Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/12/04/trump-orders-pentagon-to-pull-nearly-all-u-s-troops-from-somalia-where-for-13-years-they-fought-against-local-al-qaeda-affiliate-al-shabaab.html
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I don’t think there’s any way to say it at this point; he is trying to fuck the USA for not electing him again. There is no strategic or partisan goal here. There is no voting block to rally with these actions. There is no legacy that this will put a nice final polish on. He is just trying to create turmoil and terrorist states for the next generation to cope with. And all out of petty spite.
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Who definitely loses here?
Somali women.
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I’m not as confident that Somali women have benefitted from the US doctrine of perpetual war. Nor that an American military presence has been a stabilizing influence on the region.
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I am assuming that this is an order that originated with Putin.
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The only purpose for this is so that Republicans can spend the next four years saying “Biden gave Somalia up to al-Shabaab” to their credulous base.
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Everything this man has done in the last 4 years has been out of petty spite. And he still almost won because it appears many Americans are also petty, spiteful racists! WTF, middle America. I’m really, really, really trying hard to remember that most of the states are purple and not red/blue. But godamn.
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I’m not sure their lack of a presence will be very stabilizing either. Somalia has had a lot of issues before we became directly involved. There have been decades of civil war and genocide and several different groups causing bloodshed.
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I guess we know who he’s been hitting up for bribes, and no, it doesn’t surprise me it’s terrorists and despots.
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The thing that gets me is that apparently Republicans can say any goddamn thing they want to their base, without a lick of truth, and said base will lap it up and regurgitate it loudly and continuously.
Perhaps they could, you know, NOT do the evil thing and say they did?
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Watching the veep debate, I was marveling at how practiced Pence was at avoiding outright lies in favor of half-truths where he could (and going for outright lies where he couldn’t). I was imagining his thoughts while Harris spoke: “Oh sure, it’s so easy for you. All you have to do in order to get votes is tell the truth about your policies. That’s politics on Easy Mode!”
I forget where I read (probably BB) the idea that he might just pardon everyone in federal prison, simply because he can, and wouldn’t that show us all?
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Draining the swamp, indeed. Once again, projection.
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Pence had a radio show for years so he is good at talking without saying anything.
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For certain politicians (and business executives) it’s a natural talent.
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You really buy that all these wars are about protecting women? If we did, we’d invade Saudi Arabia and other countries that systematically oppress women. And maybe we’d do a bit better here protecting our rights at home, but this exact same party that is now pulling troops out of Somalia is doing it’s dead level best to strip me, and all other American women of one of our basic rights.
So, no this wasn’t and isn’t about human rights. It’s always about geo-political real politik and gaining strategic advantage in a critical location for global trade, the Red Sea.
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It worked last time when they blamed Obama for following through with agreements Bush made to withdraw troops from Iraq.
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That’s crazy. He’d never do that. There are Black, Latinx and immigrant people in prison.
/s(igh)
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This looks like a job for Erik Prince and Neo-Blackwater (Hong Kong) LLC.
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I suppose that is in fact a joke because I doubt very much anyone in the world is silly enough to think that if they bribed Trump, he’d actually do what he promised.
I think Trump would genuinely not understand the transaction. If you’ve given him the money, then it’s his money and why should he do anything for a loser like you. If you haven’t given him the money, why should he do anything for a loser like you.
I think the reasons are fairly simple. It allows him/the Republicans to tell his base that he fulfilled another campaign promise knowing that US foreign policy requires foreign intervention and that Biden will have to reverse the move at some point once he’s in office.
Then Trump/the republicans get to campaign on warmongering Biden, etc.
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“You get half the money now, and the rest after the pardon.”
Sure, he’s still gonna screw over some of them, but he’s got big loans coming due.
