Reconsidering Leaving Syria

Well. We may not actually be leaving Syria any time soon says National Security Advisor John Bolton. While the administration wanted an immediate withdrawal of troops, the National Security Advisor put in some conditions that may have us staying much longer instead. Back and forth the whims of politicians go. While this may be a positive step, it may also be a catastrophic one as well.Changing missions, and changing guidelines in the opinion of this former member of the Lance Corporal underground, are one of the primary reasons we've had a mixed bag of success in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Much in the same way as Vietnam, we've won the battles, there is no disputing this, but what comes after we win the battles...well that's where it seems we've seen failure.Moving on, one of the mentioned conditions is that Turkey not undertake any attacks that aren't coordinated or agreed upon by the United States. Basically, it means we don't want Turkey to launch attacks against the Kurds who have been our longtime ally. There is also speculation that while most troops will pull out of northern Syria, some would stay in the southern areas to monitor Iranian actions in the area.Bolton has stated in the past that we'd hang around to counter the Iranian influence in the area. We can just see John Bolton is sitting in his office, staring at Iran on a map and lipsyncing to "The Police"

"Every breath you take and every move you makeEvery bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching youEvery single day, every word you sayEvery game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you"

Which in his defense, it's a great song and Iran has been known to be shady as hell, so I don't mind watching them.The reality of the situation that we're looking at is this. We've been the world police for such a long time and we've formed alliances with this group and that group, and when we leave, we're going to put some of these alliances at risk. Whether or not it's worth it, we can't tell only time will. That being said, much like we saw in Iraq, regional power vacuums are a thing and someone will rush to fill it. Whether it's Iran, Russia, Syria...whoever, when we leave someone will rush in to fill whatever void our absence creates.