Rojava.

This is coolbert:

Here begins a series of blog entries a response to a challenge as posed by the Colonel USMC.

The most recent withdrawal of American special operations forces from north Syria [Rojava to the Kurdish ethnic group] now seen as extremely controversial.

Withdrawal as described with lurid language. Retreat! Abandonment! Bug-out! Sell-out! Betrayal! Unplanned! Precipitous! Pell-mell! Back stab! Doesn't sound as if it could be any worse.

Retreat as the subject of articles from a variety of sources with universal condemnation so it seems.

1. "U.S. soldiers who fought alongside Kurds blast Trump's Syria retreat"

2. "James Mattis On Trump’s Syria Withdrawal: ‘Re-Instilling Trust Is Going To Be Very Difficult’"

3. "Fearing US abandonment, Kurds kept back channels wide open"

4. "Turkey, Syria, the Kurds, and Trump’s Abandonment of Foreign Policy"

Now for the rest of the story. Retreat? Abandonment? Bug-out? Sell-out? Betrayal? Unplanned? Precipitous? Pell-mell? Back stab? NO!

From over a year ago now see my prior blog entry. The withdrawal of American special operations units in Northeast [NE] Syria planned and announced well in advance.

"The US will still 'maintain a presence' after troop pullout from NE Syria"

"Following the backlash from President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from NE Syria, senior administration officials Friday night, Dec. 21 offered Mid East leaders clarifications for allaying their concerns."

Additionally as was announced from a year ago:

* American presence to be diminished but not totally eliminated.
* Withdrawal of American combat units not to be precipitous but phased.
* Further Turkish intervention not to be so extreme as anticipated.
* Allied forces [Iraqi] in the region positioned for rapid reaction if needed.

In finality from my perspective consider: 1. American military units not abandoning the Kurds. Rather the opposite. Ever since the First Gulf War [1991] U.S. troops guaranteeing within the Kurdish Autonomous Zone protection from outside attack. 2. What exact alternative exists to the withdrawal of American military units from NE Syria? Sovereign territory of a sovereign nation-state occupied by a foreign power [USA] uninvited! American troops remaining in place for thirty years more?

Devoted readers to the blog let me hear from you on this one. More on this topic to follow. Much more.

coolbert.