Back in 2019, the United States was in Syria.
Russia was in Syria.
Iran was in Syria.
Turkey was bombing Syria.
ISIS was in Syria.
Even the Anarchists were in Syria.
Editor's Note: Yes, even the Anarchists.
Listen, Syria isn't that big. Its population is slightly larger than that of New York State. Syria is about 1.5 times larger than New York State.
The dictator in charge of Syria, and no one argues that he's a dictator, Bashar al-Assad, inherited Syria from his father Hafez al-Assad in the year 2000. Since then, Syria has been in utter disarray, culminating in the Syrian Civil War starting in 2011.
But let's focus on that 2019 decision to leave Syria and Donald Trump's reaction specifically.
Let's hypothetically say that Trump and his advisor had a conversation along these lines:
Advisor: "Okay Mr. Trump, here's the analogy. Think of Damascus as New York City'"
Trump: "I've never heard of Damascus."
Advisor: "That doesn't matter'"
Trump: "Well of course it matters. You can't compare a foreign city I've never heard of to New York City. Maybe you could compare London to New York City, but there's no city in the Middle East like New York-
Advisor: "Let's start again. Say Syria is New York State."
Trump: "Alright."
Advisor: "Bashar al-Assad is the president, but he only has a stronghold in the capital."
Trump: "I've been to Albany many times, it's not that great."
Advisor: "No, in our analogy, New York City is the capital."
Trump: "Well then it's not a good analogy. Albany is the capital."
Advisor: "Yes sir, I know Albany is the capital. But for our purposes, New York City is the capital because it's the largest city in the country."
Trump: "I disagree with your premise, but go on."
Advisor: "Okay, Assad is in charge of New York City, the largest city by population by a lot. Then we have some American troops in Rochester and Syracuse. We also have active allies, that we have fought with in Buffalo, the Kurds. The Russians and Iranians have a strong presence in cities like Utica and Albany. ISIS has regained its footing in small cities in the Adirondacks like Lake Placid-"
Trump: "Lake Placid is very nice. Lots of snow there. Isn't Syria a desert?"
Advisor: "Mostly, yes-"
Trump: "Terrible analogy."
Advisor: "I understand, but the point is, we need a more coherent strategy, the entire country has turned into a quagmire and there are multiple shifting alliances-"
Trump: "Why are we there, exactly?"
Advisor: "Excuse me?"
Trump: "Why are we there? Is there anything we need there? Oil, Coal, Electronics?
Advisor: "Right now, Syria is exporting next to nothing to the United States. They used to have some oil production, but that collapsed during the beginnings of the Civil War."
Trump: "No one has told me why we're there-"
Advisor: "The Kurds-"
Trump: "Buffalo wants its own country? No. Get out."
Advisor: " Yes sir." Advisor starts to walk to the door.
Trump: "Not you. Get the United States Army out Syria."
Advisors all look at each other.
Trump: "What I say is what I say. Next topic!"
Lo and behold, Trump ended up being right about Syria. (Even though I think Joe Biden snuck some American Troops into Syria on the down low.)
Now, in 2024:
Russia is in Ukraine fighting a war.
Yevgeny Prigozhin (leader of the Wagner Group) is Dead.
The Wagner Group's presence in Syria has evaporated.
Iran is busy waging war with Israel after suffering catastrophic defeats in Gaza and Lebanon.
Turkey is preoccupied with Israel.
And the United States has long since left. (On the record.)
Even the anarchists have burned themselves out.
Leaving, more or less, just the Syrian Government and the Syrian Rebels to sort through things. Last week, Syrian Rebels captured Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, and are marching on Damascus as I type. It appears that Syria's Civil War may be settled by Syrians after all.
Never one to pass on an opportunity to gloat, Donald Trump took to Truth Social this morning:
"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!
Right now, Donald Trump is looking prophetic.
Assad's Family has already fled the country.
Assad himself has holed up in his palace.
Let's see if Assad stays and fights.
Fred speculates that Assad will flee.
Right now, the world is watching, but it appears that even our enemies agree that Syria isn't worth their resources.
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