# Trump Wants to Draw Down Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq: Good or Bad Idea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 17, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840 "2020-11-17T23:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/1 "2020-11-17T23:13:03Z")
I’ve long thought we should have been out of Afghanistan and Iraq going back to the early Obama years. So I tend to think that finally, Trump wants to do something right for a change. In the video at the following link, the “commanders” are quoted as saying that it’s just not time yet. Being that commanders become commanders because they believe a military solution is usually best, it doesn’t surprise me in the least that they would say that. I mean, we’ve only been at “war” over there for fucking decades. They will find excuses to stay there forever. I for one am sick of this, and hope that the troops will be brought home as Trump, and I would think, many others both liberal and conservative want. > **[US announces further drawdown of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq before Biden...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/17/politics/afghanistan-iraq-withdrawal-pentagon/index.html)** > > Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller announced Tuesday that the US will withdraw thousands more US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by January 15, 2021 -- just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, confirming plans first... ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/2 "2020-11-17T23:16:58Z")
Wasn’t the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq one of the main reasons ISIS was able to surge to power in 2014? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/3 "2020-11-17T23:20:00Z")
Fuck what “commanders” say! They earned their quotation marks! However, given this from the link: “A series of sweeping changes at the Pentagon last week that started with the firing of Defense Secretary of Mark Esper saw Trump loyalists installed in influential positions. Knowledgeable sources told CNN’s Jake Tapper last week that the White House-directed purge at the Defense Department may have been motivated by the fact that Esper and his team were pushing back on a premature withdrawal from Afghanistan, which would be carried out before the required conditions on the ground were met.” I’m going with: Trump has no Idea what he’s doing, and wants people to like him. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/4 "2020-11-17T23:23:53Z")
You tell, me, but that sounds familiar. But for me, I say “so what”? What did ISIS do to us a result? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/5 "2020-11-17T23:27:59Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Fuck what “commanders” say! They earned their quotation marks! To be clear, I put that in quotes because I was quoting the video. Nothing more. As for Trump, he has certainly demonstrated that he usually doesn’t know what he is doing, but that is neither here nor there. He knows what a draw down is, and has ordered one. I want to know what others think about it, not what Trump’s motivations are. Which btw, I am not convinced he did this for your reason. I believe he might actually think it’s a good idea to get out. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/6 "2020-11-17T23:30:16Z")
Nah. No way. Trump couldn’t find Afghanistan on a globe. Trump wants to say: “I brought the boys home! That’s what people want, right? 'Bring The Boys Home”. I brought the boys home!" ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/7 "2020-11-17T23:34:00Z")
I think it’s ill-advised to make major changes to military strategy right before a change in the administration. Obviously, Trump should respond to crises if necessary, but I don’t see why the drawdown couldn’t wait until Biden and his team have had a chance to take a look at the situation and decide on a path forward. Biden and co. will be the ones making these decisions starting in two months and 3 days, so why change now? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/8 "2020-11-17T23:34:41Z")
Bad idea. 1. We have not finished cleaning up the mess we made over there. 2. The conditions on the ground for complete withdrawal have not yet been met. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/9 "2020-11-17T23:36:06Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think it’s ill-advised to make major changes to military strategy right before a change in the administration. Obviously, Trump should respond to crises if necessary, but I don’t see why the drawdown couldn’t wait until Biden and his team have had a chance to take a look at the situation and decide on a path forward. Biden and co. will be the ones making these decisions starting in two months and 3 days, so why change now? Prolly this: > [@](#): > > A senior defense official said Tuesday’s announcement is “consistent” with what Trump publicly announced earlier this year and is “consistent with his promise to the American People.” > > But the move suggests that Trump may fall short of fulfilling one of his core promises, to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before he leaves office – something he pledged as recently as October, when he tweeted: “We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!” It’ll be yet another thing he promised to do but did not. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/10 "2020-11-17T23:43:25Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think it’s ill-advised to make major changes to military strategy right before a change in the administration. I did think of this also, and I get the idea. But it’s not on the level of FDR dying near the end of WWII. That is to say, a change like this to me is not major as far as what we want to accomplish there. I don’t know why Trump would wait until now to do this (I have a few ideas) but if it’s a good idea, it’s a good idea no matter his own motivations. If any president thinks troops being withdrawn is the right thing to do, and especially if he thinks the next president won’t do it, then I believe he should act. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/11 "2020-11-17T23:47:37Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It’ll be yet another thing he promised to do but did not. Ah, the plot thickens. 🙂 I missed that tweet. It certainly suggests that Trump is not doing this for any reason other than to add to his almost non-existent legacy. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/12 "2020-11-17T23:50:11Z")
Going forward, let me just say one thing, and that is, this may have been more appropriate for GD. I was sitting here working, when I heard the announcement. My first reaction was, it’s about time, this should have been finished four or five years ago. So in the end, the thread to me is not so much about Trump, but instead about whether or not we should just get out of those two countries militarily. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/13 "2020-11-17T23:57:37Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Being that commanders become commanders because they believe a military solution is usually best This is not correct. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/14 "2020-11-17T23:59:24Z")
It does seem to me to be an odd thing for him to do. Unlike most of his actions I don’t see how it personally helps him or his brand and if it did help him why now rather than earlier. One explanation that I can offer is that his advisers have informed him that his doing this is going to be a clusterfuck and he would rather have it explode under a Biden administration than under his own. The second possibility is that he knows that in order to pull it off he needed to replace the top brass and knew that wouldn’t go over well with the military vote. Third possibility (tin foil hats at the ready) is that he is bringing the troops home to support him in his effort to retain power through military force (I don’t think this actually very likely). That still brings up the question of what’s in it for him? As to whether it is a good or bad idea, even if it’s a good idea it needs to be handled carefully with a great deal of diplomacy, something I have no confidence in Trump or anyone he appoints being able to carry out. So even if it’s a good idea, its a bad idea for Trump to do it. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/15 "2020-11-18T00:01:48Z")
Tammy Duckworth and Mitch McConnell both oppose this thing that Trump supports. Tammy Duckworth knows a shit ton more about military strategy than I do. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/16 "2020-11-18T00:04:16Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > This is not correct. Fair enough. It’s a generalization. But that is my impression. Yours is different. I suppose the only way to know is to ask them. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/17 "2020-11-18T00:13:38Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > It does seem to me to be an odd thing for him to do. Unlike most of his actions I don’t see how it personally helps him or his brand and if it did help him why now rather than earlier. How about this, which I make with the disclaimer that it just occurred to me, and I do not necessarily support: Republican voters would have seen withdrawing as a sign of weakness. There was no way Trump would have done this before the election, even if he thought it the right thing to do. Now that he has lost, and even though he won’t concede to that loss, he is doing it now because he thinks it is good and proper, and is to the country’s benefit. He wants to do the right thing for once! Crazy idea? Maybe. Or maybe not… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/18 "2020-11-18T00:14:48Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Third possibility (tin foil hats at the ready) is that he is bringing the troops home to support him in his effort to retain power through military force (I don’t think this actually very likely). The troops wouldn’t even all be back in the US until May according to the plan. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/19 "2020-11-18T00:15:28Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Crazy idea? Maybe. Or maybe not… Judging by his past actions: crazy idea. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/20 "2020-11-18T00:18:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Judging by his past actions: crazy idea. Yeah, okay. I suppose. But what about the substance of what I wrote? Before the election, one thing made sense. After it, another thing did. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840.md?page=2)