Thursday

Trump to pull US troops from Syria?

".. Israel’s leaders – government, military and intelligence – were dumbfounded by US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull US troops out of Syria as part of its withdrawal from the Mid-East at large. Senior ministers received no answers to their urgent calls to the prime minister’s office and Military Intelligence (AMAN) officers for confirmation of the news. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, himself, only received word of the decision just five minutes before it hit Twitter, DEBKAfile sources have learned, although he talked to the president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo some days ago. In recent conversations with US National Security Adviser John Bolton, as well as Pompeo, about the IDF operation against Hizballah tunnels, both US officials assured Netanyahu that he had nothing to worry about. US troops were present in eastern and northern Syria, they said, and they would not let pro-Iranian Iraqi militias come through from western Iraq to the aid of Hizballah.
Israeli officials were further dismayed early Thursday, Dec. 20, when they understood that the only leaders to receive prior notice of Trump’s decision were Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. This was inferred from intelligence of a secret deal, which the president’s adviser on Syrian affairs James Jeffrey had reached with Erdogan and which opened the way for Turkish military movements in Syria in the wake of the US pullout."  from [debka]

Trump has gone rogue. This could get him fired.

The entire US war machine, the brown-people hating/Muslim-hating/Fox News base, his cabinet (at least Bolton and Pompeo), Netanyahu, and most importantly, Sheldon Adelson, the man paying the bills for Trump and the Rs, are not going to be happy.

It will also give the yackers plenty to talk about over the xmas weekend and show/create some strange alliances. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, NYT, WP, WSJ, will all be in agreement against the move. The MAGA crowd, Evangelicals and the folks who love killing brown people will be against it. Anti-war, Trump-hating progressives will be for it. The D establishment will have to show their war-fangs. It'll be the news story of the weekend.

Why now and why would he tell Putin and Erdogan before Netanyahu and Sheldon? Maybe MBS has something on Trump and told him to shut up Erdogan about the Saudi murder? Is there another big Trump corruption story about to hit and this was just to win the news cycle? Something for Putin?

Still, I'd have to bet against it really happening. I'll guess it plays out in typical Trump fashion,... A big announcement. Lots of uproar. Then over the next few weeks it just won't happen and everyone will forget about it.

If it really does happen, I predict Trump will be gone soon after the first of the year.

Trump to pull US troops from Syria #2 - from Moon of Alabama - lots of speculation in the comments.

"It seems that Erdogan made a deal with Trump, which is now turned into practical moves. Yesterday Turkey was suddenly offered to buy advanced Patriot missile defense systems. It had earlier decided to buy the Russian S-400 system. Now we learn the U.S. troops move out. What other surprises are in this deal? What does Trump get out of it? How does this change Turkey's relation with Russia?"

A false-flag event to keep us there seems possible? My money is on a "Chemical attack by the Syrian Government" 

Also, maybe Israel gets something too? He'd have to offer Netanyahu something for compensation?

Trump to pull US troops from Syria #3  -  The Trump Base may never hear about it. Drudge has nothing on it at all and Fox has only one small story on the front page. Eventually, if troops really are pulled, they will spin it as a trump military victory that Obama couldn't pull off"


Propaganda

Something to remember.

"Tucker Carlson is a product Fox is selling, not an important part of our democracy or our sainted press."

From They Already Claim To Have Standards