What Syria Withdrawal?
That is really what retiring diplomat Jim Jeffrey said in an interview last week:
“We were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there,” Jeffrey said
Apparently it is so obvious that ‘the real adults’ are running the important things now and forever it is not even necessary to pretend.
Border Walls are political theater bad actors use to hold our attention while the actual War goes on, not significantly influenced by the clowns on stage.
Not significantly influenced? What about one of the most shocking foreign policy moves of Trump’s administration — the Syria Withdrawal, announced in December, 2018? Wasn’t that an example of the President calling the shots? Defense Secretary Mattis resigned. He lost. Trump won, right?
Um, no.
“What Syria withdrawal? There was never a Syria withdrawal,” Jeffrey said. “When the situation in northeast Syria had been fairly stable after we defeated ISIS, [Trump] was inclined to pull out. In each case, we then decided to come up with five better arguments for why we needed to stay. And we succeeded both times. That’s the story.”
Jeffrey was a major Special Envoy in charge of Syria. He had been on the A-Team for decades and could be counted on to manage the shell game. He did.
The Wall is for Show, the War is for Dough.
The adults returning to their public places understand this value system and can be expected to keep growing the War Machine as the only possible path for the non-productive economy currently structuring the U.S.
Why I was struck by Jeffrey’s interview was the timing and the brazenness. He spoke to Defense One Newsletter on November 12, when Trump’s denial of reality was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. At the first moment Jeffrey could openly ridicule Trump, he couldn’t wait. Told everyone Trump never mattered in anything important.
Which means we don’t either.