It is time to ask ourselves, is Trump acting like a Russian puppet?

Once again, Trump supporters should be commended for not using Trump's statements to defend Trump. In defense of his Syrian decision, Trump's statements are filled with lies.

Among numerous lies, he imagines what his critics are saying, then he criticizes them based on what he imagined. "We never agreed to protect the Kurds for the rest of their lives," Trump said today in a cabinet meeting. That is quite true. On the other hand no one has ever said that. His detractors have said he betrayed the Kurds who eliminated ISIS terrorists for us and the Western democracies.

With this and other nonsense, Trump totally embarrassed himself at his cabinet meeting. At one point, like the promoter that he is, Trump bragged about the amenities at his Doral resort, confirming that he is profiting off his Presidency, confirming that he is in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution.

He further embarrassed himself by saying a part of our Constitution is phony. “You people with this phony emoluments clause,” Trump said as he took questions from reporters during the Cabinet meeting.

It should be noted, however, that Trump supporters rarely defend Trump. They largely avoid what Trump says and does. Can you blame them?

At a news conference Wednesday, Trump claimed that Kurdish insurgents in Turkey (the PKK), who are linked to Kurdish forces in Syria and are locked in a decades-long separatist battle with Turkey, were “probably worse at terror and more of a terrorist threat than ISIS."

Turkey watchers were quick to point out two things: One, that’s just not true, and two, Trump’s comments were suddenly strikingly similar to Turkish government talking points.

Erdogan said on Monday Turkey would take “necessary” further steps in northeastern Syria after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the day that a five-day Washington-brokered ceasefire expires.

“We will take up this process with Mr Putin and after that we will take the necessary steps,” Erdogan told a forum in Istanbul hosted by broadcaster TRT World, without elaborating.

"Thank you, Mr. President, you are doing a great job," Vladimir Putin.

 

Putin and Hungary’s Orban helped sour Trump on Ukraine
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...af1e9c-f40b-11e9-ad8b-85e2aa00b5ce_story.html

"The role played by Putin and Orban, a hard-right leader who has often allied himself with the Kremlin’s positions, was described in closed-door testimony last week by George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, before House impeachment investigators, U.S. officials said.

Kent cited the influence of those leaders as a factor that helped sour Trump on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the months leading up to their July 25 phone call — a conversation that triggered an extraordinary whistleblower complaint as well as a House impeachment inquiry."
........................................................................................................................................................
Don won't listen to his military advisers............but with Vlad................he's all ears.

 

Erdogan said on Monday Turkey would take “necessary” further steps in northeastern Syria after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the day that a five-day Washington-brokered ceasefire expires.

No doubt about it. Trump is doing exactly what Putin wants him to do, and it is apparent Trump's fans agree with that conclusion, as indicated by their silence.

 

Putins's jets patrol Syrian skies. Putin's military is expanding operations in Syria. Putin is forging closer ties to Turkey and his Syrian allies are moving into territory vacated by the United States. Trump's unconditional surrender to Putin also emboldens Syria's ally, Iran.

And on Tuesday, Putin played host to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for more than six hours of talks on how they and other regional players will divide control of Syria. They will decide matters now in Syria, not the U.S. Long live the butcher, Bashar al Assad.

"Thank you, Donald," Vladimir Putin.

 

With the exception of Trump's followers who support his cooperation with Vladimir Putin, Trump has accomplished the impossible. He has made Americans feel ashamed of being an American.

He betrayed an ally. He has proven, that under his stewardship, America cannot be trusted. He has ceded power broker status in the Middle East to Russia.

"Russia Assumes Mantle of Supreme Power Broker in the Middle East," proclaimed Britain's Telegraph. "Russia's status as the undisputed power-broker in the Middle East was cemented as Vladimir Putin continued a triumphant tour of capitals traditionally allied to the US."

"Donald Trump Has Handed Putin the Middle East on a Plate," according to the Telegraph. "Putin Seizes on Trump's Syria Retreat to Cement Middle East Role," said the Financial Times.

The conservative leaning Washington Examiner writes, "The awful and obviously predictable outcome of President Trump’s surrender in Syria has now come to pass.

"Turkey and Russia have announced an agreement to remove Kurdish fighters from northern Syria, a horrible development for the forces of freedom and Middle Eastern stability. This agreement supersedes the Kurds' earlier attempt at an agreement with Russia and the government of Bashar Assad. Now, Turkey will move against YPG Kurdish units in northern Syria from one side, while Russia and its Syrian government clients will move in from the other. Crucially, all Kurdish fighting “elements and their weapons” will “be removed from Manbij and Tal Rifat.”

"Those towns, especially the large town of Manbij, are strategic linchpins. Without them, the Kurds can be essentially starved out. There could be an immense humanitarian crisis."

If Russia ends up effectively dominating Turkey, the damage it can do in the eastern Mediterranean region is immense.

The conservative Examiner concludes, There is not a single strategic or tactical gain for U.S. interests that has been gained from Trump’s order of withdrawal. In fact, more U.S. troops will be in the Middle East than before, but nations traditionally hostile to the U.S. are now ascendant.

This is disastrous, pure and simple.

Of course, none of this bothers Trump's fans.

 

The latest Gallup Poll shows a 39% job approval rating for Trump. https://news.gallup.com/poll/203207/trump-job-approval-weekly.aspx

What does that mean exactly? It means that roughly 40% of Americans support Trump's cooperation with Russia. That's amazing.

Or, Trump's supporters have no idea what is going on and they don't want to know. For example, they have completely ignored this thread that deals specifically with Trump facilitating Russian goals.

 

Trump and his SecDef, Mark Esper, are without shame as they try to defend Trump's decision to surrender to Turkey and Russia.

Recently, Esper was interviewed by Christiane Amanpour. In that interview our secretary of defense said, The United States "didn't sign up to fight a war to defend the Kurds against a longstanding NATO ally."

So, according to Esper, if the Turks wish to eliminate an American ally, that is okay with him and U.S. forces won't get in the way. That, or course, is what the military ignorant Trump said. Trump and Esper think it is their job to prevent our troops from getting hurt.

He added later that Turkey "is a longstanding NATO ally," saying, "we're not going to go to war with a NATO ally and certainly not ... with regard to a border that we didn't sign up to defend in the first place."

"We're not going to go to war with a NATO ally." Did our secretary fo defense think Turkey would engage U.S. forces? Did he not know that a small U.S. force has been in Syria for over two years as a buffer to prevent going to war.

It worked until Trump removed that buffer and war began immediately as Turkey invaded Syria. Now the region is controlled by Turkey, Russia, and the butcher, Assad.

The gutless Esper was hired by Trump to be his mouthpiece in the Pentagon. Esper is doing a great job of doing just that.

 

The war mongers are very upset that Empire might be threatened.

 

Trump defended his dishonorable surrender decision to betray our Kurdish allies today. To properly understand Trump's statements one must know two things.

First, directly as a result of Trump's decision, hundreds have died and over 100,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. Secondly, Trump speaks only to his base, not Republicans in Congress and not the American people as a whole. Only his base will believe his statements.

“This was an outcome created by us, the United States, and nobody else,” Trump said. “No other nation. Very simple.” No, this was an outcome created by Trump and his unconditional surrender to Turkish and Russian goals. For example, Russian troops now occupy former American bases.

Trump announced that the United States had brokered a permanent cease-fire in northeast Syria, taking credit for a tentative deal that was worked out between Turkey and Russia. He lifted the sanctions he had imposed after Turkey invaded Kurdish-run areas south of its border. The President cast the announcement as a triumph of diplomacy.

In other words, this is complete capitulation to Turkey and Russia, and Trump is telling his base this was a diplomatic victory and a proud moment for America.

“Let someone else fight over this long bloodstained sand,” Trump said. It is Trump's wish to abandon Israel, leave the Middle East and its strategic oil deposits, and turn the whole region over to Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Trump even said it. “Others have come out to help and we welcomed them to do so; other countries have stepped forward,” referring to the hours of negotiations in Sochi, Russia between Putin and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. “They want to help and we think that’s great.”

Good grief, this is our President. Has he lost his mind? Is this another one of his stupid jokes?

“The government of Turkey informed my administration that they would be stopping combat and their offensive in Syria, and making the cease-fire permanent,” Trump said. Doesn't the idiot know Erdogan stopped the fighting because he has gotten everything he wanted and more.

Trump calls this a diplomatic triumph???

Erdogan and Putin have to be laughing their fool heads off at the American President. Putin picked a good one when he picked Trump to run our country.

Now to top everything off, there was a ruckus in the capital today as Republican representatives stormed the meeting room for the impeachment hearing, delaying testimony for about five hours.

No doubt Trump's fans are quite happy with all this. They aren't saying a damn thing.

 

Congratulations on a new record Sandy, five responses to your own comments all in a rew. Nice to see you still have Russia on the brain.

 

That is because Trumpets do not have the balls to defend Trump from my reports. Is that because they know I am telling the truth? Trump is acting like a Russian agent.

You haven't challenged that assertion.

Also, I want to keep readers informed of the latest developments, and it doesn't look good for Trump. Yesterday, he claimed that his unconditional surrender to Turkey and Russia was a diplomatic victory for him.

Well, that's Trump. His only option now is to try to lie his way out of a dishonorable decision, a horrible decision you have not tried to justify. No Trumpet has.

Which explains their total silence on the subject.

 

Russia Russia Russia Clusion Clusion Clusion

 

Sandy, the readers are doing just fine without your hourly "reports" that you put out just to bump yourself to the front page of the forum. Living with
Learn the language and enjoy a big bowl of Borscht and a side of Stoli.

 

I liked them soldja's in white dress uniforms the best, expecially them skirts.

 

The following proves my point.

The thread is accusing their hero of acting like a Russian agent. This is all they have to say. No other Trumpet has responded to this thread in days.

What happened to Trump's phony claim that he was "bringing the troops back home?" He lied to the American people again.

USA Today reports, "WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is preparing to send tanks and armored vehicles to Syrian oil fields, according to a U.S. official – a stunning reversal of President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. forces from the war-torn country after he declared victory over ISIS.

"The deployment of heavy armor to Syria would represent a significant escalation in the fight, requiring a contingent of additional troops to operate and maintain the vehicles, as well as forces to protect their bases."

What do you expect from a draft dodger who never spent a day in the military? That's our Commander-in-Chief.

Now Trump is telling the Kurds to leave their homes and their jobs and go to the oil fields where American tanks will be waiting. "He [General @MazloumAbdi] appreciates what we have done, and I appreciate what the Kurds have done. Perhaps it is time for the Kurds to start heading to the Oil Region!"

This guy lives in a world all his own.

Is it any wonder why Trumpets are staying away from all this. They don't want to get involved in the impeachment inquiry, either. Mostly, Trumpets are avoiding anything having to do with Trump.

 

Our Commander-in-Chief is brilliant.

Well, at least according to him. After surrendering the field to Russia and Turkey, Trump now changes his mind and is sending in more troops and equipment than ever to protect the oil fields. Actually, his mind was changed for him by the Pentagon.

Don't believe me? This is what our brilliant military genius said. “We will NEVER let a reconstituted ISIS have those fields!” Trump said.

Reconstituted? How did that happen? The U.S. military and Syrian Kurdish forces largely defeated ISIS. Trump's dishonorable decision to betray the Kurds enabled Turkey to invade their lands to annihilate them. In the process, an unknown number of ISIS terrorists escaped because their guards were the Kurds, and they were forced to defend their homes from the Turks.

So, Trump caused ISIS to be "reconstituted," his word.

The Russians from their bases previously occupied by American troops are doing their best stabilize the chaos created by Trump. They and the Turks are trying to work things out.

Trump is all for it. He said so himself. “Others have come out to help and we welcomed them to do so; other countries have stepped forward. They want to help and we think that’s great.”

 

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will clear northeast Syria of Kurdish YPG militia if Russia does not fulfill its obligations under an accord that helped end a Turkish offensive in the region, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Under the deal hammered out by Erdogan and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Russian military police and Syrian border guards are meant to clear the YPG fighters from within 30 km (19 miles) of the border over a period of six days ending on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-if-russia-fails-to-act-erdogan-idUSKBN1X50C9

The Kurdish YPG is the military force that fought Assad's army, secured northeast Syria from Damascus, and defeated ISIS.

Thanks to Trump, the American President and the U.S. have no say in the matter. Russia is now in control as she supports the Assad regime.

Besides Russia and Turkey, who also benefits? Syria's strongest ally, Iran, and our bitter foe.

Is it any wonder why Trump's supporters want no part of these developments? They find other things to talk about. Does anyone blame them? There isn't much they can say. Trump's decision benefited Russia and her allies, proving the contention of this thread.

 

Trump can't sanction Turkey.. Putin needs the Turkstream pipeline deal to be completed even though its fraught with problems ..

Turkey is expected to consume about 15.75 billion cubic metres per annum (556 billion cubic feet per annum), the rest of the gas is planned be brought to the Greek–Turkish border to be exported by connecting pipelines to Europe.

However, there are concerns that there is not enough capacity to transport this amount from the Greek–Turkish border further to Europe.

According to the European Commissioner for Energy Maroš Šefčovič the proposed pipeline exceeds demands of possible customers.

The planned follow-on projects to bring Russian gas from TurkStream into Europe include the Tesla Pipeline, to run from Greece to Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, ending at the Baumgarten gas hub in Austria; and Eastring, planned to carry gas north via Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Early 2016, Gazprom signed a Memorandum of Understanding with DEPA SA for natural gas deliveries to Europe via Interconnector Turkey–Greece–Italy, a southern route to run from Greece to Italy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TurkStream

 

And that accounts for the failed Russian coup in Macedonia and of course Trump's odd condemnation of that country

 

Reports of Baghdadi's demise have come only from Trump. For example, here is the Guardian's report. "The Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a raid by US special forces on his Syrian safehouse, Donald Trump announced on Sunday, ending a years-long manhunt for one of the world’s most wanted terrorists.

"Trump said the “impeccable” two-hour operation was conducted on Saturday night in the province of Idlib, one of the last areas of the country still outside Syrian regime control, and that US officials had confirmed Baghdadi, 48, was among those killed."

I am not saying this is not true, but Trump has lied so much in the past, we can't trust anything he says. He has made over 12,000 false or misleading claims, according to the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks his statements.

Is there any reason why we should believe him now? Besides, this is very convenient. The Guardian adds, "Baghdadi’s death is likely to be a significant fillip for Trump, who has faced withering criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike for withdrawing troops from north-eastern Syria, effectively allowing Turkey to move against the US’s Kurdish allies in the region."

A bit too convenient.

Reports of Baghdad's death have been greatly exaggerated in the past. The Air Force Times reports, "A Defense Department official told Military Times late Saturday that al-Baghdadi, one of the world’s most wanted men, was targeted upon orders from President Donald Trump and that he was believed to have been killed. However, the Defense Department official said the military is still awaiting confirmation of al-Baghdadi’s death from DNA testing."

 

Still true, every report we are getting is coming from Trump or the White House. Taking into account their propensity to lie, the convenience of Baghdadi's demise considering the strong criticism Trump has received from Republicans and others, I am not willing to accept Baghdadi's death until we hear from an independent source, any source other than Trump and the White House.

However, the irony of this operation -- if it happened -- is palpable.

Trump was criticized heavily by members of his own party, members of his own staff, and our military leaders for his cowardice after making the dishonorable decision to betray in important ally in Syria. Matters got only worse as Erdogan and Putin decided things for him, and Trump characterized his unconditional surrender to Turkey and Russia as great diplomatic victory.

Making matters worse, the Pentagon countermanded Trump's decision and upped the ante. The Pentagon decided to send in tanks, armor, and the requisite number of troops to guard the oil fields and deal with the ISIS terrorists who escaped as a consequence of Trump's decision to retreat.

In other words, contrary to what he said on Oct. 7 -- "We want to bring our troops back home” -- more troops than ever will be sent to Syria.

Amidst all this Trump proudly declares a military victory, the exact opposite of his intentions a few weeks ago.

Trump proudly described the military operation by the Joint Special Operations Command's Delta Team. He imagined Baghdadi's final minutes for his audience.
"He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place.".

Trump then described the situation as if he was there, saying the ISIS leader "spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him." Trump loves melodrama to enhance the viewing pleasure of his audience, his gullible base.

No doubt Trump was enjoying his military victory.

The only question is, is it real or imagined?

Baghdadi has been killed many times in the past.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has only appeared in public once since he declared himself emir (leader) of the Islamic State in June 2014.

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/isis/isis-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-killed-iraq-syria-1.5415906

Trump thanked the Russians before thanking our troops. What did the Russians do? The Russian military said it was not aware of any US military operations in the region.

 

If true, and there are serious doubts because the only source of Baghdadi's demise has come from Trump and his yes men in the Pentagon, Esper and Milley..

The Daily Mail reports, "Russia has mocked America's claim that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a raid at the weekend, calling it the 'umpteenth' report of the cleric's death.

"Moscow's Defence Ministry said it 'does not have reliable information about the actions of the US army' while suggesting that the terrorist leader may still be alive.

"Baghdadi has been reported dead several times since he rose to prominence as ISIS's leader in 2014, most recently by Russia - which claimed to have killed him in an airstrike in Raqqa in June 2017."

On the other hand, Russia is just as capable of lying as is Trump and the White House, so, who knows?

I guess the real question is, noting that Baghdadi is merely a figurehead -- he has been seen and heard from once in five years -- he is hardly an inspirational leader. So, what good is it to have killed a mute figurehead of a terrorist organization? Did this weaken ISIS one little bit? I doubt it.

Trump did the damage when his retreat caused hundreds of ISIS terrorists to escape.

Somebody has been buried at sea already. What was the rush? Considering the doubts arising from the operation, the quick burial is suspicious. In fact, why bury him at sea? Bring him to the U.S. for unquestioned verification.

But Trump didn't do that. Why?

 

Prior to Oct. 6, American commanders had assured their Kurdish counterparts that they would be able to keep the peace in northern Syria for the foreseeable future. Then Trump suddenly changed his mind, and on Oct. 6, after a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, he ordered American troops to leave the border area.

He betrayed the Kurds who had destroyed the caliphate in Syria and Iraq, and marginalize the ISIS guerilla army, imprisoning close to 10,000 terrorists.

There has been a great amount deal-making over Syria, culminating in a triumphant summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi. Turkey agreed to halt its invasion into Syrian territory, and it will seize less Kurdish-held territory than the 20-mile-deep “safe zone.” Russia will work with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s forces to push the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the Turkish-Syrian border. Russia and Turkey will then conduct joint military patrols within Syrian territory along a substantial chunk of the border. The deal will strengthen the Assad government and diminish the power of the YPG, Turkey’s main concern.

The rape of the Kurdish people was complete.

Now we are being told that the Kurds helped Trump eliminate Baghdadi.

NBC news reports, "Kurdish-led forces allied with the United States provided information that was key to the operation that killed the Islamic State group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Kurdish forces in Syria said Monday.

"In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Gen. Mazloum Abdi of the Syrian Democratic Forces said his intelligence service had a source deep in al-Baghdadi's inner circle who described a room-by-room layout of the terror leader's compound on the Turkish border, including the number of guards, floor plan and tunnels.

"Abdi said the unidentified source was on location during the raid and left with the attacking U.S. forces."

Since this began, some wondered how the Delta force came up with a sample of Baghdadi's DNA to compare with the body of the ISIS leader.

Well, that came from the Kurds, too. NBC continued, "The source, whom Abdi described as one of al-Baghdadi's security advisers, proved to U.S. intelligence that he had direct access to al-Baghdadi this summer by turning over the ISIS leader's used underwear and later a sample of his blood.

"U.S. intelligence tested those samples and got positive DNA matches for al-Baghdadi."

So, the Kurds, who Trump betrayed which led to the loss of their homes, provided both the informant and the DNA sample.

Suspicions abound.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...tel-operation-killed-isis-leader-abu-n1072921

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/28/putin-erdogan-deal-syria-kurds-agreement-war-continues/

 

It wasn't long ago that when Trumpers tried to prove that Trump wasn't "in" with the Russians...they would point to the "lethal aid" .."he" was supposedly providing to the Ukrainians in their battle with Russia.

Oddly...they don't talk about that anymore...

 

I am just naturally suspicious when there too many inconsistencies and too many coincidences.

Trump has a serious problem with the impeachment inquiry in the House, and it is dominating the news. All of sudden, out of nowhere, he is a military hero. That is some diversion, a monumental change of subject.

His military hero status is contrary to nearly everything he has said in the past three years. He wants to bring the troops home, not engage in military adventures.

Trump betrays an ally. That ally then helps Trump eliminate Trump's Public Enemy No. 1.

That ally provides the informant deep within Baghdadi's circle that allows the Delta force to eliminate the bad guy.

That ally provides the DNA that is needed to prove the dead guy is Baghdadi.

Trump announces the successful operation on a Sunday morning. By Monday, the body is buried at sea. No one will be able to examine the body.

The only source of Baghdadi's demise is Trump and his close circle which includes the two men responsible for the operation, SecDef Esper and chairman of the joint chiefs, Milley. No one else is saying a thing.

Will we ever know if Baghdadi is really dead? He was a reclusive leader, seen publicly once in five years. If alive, it is to Baghdadi's advantage that his enemies think he is dead.