Trump Escalates US Global Conflicts in First Year

[HomerThompson]

You understand there is a difference in ramping up action against ISIS and attempting to overthrow leaders of countries. Do you?

So you are against the US recent escalation against ISIS? Trump ran on destroying ISIS but also staying out of the habit of overthrowing governments. How has he gone away from that pledge?

You understand there is a difference in ramping up action against ISIS and attempting to overthrow leaders of countries. Do you?

So you are against the US recent escalation against ISIS? Trump ran on destroying ISIS but also staying out of the habit of overthrowing governments. How has he gone away from that pledge?

I'm against all our current military escalations.

 

[SBJJ]

Or would Bernie just turn into another cog in the machine, like trump and everyone else before him?

I think Bernie would have been good on foreign policy. Main reason I liked him

 

[bobgeese]

The greatest impact of Donald Trump’s first year as president has been kept out of sight from most Americans. The wars the U.S. waged during Barack Obama’s tenure have sharply escalated under Trump. The result has been a predictable and massive spike in civilian deaths.

Boasting in an interview last year about an apparent retreat by Islamic State, Trump declared, “I totally changed rules of engagement. I totally changed our military.” He also touted the “big, big difference if you look at the military now” compared with what it was under the Obama administration. While Obama shares blame for escalating the use of drones, especially in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia, Trump’s military leadership appears to be a return to a more traditional form of war and a complete unfettering of attempts to minimize civilian casualties.

This unfettering is evident in an almost 50 percent increase of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria during Trump’s first year in office, leading to a rise in civilian deaths by more than 200 percent compared with the year before. The watchdog group Airwars, which has tracked the U.S. war against Islamic State since 2014, remarked, “This unprecedented death toll coincided with the start of the Trump presidency, and suggested in part that policies aimed at protecting civilians had been scaled back under the new administration.” Another analysis by the U.K. organization Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) found that civilian deaths from explosive weapons in Iraq, Syria and Yemen increased by 42 percent in 2017. The group explained that the bigger death toll was largely due to “a massive increase in deadly airstrikes.” While AOAV did not single out the United States, in light of the U.S.’ overt escalation of the wars in those countries, a large proportion of the civilian deaths were likely a result of the new military strategy under Trump.

In addition to Syria and Iraq, U.S. military action in Afghanistan also has dramatically increased. As the Los Angeles Times reported in December: “Operating under looser restrictions on air power that commanders hope will break a stalemate in the war, U.S. fighter planes this year dropped 3,554 explosives in Afghanistan through Oct. 31, the most since 2012.” In December, when the U.S. was expected to slow down for the winter, as it had in the past, it instead continued a steady pace of airstrikes aimed at the Taliban. According to The Washington Post, “For the first time in 16 years, the cold has not slowed the war in the air. U.S. and Afghan forces conducted 455 airstrikes in December, an average of 15 a day, compared with just 65 the year before.”

Unsurprisingly, more civilians were killed last year in Afghanistan, compared with the last year of Obama’s tenure. The United Nations estimates that Afghan civilian deaths from airstrikes were more than 50 percent higher in the first nine months of 2017, compared with the same period a year earlier. The Trump administration also has approved the increase of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, with the grand total expected to be close to 15,000. The longest war the U.S. has ever waged appears to have no end in sight.

Somalia, another U.S. target, also has seen a sharp rise in violence and casualties under Trump. An analysis by The Guardian found that the number of U.S.-led airstrikes in Somalia in the second half of 2017 were double the total number of airstrikes during all of 2016. At least 50 civilians were killed in 2017, among them many children, but the paper said this could be an underestimate, as many deaths go unreported. It explained the increase in airstrikes:

https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/more-warfare-bombing-deaths-in-trumps-first-year/



Unsurprisingly, Trump has escalated all of our major global conflicts. Civilian deaths are way up after Trump "unleashed the military".

I'm curious what Trump voters who are anti-intervention, and cried to the heavens about the dangers of a Hillary Presidency have to say now?

He ran on bombing the shit out of them.

 

[SBJJ]

I'm against all our current military escalations.

Of course because it's trump

You were FOR overthrowing Gadaffi and the attempt overthrow of Assad. You were ok with arming the Rebels/ISIS. You are for Sanctions against Russia.

But you draw the line when it comes to killing ISIS.

LOL. You supported the spread of ISIS through the toppling of regimes that were fighting them but are against fighting ISIS

 

[SBJJ]

He ran on bombing the shit out of them.

He's really really confused. This McCabe thing has him reaching

He's against killing the absolute scum of the earth. But wants to go to war with a country that doesn't want to kill our citizens

 

[HomerThompson]

Of course because it's trump

You were FOR overthrowing Gadaffi and the attempt overthrow of Assad. You were ok with arming the Rebels/ISIS. You are for Sanctions against Russia.

But you draw the line when it comes to killing ISIS.

LOL. You supported the spread of ISIS through the toppling of regimes that were fighting them but are against fighting ISIS

I'm against all of that except for the Russia sanctions. I have been against every single military intervention we've had since WWII. I'm really sick of you claiming that I'm a neocon, and saying I supported military actions when I didn't. It's incredibly dishonest, and makes you a huge piece of shit.

I'll say this one last time. Put up, or shut up. Produce any evidence of me being in favor of a US military action. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.

 

[Tiny]

I don't care.

Still preferred to Hillary.

 

[PrinceOfPain]

Disappointing, but hard to blame this purely on Trump, when conflict escalation/expansion seems to be a hallmark of American leadership, whoever holds the reins.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

Not like Kabul has had recent rampant terrorist attacks since the vast majority of our forces left

Oh wait

 

[Anung Un Rama]

I'm curious what Trump voters who are anti-intervention, and cried to the heavens about the dangers of a Hillary Presidency have to say now?

Could be worse. Vote third party.

Trump is a piece of shit and I wouldn't doubt that civilian casualties are higher.
But that article doesn't really point to that. With regards to Syria/Iraq it sites Coalition Airstrikes and doesn't single out the US.
When it comes to Afghanistan the numbers aren't even significant, and are less than under Obama in 2014 and 2015.

https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/..._1_january_to_30_september_2017_-_english.pdf

Perhaps Bush and Obama should have thought about the war powers their successors would inherit before expanding them as far as they did.
If we hadn't intervened in these countries in the first place we wouldn't have to worry about a dotard being irresponsible. I can't wait until 2020.

 

[Trotsky]

Of course because it's trump

You were FOR overthrowing Gadaffi and the attempt overthrow of Assad. You were ok with arming the Rebels/ISIS. You are for Sanctions against Russia.

But you draw the line when it comes to killing ISIS.

LOL. You supported the spread of ISIS through the toppling of regimes that were fighting them but are against fighting ISIS

Including the Russian sanctions in that list is laughable. The United States absolutely, unarguably has to issue sanctions against Russia to externalize US sovereignty and show that our political institutions are stable enough that you can't undermine them and then bank on getting bailed out when the side you helped comes to power and issues a kickback.

The sanctions against Venezuela and potential escalation of sanctions against Iran are what you/we should be worried about. Those are the ones that are internationally condemned by our allies.

Also, intervening against Assad presents real substantive issues of opinion on international law. And, lastly, there is literally no one besides MIC enthusiasts who like arming ISIS.

 

[SBJJ]

I'm against all of that except for the Russia sanctions. I have been against every single military intervention we've had since WWII. I'm really sick of you claiming that I'm a neocon, and saying I supported military actions when I didn't. It's incredibly dishonest, and makes you a huge piece of shit.

I'll say this one last time. Put up, or shut up. Produce any evidence of me being in favor of a US military action. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.

You've shown yourself. Show me anywhere you went against Obama at ANY time DURING the actual overthrows. You DID NOT!

And sanctions are an act of war dumb shit! So you are ok with an act of war against a NUCLEAR armed country because of Facebook ads.

You are a partisan piece of SHIT. That's all that matters to you. You do not care about deaths. You do not care about war. You do not care about kids being raped and mutilated. You only care about your side winning and scoring points

I'm 100% against staying in Syria or Iraq. Let them handle the remainder of ISIS. But I'm not gonna bash a man for trying to snuff out true evil while sucking off a president who HELPED these fucking terrorist fucks by playing chess with these dictatorships like Bush Jr did

Come back in here when Trump topples a dictator like he's a pawn on a chess board and I'll call him a piece of shit. But as of now he's only doing what he said he'd do mostly and he's a breath of fresh air compared to Bush Clinton & Obama

 

[HomerThompson]

You've shown yourself. Show me anywhere you went against Obama at ANY time DURING the actual overthrows. You DID NOT!

And sanctions are an act of war dumb shit! So you are ok with an act of war against a NUCLEAR armed country because of Facebook ads.

You are a partisan piece of SHIT. That's all that matters to you. You do not care about deaths. You do not care about war. You do not care about kids being raped and mutilated. You only care about your side winning and scoring points

I'm 100% against staying in Syria or Iraq. Let them handle the remainder of ISIS. But I'm not gonna bash a man for trying to snuff out true evil while sucking off a president who HELPED these fucking terrorist fucks by playing chess with these dictatorships like Bush Jr did

Come back in here when Trump topples a dictator like he's a pawn on a chess board and I'll call him a piece of shit. But as of now he's only doing what he said he'd do mostly and he's a breath of fresh air compared to Bush Clinton & Obama

So you can't support your opinion at all. Fascinating.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Bernie.

Bernie's FP is better than the last 4 POTUS', but he's not a saint. He's actually a little more interventionist than I'd prefer, but he's still heads and shoulders better than any other candidate running in '16 and '20

 

[SBJJ]

Including the Russian sanctions in that list is laughable. The United States absolutely, unarguably has to issue sanctions against Russia to externalize US sovereignty and show that our political institutions are stable enough that you can't undermine them and then bank on getting bailed out when the side you helped comes to power and issues a kickback.

The sanctions against Venezuela and potential escalation of sanctions against Iran are what you/we should be worried about. Those are the ones that are internationally condemned by our allies.

Also, intervening against Assad presents real substantive issues of opinion on international law. And, lastly, there is literally no one besides MIC enthusiasts who like arming ISIS.

I don't pick and choose sanctions. They suck. I don't even think sanctions against NK work

Lol at your excuse for Russian sanctions. Using your logic we should be the scourge of the earth and no one should do business with us

You guys are so GD partisan with this shit

 

[HomerThompson]

Bernie's FP is better than the last 4 POTUS', but he's not a saint. He's actually a little more interventionist than I'd prefer, but he's still heads and shoulders better than any other candidate running in '16 and '20

Agreed. My only real beef was that he wasn't strongly antiwar. Or, at least, he didn't make that a big part of his messaging.

 

[SBJJ]

So you can't support your opinion at all. Fascinating.

My opinion. It's just fact.

You are for an act of war against Russia because the person you supported politically lost. How stupid

Where was your outrage with Obama? You are 100% a hack

 

[HomerThompson]

I'm against all of that except for the Russia sanctions. I have been against every single military intervention we've had since WWII. I'm really sick of you claiming that I'm a neocon, and saying I supported military actions when I didn't. It's incredibly dishonest, and makes you a huge piece of shit.

I'll say this one last time. Put up, or shut up. Produce any evidence of me being in favor of a US military action. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.

My opinion. It's just fact.

You are for an act of war against Russia because the person you supported politically lost. How stupid

Where was your outrage with Obama? You are 100% a hack

 

[all caps]

I'm against all of that except for the Russia sanctions. I have been against every single military intervention we've had since WWII. I'm really sick of you claiming that I'm a neocon, and saying I supported military actions when I didn't. It's incredibly dishonest, and makes you a huge piece of shit.

I'll say this one last time. Put up, or shut up. Produce any evidence of me being in favor of a US military action. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.

Please do the same and dont put all trump supporters in that same boat. Why do we do this to each other? Looking for ways to hate each other when we all pretty much agree on most things

 

[Fawlty]

Youre absolutely welcome

Primary sources are generally appreciated more reliability wise

To be fair to humanity, you haven't always been a great "primary source." You have made a lot of interesting and informative mil-related posts over the years, and I know enough about many of the topics to see that you have a good amount of knowledge. But this is an example of you missing the point.

It's absolutely a conflict escalation when we increase airstrikes and resulting casualties- particularly civilian casualties. It's a self-evident fact. The raw troop numbers, you would have to agree, are continuously less indicative of rising conflict. This is owed to the long-term expeditionary restructuring of the entire military force and its supply chain, and an overall increase in the effectiveness of individual troops due to that emphasis on tech and logistics. Plus drones.

Simply put, we put more bombs on target with fewer people.