# 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:** 2
**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, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/21 "2020-11-18T00:18:51Z")
The possibility of Trump doing the right thing… for whom? The right thing for himself is the only possibility. We all know who this douchebag is by now, right? Right? ??? Trump doing the right thing… for someone else? Really? Anyway, I’d like to hear Trump explain why this is right. With details and everything. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/22 "2020-11-18T00:24:19Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Trump wants to say: “I brought the boys home! I assume there is absolutely no way conceivable that the rationale behind this policy shift could be to bring stateside the battle hardened combat veterans armed with high tech armaments from a conflict against the local populace who are fanatical, irregular, loosely organised, fighting a guerilla campaign armed with low tech arms and IEDs, and it is near impossible to tell who is on your side and who is out to kill you? Warfare conducted on a retail level? ---
**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, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/23 "2020-11-18T00:25:22Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > The possibility of Trump doing the right thing… for whom? I too would love to hear from Trump’s own mouth why he wants to do this. And yes, with details. But I was simply responding to **Buck\_Godot** with a possible explanation. ---
**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 18, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/24 "2020-11-18T01:12:29Z")
To your general question about whether we should bring the troops home, I think we should. I have little interest in protecting people over there from each other at the cost of American lives and treasure. However, it should be done properly, with the proper set up so that we don’t abandon our allies over there too quickly. So, in general, I agree with the idea. I’m sure Trump and his people are doing it poorly, and I would rather the new administration take the lead on these kinds of strategic decisions. ---
**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 18, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/25 "2020-11-18T01:13:06Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > 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. No, it’s just plain wrong. My impression is based on a life of being connected with the military and also of being exposed to more than one viewpoint. Military commanders become commanders at different levels based on a number of reasons, not a one of them is “They believe a military solution is usually best”. What you’ve done is give a broad-brush stereotype, one not grounded in reality. The military is more complex than what you imply here. Those commanders, especially those who are in flag/general officer ranks, do a lot more than what’s considered “the military solution”. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/26 "2020-11-18T01:30:01Z")
Letting a child play with serious stuff is never a good idea no matter the outcome. ---
**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 18, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/27 "2020-11-18T01:41:47Z")
Yeah, I actually do consider this a possibility. Blind squirrel finds the stopped clock and all that. Occasionally Trump can be convinced to do the right thing provided the person doing the convincing is someone he knows personally and respects. See for example the pardoning of Alice Marie Johnson after Kim Kardashian and Jared stepped in. So it could be that one of his close confidants convinced him we should be our of Iraq and Afghanistan and he’s doing it as a favor for that person. Still this seem more urgent than I would expect him to act for just a favor. ---
**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, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/28 "2020-11-18T02:01:12Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > No, it’s just plain wrong. Just plain wrong? Completely without merit, because you have a certain impression and it differs from mine? I said I generalized, but do you really think that “not a one” commander thinks that a military solution is _usually_ best? Not even one thinks that? ---
**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 18, 2020, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/29 "2020-11-18T07:53:10Z")
I would think that a commander who believes “a military solution is _usually_ best” would be a pathological commander. To the best of my knowledge, that idea is not military doctrine nor sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/30 "2020-11-18T13:11:33Z")
If the US draws down troops, what is there to keep other countries from putting more in? Just a quick google search shows 20 or more countries who have currently or right now have troops there. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/31 "2020-11-18T13:29:05Z")
Well, for one thing, you’d have to have a president and administration that hasn’t pissed off all our allies and hasn’t been a laughing stock of every world leader conference for four years running. ---
**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, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/32 "2020-11-18T14:07:32Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I would think that a commander who believes “a military solution is _usually_ best” would be a pathological commander. To the best of my knowledge, that idea is not military doctrine nor sentiment. Let me define what I mean by military solution. I do not mean that a commander’s first instinct is to literally start bombing every time an incident of some sort happens between his occupying forces and the enemy. Yes, that would be pathological. I mean that they will generally want to _be_ an occupying force, and as evidenced by this latest go round, find some reason to stay. I don’t think we should have ever gone to war over there in the first place, and should have pulled out years ago. Neither country has ever been a threat to us. Now, I definitely went overboard when I stated categorically that ALL commanders feel this way. But certainly many have over the almost two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is high time we leave those countries. ---
**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, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/33 "2020-11-18T14:09:21Z")
Fine. Let 'em in. Why should we care? And that is an honest question, btw. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/34 "2020-11-18T14:17:52Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Now, I definitely went overboard when I stated categorically that ALL commanders feel this way. But certainly many have over the almost two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is high time we leave those countries. The absolute cynic in me has often wondered if the reason the US has remained so long in Afghanistan, etc, is because it’s the only ‘exercise’ the military gets and it has been a useful way to gain real life experience with new weapons and technology. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/35 "2020-11-18T22:50:01Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > 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. Yes, it’s yet another answer to the question, “What else can we do to fuck things up and make Biden look bad?” ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/36 "2020-11-19T20:47:11Z")
Took him long enough. Shouldn’t be there in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/37 "2020-11-19T20:56:45Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Shouldn’t be there in the first place. I completely agree. Except that international affairs are far more complicated and nuanced than just removing troops on a whim. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/38 "2020-11-19T21:13:33Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > So, in general, I agree with the idea. I’m sure Trump and his people are doing it poorly, and I would rather the new administration take the lead on these kinds of strategic decisions. Yeah, this. Even if you agree with the idea, doing the right thing in a ham-fisted manner can still be a mistake. It’s the same thing with North Korea: I believe we really do need to reform how we interact with NK, but the way Trump went about it was completely screwed up, and ultimately probably made things worse. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > The absolute cynic in me has often wondered if the reason the US has remained so long in Afghanistan, etc, is because it’s the only ‘exercise’ the military gets and it has been a useful way to gain real life experience with new weapons and technology. I’m not so upset about how long the US has been in Afghanistan, largely because I recognized, way back when they first went in, that reforming Afghanistan in the way the US envisaged it was a generational process. Afghanistan is called the “[Graveyard of Empires](https://thediplomat.com/2017/06/why-is-afghanistan-the-graveyard-of-empires/)” for a reason. I didn’t have much hope that Americans in general would have the stomach for such a long engagement, but I knew that this was what they were buying, even if they didn’t. So far, I’ve been proven right. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/39 "2020-11-19T21:20:40Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I didn’t have much hope that Americans in general would have the stomach for such a long engagement, but I knew that this was what they were buying, even if they didn’t. Like I said, they may have gone in thinking one thing and came to realize the initial objective wasn’t as important as the secondary objective. Here’s a country being used as a kind of proving ground for live military actions and most of the world doesn’t seem to mind very much. Maybe because those who are part of it also get their opportunity to play in the sandbox. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840/40 "2020-11-19T21:21:56Z")
I’m getting tired of the US being responsible for policing the world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-good-or-bad-idea/925840.md?page=3)