2. Restore the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and work with Iran to keep ISIL out of Syria and Iraq. (ISIL is militant Salafi, and hates Shiites; Iran is as afraid of the phony "caliphate" as the US and Europe are). Trump had wanted to turn Syria security over to Russia, and it is not too late.
3. I am baffled on what to do about Afghanistan. Standing up a new government and army there hasn't worked, and the Taliban now have at least 40% of the country despite billions of dollars spent on Kabul.
But one thing is sure: Going on doing what we have been doing there since the first decade of this century isn't working and a major rethink is necessary.
But aside from Afghanistan, the rest of the Middle East can increasingly just take care of itself if Washington would let it. And so can Israel, which has the best equipped and best trained military in the region with the possible exception of Turkey.
Trump can get out if he wants to. He can't be over-ruled by the Washington Establishment. That he doesn't do it is owing not to lack of capacity but to cowardice. He doesn't want to take the fall if he does it and something goes wrong. So he kicks the can down the road and blames other people, including, apparently, the Israelis, who aren't actually in the picture.
Bonus video: CBS News: "Bomb kills 3 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan"
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
