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Michael says that "the idea that momentous decisions are made entirely by one guy with quasi-dictatorial powers is problematic" and that the decision is within US imperialism's interests. The question is not whether it's within US interests, it's whether it's within US interests as the strategists for US capitalism conceive them. In other words, whether the decision is within the strategy they have laid out. I think the answer is definitively "no". That is why Mattis and others almost immediately resigned when Trump made his announcement. It is also why almost every major capitalist newspaper as well as the Council on Foreign Affairs panned his announcement. It is also why Trump has now reversed course. As we know, John Bolton has since laid out three conditions for US troop withdrawal. They are: ISIS eliminated; Iran influence eliminated; Kurds not slaughtered by Erdogan's forces. None of those conditions can be assured, and Trump has since retreated. I think it's pretty clear that he's not going to withdraw the US troops anytime soon. No, it is not in US interests, nor is it in their strategy, to get into a military quagmire in Syria. The US troops have rarely been involved in open, direct military battle. Trump did not make the announcement purely on a whim. He did it within a day or two of talking on the phone with Erdogan. I think we have to stop seeing Trump as being strictly a representative of the US capitalist class, or at least the ascendant wing of that class. He is as much a representative of the Russian ruling class, as I've written many times in the past. This is a totally unprecedented situation, and we need to recognize it. John Reimann -- *“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black Jacobins" by C. L. R. James Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
