President-elect Trump has chimed in on Syria. Stay out of it, says Trump on X. So why are we there?
Trump’s Tweet on X
Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad. Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in. But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them. There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!
Here’s a link to Trump’s Tweet Regarding Syria
So Why Is the US in Syria?
Consider this Fox News Interview With Trump.
Trump: I left troops in Syria to take the oil. The only troops I have are taking the oil. Right now, the United States has the oil. So they say he [Trump] left troops in Syria. No, other than we’re protecting the oil. We have the oil.
I hope that’s clear. We are still in Syria to take the oil.
Apparently Syria is not our fight, other than to take the oil.
Pressure Mounts on Assad
The Wall Street Journal reports Pressure Mounts on Syria’s Assad as Rebels Threaten Damascus From South and North
Syrian government forces scrambled to shore up their crumbling lines of defense, after a string of rebel victories in cities north and south of the capital Damascus blindsided foreign powers and pushed President Bashar al-Assad to his most precarious position in more than a decade of civil war.
“Our forces have begun implementing the final phase of encircling the capital, Damascus,” rebel military commander Hassan Abdul-Ghani said.
Panic was taking hold in Damascus as residents rushed to stock up on food and essentials. Many shops closed and some products were already out of stock, said Rim Turkmani, who was in touch with her sister in the city. Prices had surged, and ATMs were out of cash.
Iran and Russia have yet to come to Assad’s rescue as they did in 2015, when they helped him crush the uprising with air power and proxy forces. Russia is occupied with its war effort in Ukraine, while Iran and the militias it backs have been hammered by an Israeli air and ground campaign in Lebanon and strikes in Syria in recent months.
The Complicated Syria Civil War Mess, What’s Going On?
For those interested in the background of this sorry saga, please consider The Complicated Syria Civil War Mess, What’s Going On?
Syrian Government forces, Turkey, the US, Iran, ISIS remnants, Lebanon, Iran, Russia, and the Kurds are all involved with intertwined and conflicting goals.
The biggest irony is that Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, not any actions by the US, is the force behind what happens next.
This is all over but the shouting. But thank God we have the oil.
“This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.” (Gen. Wesley Clark)
Ya think the US is not involved in this???? hahahahahahaaha dream on
A10 Warthogs called in attacking the Syrian army, but some people are too poorly informed to opine on subjects foreign to their expertise.
As I recall we’ve been involved since before the Sykes-Pico agreement that never went into force and probably since Paul’s transformation on the road to Damascus when Palestine was a Roman province. .
NAILED IT!
Trump is not a reliable source and the oil is not worth it.
The oil (& wheat) are being confiscated to starve Syria, also the aim of the international Cesar sanctions.
We know exactly what the Syrian project is all about from a variety of statements by State officials. It is about Israel, and the desire to break up the Shia crescent, especially the lines of communication from Iran, through Syria, to Lebanon.
Russia has not lost 600,000 soldiers. That is pure drivel. Russia is not interfering because they are not prepared to overextend themselves. The U.S. has won nothing in Syria. The new govt. Will be a radicalized Islam which hates the West. Way to go I.S.
You don’t know any of what you assert.
One thing is clear, Russia is overextended already – but so is Ukraine
The Mediazona project has carefully tracked Russian deaths across obituaries and newspapers and social media and comes to about 70,000 — so we know quite definitively (they are anti-Russia).
Ukrainian deaths have been estimated by satellite and other photos of expanding cemeteries, registered SIM cards that stopped without cancellations, and a variety of other empirically based methods. All point to at least 500,000 deaths and probably 1,2 injured casualties (dead, missing, KiA).
Any estimates that do no reveal their methodology or controls can be dismissed out of hand.
We know 80% of casualties are artillery (except for strikes in the rear, which cannot be counted). The Russians have enjoyed a 5-10× advantage in fires, and train, rotate, and refresh their troops, and withdraw whenever losses threaten. So the disparity is easily understood.
The United States imports most of the uranium it uses as fuel – Sources and percentage shares of total U.S. purchases of uranium: Canada 27%. Kazakhstan 25%. Russia 12%. Uzbekistan 11%. Australia 9%. Six other countries combined 16%. Source
Russia now controls 25 per cent of Kazakhstan’s uranium production – Almost half of all foreign companies working in Kazakhstan are now Russian, and there is huge interest in Kazakhstan from Russian state-owned enterprises and private companies with links to the Kremlin. Russia now controls 25 per cent of Kazakhstan’s uranium production, after Tokayev quietly permitted the sale of important strategic licenses. Source
Russia’s influence in Kazakhstan is increasing despite the war in Ukraine – Some hoped the war would pivot Astana’s foreign policy towards the West – but economic ties with Moscow have deepened. Source
Kazakhstan, the world’s largest uranium miner, is conducting “active work” to boost exports of uranium to US energy companies – The country’s energy ministry said cooperation in the energy sector had been discussed at a meeting with US Senator Steve Daines on Tuesday. The nation already has contracts to supply uranium products until 2032 with firms including Southern Co., Constellation Energy Corp. and Duke Energy Corp., it said. Source
Russia Reclaims Its Position as Europe’s Top Gas Supplier – Russia has surpassed the U.S. as the primary supplier of gas to Europe, despite efforts by the region to reduce reliance on Russian energy sources. Source
Is Putin a MORON?
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Supposedly NATO, driven by the United States, and with help from its flunky, Zelenskyy (the guy who played piano with his pecker for a living until he was anointed) is intent on murdering Putin and stealing Russia’s resources.
In response to this existential threat, we are told Putin went to war with Ukraine.
Yet despite the fact that America is hell-bent on killing him, destroying his country and driving its citizens into extreme poverty (see Iraq, Libya, etc…), Putin seems unable or unwilling to fight back by throttling back on gas to Europe and uranium to America.
He holds the ultimate trump card. Stop meddling in Ukraine and back the f789 off, or I reduce the gas and uranium supplies. You think inflation is a problem now, just wait till I starve you of energy motherf789ers!
Instead he offers more gas and more uranium to his arch enemies!
The Ukraine War is Fake
It does not matter whether the war is actually happening, and, since no decisive victory is possible, it does not matter whether the war is going well or badly. All that is needed is that a state of war should exist.” Emanuel Goldstein, The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism (George Orwell’s 1984)
RedPill Reader
Mate, your article is effing brilliant. I’ve been trying to get people to see this since 2022. I used to post on here asking for people to provide footage of a real war happening in Ukraine, never got anything back but links to those fucking creepy vids that look like computer game footage with dramatic movie music added to make it ‘exciting’, or vids of unfit guys driving Soviet era hardware through fields or deserted housing estates, shooting at empty space or the dilapidated buildings.
Then there was the fake bodies which were silicone and could be seen bending in the wrong places and being carried round like they weighed just a couple of pounds. Remember them?
But no one on here wanted to know barring a couple of people. Two years on it’s just getting more and more ridiculous. Now we’re supposed to believe Ukraine has invaded Russia and Russia just sits back and takes it and continues selling them gas! Crazy.
I’m ex-army (Brit) and I studied combat strategy and I knew right from day one the war made no sense from either sides’s perspective. Neither side were doing what any competent command would do to maximize their effectiveness.
The minute Russia allegedly got to Kiev in a few days and then turned round and went home I knew this was not a real war in the sense we know it. Listening to the streams of total bullshit put out to ‘explain’ that and all the other ridiculous stuff just does your head in. I’ve learned people will believe anything if they want to or don’t care enough to think about it.
Anyway good for you writing that article. I would hope OG might pick it up but I doubt it. They have never said too much about the subject or picked up on the obvious BS the way they do about most other stuff. They started as a pro-Russia site and I think that blinds them to what’s going on, or NOT going on, in Ukraine.
Why fuel your enemy?
Russia Reclaims Its Position as Europe’s Top Gas Supplier
Actually I do. I have followed the war in Ukraine closely using sources that are reasonably neutral, such as Weeb Union. The Russians have lost nowhere near the amount of casualties that western sources claim. The Russians have showed much more discipline on the international stage than the United States. Their interventions are limited and they have learnt the lessons of the Soviet era by keeping their debt to GDP ratio at roughly 30-40%. That is why they limit their commitments (even to some extent in the Ukraine) while the United States and her allies continue to spend like a drunken sailor. Sometime in the near future economics will crash U.S./western interests worldwide. At that time western adversaries, including Russia, will fill the void (as long as nuclear war can be avoided).
Russia will not engage because there is no path to victory.
They are not overextended, they have half a million men in reserve and are using only a fraction of their air assets.
There is no Ukraine war
The Syrian war has always been about control of resources.
In 2000, Qatar proposed a pipeline to provide Europe with natural gas, thereby significantly weakening Russia’s position in that market and also Russia’s ability to collect the hard currency for that gas they have been selling to Europe.
Syria stood firmly in the geographical path in which the pipeline needed to be built.
Here is the background, from a 2016 article written by RFK, Jr.:
https://citizentruth.org/syria-another-pipeline-war/
“..our war against Bashar Assad did not begin with the peaceful civil protests of the Arab Spring in 2011. Instead, it began in 2000 when Qatar proposed to construct a $10 billion, 1,500km pipeline through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.
The proposed pipeline would have linked Qatar directly to European energy markets via distribution terminals in Turkey which would pocket rich transit fees. The Qatar/Turkey pipeline would have given the Sunni Kingdoms of the Persian Gulf decisive domination of world natural gas markets and strengthen Qatar, America’s closest ally in the Arab world. Qatar hosts two massive American military bases and the U.S. Central Command’s Mid-East headquarters.”
And as we know … if the US does not fight for that meat… China will take it…
The US is involved.. the US MUST be involved.
Nowhere is it our fight except here.
Trump is saying this because the fall of Assad takes a problem off the table before inauguration.
Mish fans, you know usa is involved when they tell us we’re not.
Many critical thinkers here at Mish talk.
That old joke about how do you know a politician is lying is really not a joke at all.
Unless you partake in magical thinking and embrace naivete.
Let us all put aside what our government says,now, and going forward, say for several months.
and patiently watch what they do.
This swollen pale-orange Pollyanna attitude doesn’t look good on such a large group of intelligent people that frequently post here.
Sir, methinks that you are a Generalist.
I can specifically speak for myself ….. that I do not believe a WORD of any “official” or mainstream narratives simply because we, and I would not think that ANYONE HERE BELIEVES IN MUCH, do not fall for politics.
Politics is the Job for “PROFESSIONAL” LIARS.
The Syrian war started long ago, actually getting underway in earnest in 2011, during Pale Black Jesus’ administration..
Rustem Umerov supplied the Syrian rebels, and the rebels back Ukraine.
Our consistently “War Free” President, who is back, and our Country is so grateful for such an occurrence, as they clearly showed. Trump immediately bolts into action, and declares Syria A “War Free” Zone for the U.S. you just gotta love this Guy already! He is simply amazing isn’t he? In like 4 short weeks, He has accomplished more for “The Safety” of Our Country, than I think “Harris & Biden Combined” did in nearly 4 Years!
I can’t wait until He sits in that chair once again, and provides this sort of wonderful news and advancements for the safety of our country, and it’s Citizens, but on a daily basis. Just think of what we have to look forwards to in short order.
– Secure Border
– Rule of Law
– End to Sanctuary Status
– Massive Cuts in Our Governments Over Staffed Offices
– Possibility of the End to Earmarks in Legislation
– ID Required to Vote
The list goes on and on with Greatness or should I say MAGA!
Glad you woke up
The U.S. is providing diplomatic and financial support to the rebels. Covertly of course and much of it indirect but there just the same. Trump said in the post quoted in this article that he wants Russia and Assad out. That means he is content to see the Rebels in.
The rebels are ISIS/Al Qaeda. If they succeed they will be indifferent to Israel and Russia. They have other targets in mind once they have the resources of a functioning state like they have had in the past. We know who they will target because they have not changed what their goals are.
I don’t know if Trump’s post truly reflects his take on what is happening in Syria now. But in it he says the is going to keep America out of Syria while keeping troops in to protect the oil. That oil is in Kurdish territory so those officially in Syria troops are defending the Kurds. And if there is one group that everybody in the region wants to get rid of when they can get around to it, that is the Kurds. Whoever succeeds in taking out the Kurds in that region also gets the oil as a bonus.
Every group in the region wants the Kurds out and the oil in their own pocket. Nobody will come to their aid except America. Some of those groups have things like a massive NATO standard army, (Turkey) endless financial resources (Saudi etc.) or a willingness to personally die for the cause in large numbers (the U.S. supported rebels).
Please explain to me what a war free zone for America in Syria looks like given what he is posting.
– The U.S. (Harris/Biden) is providing diplomatic and financial support to the rebels. Covertly of course and much of it indirect but they’re just the same. Trump (Harris/Biden) said in the post quoted in this article that he wants Russia and Assad out. That means he is content to see the Rebels in.
> Harris & Biden are in control until 1/20, so please respect their standing in office. ALL decisions made by our Government until then, are on the “Both Of Them” and has nothing to do with Trump.
– I don’t know if Trump’s post truly reflects his take on what is happening in Syria now. But in it he says…
> Again with Trump? HE’S NOT IN CHARGE YET!!!
>> Everything wrong in America, right this second and every minute that goes by until 1/20, is on Harris/Biden!!! I grant you the simple fact that They Both may take credit for All The Good that Trump is doing for Our Country right this second, because they are obviously incapable, or simply just don’t want to do it (my guess).
>>> So Trump stepped in and did some “Real Negotiations” that are “For Americans & America” and with consequences if they don’t comply. SIMPLE! He can’t back that Promise until 1/20, but then He Will, and they best have listened to Who Will Be In Charge THEN!!!
– Please explain to me what a war free zone for America in Syria looks like
> Look at America on 01/21/25, and You will See Your Answer…
– Open Borders Today
> Closed on 01/21/25
– U.S. Citizens paying for All Cost of Illegal Immigrants Today
> Not as of 01/21/25
– No “Rule of Law” Today
> Rule Of Law on 01/21/25
– FBI working against you Today
> FBI on your side 01/21/25
– MSM push Narratives Today
> MSM is nearly Gone on 01/21/25
The List is Endless, but So Beautiful To Look At!!
that deserves more than an upvote. Thank you sir.
Well, the agency boys seem to have really stirred the pot and caught Ivan and Assad asleep at the wheel. Other than that type of involvement, yes take the oil, else stay out. What happened with the oil in Iraq? I remember the Chinese signing big leases …
The U.S. considers this oil as the booty of war, but it’s an illegal undeclared war. We had no business seeking regime change there under Obama in the first place.
Seizing this oil as “ours” is as questionable as seizing Russia’s foreign exchange reserves (which we are trying to do). Rather, this oil should be sold on the open market, and the proceeds held in trust for the Syrian people. But the U.S. is no longer the benign global hegemon it used to be. We are acting like a colonialist profiteer, which is why the global South is turning against us.
This pirated oil is reportedly being delivered to Israel (I believe via Turkey) at a deep discount. So, our troops are there to be Israel’s oil delivery service.
It does seem as though Trump has signaled that U.S. troops will stay put to keep the oil under U.S. control, at least until a new government is in place that the region will recognize as legitimate.
I do agree with Mish and Trump that this is definitely not our fight. But is Trump just referring to U.S. troops? What about covert ops?
Would he also cease funding proxies in that conflict if the civil war continues?
Trump should also close about half our military bases around the world. They just serve as trip wires for the next conflict.
How about digging a little deeper and being more objective.
What a mess.
Does Syria remain a state or will it be consumed by NATO member Turkey?
Is this NATO special operations at play?
For once, I think the US (Trump) should get involved since it contributed to the fall of Assad, and has some form of Islamists in charge of a huge swath of territory. It should also clip the wings of neo-sultan Erdogan, this time reclaiming another piece of Ottoman empire.
The 1-dimensional liberal sisterhood in charge of Europe should hardly be counted to figure out what this portends for the future of Europe.
Syria who?
Russia lost 600,000 soldiers? For realz?
Russia’s current attrition is 50,000 men per month.
https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1865388860470935642
That’s ridiculous. Media Zona is a US-funded Russia dissident operation that operates out of Latvia. They’ve been scouring Russian media and social media accounts since the start of the war. Their current count of Russian dead is about 80,000 which is roughly aligned with data from the Russian Ministry of Defense. Figures like what you’re saying are plucked out of Zelensky’s ass and dutifully printed by the American state-affiliated Lügenpresse.
No. Not for realz. Russia has had ~80,000 killed since the start of the war. Ukraine has probably had ~ 600,000:killed. Which makes sense, given that it’s mostly been an artillery war and even by biased western media (taking dictation from the US MIC), Russia has always been shooting artillery shells at a rate 7-10 times that of Ukraine. Russia has been piling up artillery shells for years in preparation for this war. Meanwhile US stocks are minimal and production pales in comparison to the Russians. Even Biden admitted a year and a half ago that he was sending cluster munitions because the US had run out of 155 mm shells.
Also, the Ukraine has had almost no Air Force since the outset, while Russia has been able to launch standoff 3,000 pound glide bombs – to say nothing of its overwhelming superiority in missile technology – including hypersonics.
And that Russian artillery you mention is precision, guided by overhead drone targeting and maneuverable shells. It is simple physics that on target artillery, missile or bomb kills more, much more than one on target bullets. The ratio is seventy percent ordinance casualty to thirty percent bullet proportion in organized combat.
Yes.
We don’t need to get involved. The CIA is probably lining the pockets of the rebels so long as they keep working on their barbarian instincts, and the geo-political reach of Russia is diminished. Look for more rebellions on the border of Russia and in Africa. Finally, make deals with the Russian oligarchs and Putin might fall out of a 6th story window. Just find somebody less of a clown than Yeltsin to replace him, and settle Ukraine as is but with the rest of Ukraine a heavily militarized NATO ally. Generally I don’t like American foreign policy but anybody who parrots Russian foreign policy is stupid, stupid, stupid.
Sounds like you are a proponent of living by the sword and salivate at the taste of war. I hope you get to taste it someday.
I hate war, but the concept of deterence despite being dangerous is a necessary strategy in a world not only mostly unaware of the how important self actualizing the natural philosophical concept of grace is, but is given over to ideologies of barbarianism.
If you want peace prepare for war not instigate it
Ukraine beat up Russia’s military so much that they can’t project power in Syria anymore. The loss of Syria will hamstring their operations in Africa so their presence there will be rolled up quite easily. We will stay out of Syria because we don’t need to be there. The regional powers are taking care of Syria nicely for us by eliminating Iran’s principal ally.
“Ukraine beat up Russia’s military so much that…”
You should try getting your news somewhere else. When Ukraine is all said and done, we’ll see over million casualties on the Ukraine side and nowhere near that many for Russia, especially when you exclude casualties for troops from Donetsk and Luhansk.
And I didn’t realize that Syria was such a threat to US citizens that we needed regional powers to take them out “for us.”
Keyboard warrior cuck.
Your side is losing. Sooner or later you will have to face up to the fact but for the moment you are in denial. Russia had no spare soldiers to send to Syria to support Assad. That should tell you something.
So many think it will be good if the Assad government is overthrown. It won’t be. Instead of a minority Shia sect (Alawites) running the country it will be run by Sunni islamists. Not good for the Alawites (a moderate branch of Islam), the Christians (who support Assad), the Kurds, and multiple other minorities.
The Sunni fanatics will have the backing of the Turkish president ( a nut who wants to reestablish the Ottoman Empire) and he will control the oil, not the US.
As for Russia, will they want to give up a navel base not subject to the Arctic cold?
And there is no evidence that Russia has lost 600,000 troops as the article claims. Russia is only using part of its troops in the Donbas and could commit more assets to support Syria.
I’m pro Israel, but sometimes I shake my head at some of their dumb strategies, the set up Hamas to take on the PLO; how’s that working out? They back the fanatics in Syria against Assad, how might that work out if an Al Qieda offshoot is on their border? Of course the US isn’t much better as they also are backing those same fanatics.
Too complicated. Sunni Syria is a speed bump for Shia Iran. That ripples back into Iraq and elsewhere.
Israelis hate Christians more than they hate Islamists.
Christian Zionists are in for a surprise when being spat on when visiting Jerusalem.
THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!
Will he say the same about Ukraine?
I have my doubts
YES! What makes you think otherwise? His message regarding Ukraine has been very consistent.
His NSA head is strongly pro-Ukraine. He has appointed Keith Kellogg as his envoy to Russia and Ukraine. Kellogg is associated with a paper that lays out unworkable steps regarding the SMO.
We will see.
It is however nice to see that even with the “freedom fighters” being sharia law proponents, that dictatorships continue be a mile wide and an inch deep. Fear and terror still keep people in their homes quiet and shivvering, but every once in awhile, a determined group takes a risk and kicks the butt of the lords and ladies and their goons. Maybe democracy does have a future after all. Real Muslims already thinks it does.
Yeah just ignore sharia. As there are now zones France where even the police won’t go. Just cover your ears
Very true. The world isnt perfect. Sometimes you just have to hope for little victories that progress. Took 400 years to defeat slavery, and America didnt kick out the British in one year.
Slavery is still alive and well. It just comes in the form of fiat currency, income tax, and property tax. The chains are just no longer literal.
I think youre reaching on that one.
Try not being a slave to the “Voluntary” tax and watch what happens.
It was like that 30 years ago.
Assad is more popular in Syria than Biden is in the US.
Which president?
Jill Biden
Thank you Mr. President!