, my kids and my one sane sister (I have 3)
With the others (about 30 people) I’ll be able to talk about how yummy the food is and how pretty the lights are
Let me toss this in;
China.
Very. He ran on the promise that Mexico would pay for the wall. Walls are bad. He sucks.
We should be very freaked out and scared.
What I don’t understand is why the press is depicting Mattis as a hero and the adult in the WH when just last month he sided with the Dotard and said that there was no evidence that MBS was involved in Khashoggi’s torture and murder. The press has one job to do and they keep failing us. So far only one journalist from the Hill has called out the Mattis’ hypocrisy. It’s sad watching the press praise Mattis for standing up to the Dotard when just weeks ago they were talking about how complicit he is. The Dotard gets away with what he does because the press is too incompetent. They don’t do follow ups and then they present old stories as new, they don’t pay attention to people like Stephen Miller until there is fallout from their actions, or they present people like Mattis and Kelly as adults in the WH when in fact they have been nothing but complicit. Jared and the Dotard helped MBS and now the press is acting like Jared is a hero because he was involved in prison reform. What is happening? Why is the press so easily fooled by the Dotard’s administration?
Yeah I REALLY don’t get why the press is so bad. Are they incompetent, stupid …what?
If regular people can see all these things and are asking questions, why on EARTH are the press not doing anything??
It is LITERALLY their JOB
Thanks for this! +a million. Mattis is a war monger and he quit bc trump actually smartly chose to end illegal occupation of Syria (approval of congress). Yet another regime change is what the mi complex is after, along with super lucrative ‘rebuilding’ contracts. Ted Lieu has the right take. You can despise everything orange stands for but agree with this one.
Totally agree. Mattis is a war criminal who is not called “Mad Dog” for nothing. People calling him decent and honorable should research his conduct in Iraq – particularly the destruction and death in Fallujah. It makes chilling reading.
Just wanted to wish all of the Celebitchy community, who’ve provided ballast in these stormy seas, best wishes for a happy, peaceful holiday, and saner times ahead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwgrjjIMXA&list=RDEMJb3J-B0DAs2mKfr-m2KXrQ&index=8
I just want to say, this is perhaps the best CB thread I’ve ever read. Y’all are on point, educated, witty, and making me feel better about the Fanta Menace taking us all down (which we knew would happen when he ran for the primaries, right? None of the past 2 years has surprised ANYONE, surely?)
–In friendship,
Cassandra
LOL at “Fanta Menace”. I actually bought that orange drink for the holidays. Now instead of childhood memories, I’ll think of you-know-who when I drink one!
Oh no! 😛 I wish I could take the credit but it’s just one of the many excellent nicknames floating around the twittersphere. At least we’ll be entertained while we go down in fire…
Emphasis on leaders ignores structural power, economic relations and culture