New Yorker: on War & Peace

James Mattis: Keep U.S. troops in Syria indefinitely to defeat ISIS

By then, 95% of the ISIS pseudo-caliphate in Syria and Iraq--once the size of Indiana--had been liberated. No longer. ISIS is now making a comeback. Two stunning reports this month--by the United Nations and Trump's own Defense Department--both contradict earlier US claims that most ISIS fighters had been eliminated. The Pentagon report [says] ISIS has successfully morphed from a proto-state into a "covert global network, with a weakened yet enduring core" in Iraq and Syria.

So the Trump Administration has reversed course; it is now keeping U.S. troops in Syria indefinitely.

James Mattis: Keep U.S. troops in Syria indefinitely to defeat ISIS

The US has three missions to complete before it can withdraw. "One, we have to destroy ISIS. The President's been very clear that ISIS is to be taken out," Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on August 28th. "We also have to have trained local troops who can take over."

The Trump Administration also does not want to withdraw U.S. troops, Mattis said, until a peace process is under way to end the war in Syria and map the country's political future. "We need the Geneva process--the UN-recognized process--to start making traction towards solving this war," Mattis said. "Now, if the locals are able to keep the security, obviously during this time we might be reducing our troops commensurate with their ability to deny ISIS a return, but it really comes down to finding a way to solve this problem of Assad's making."

Wesley Clark: Bush used 9/11 as a pretext to implement Iraq invasion plan

Clark's central contention-that Bush used 9/11 as a pretext to attack Saddam-has been part of the public debate since well before the Iraq war. It is rooted in the advocacy of the Project for the New American Century, a neo-conservative think tank that had been openly arguing for regime change in Iraq since 1998.

Wesley Clark: Supported Iraq war while we were at war

Clark called for victory parades down the Mall, and in another column, cheered the spectacular display of coalition force: "American military power, especially when buttressed by Britain's, is virtually unchallengeable today. Take us on? Don't try!"

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Supports Minsk accord: Independent Donbas & annexed Crimea

KENNEDY: Number 1, the policies on the war. I think it's very clear that this has little to do with protecting the Ukraine. It's more to do with the neocon ambition of deposing Vladimir Putin, which I think is very problematic. It's clear from Pres. Biden's direct statements that that is why he believes we should be in Ukraine.

Q: So, would you withdraw military aid to Ukraine?

KENNEDY: I would end the war. I would negotiate a peace.

Q: Would you allow a peace that allowed much of eastern Ukraine and Crimea to remain in Russian hands?

KENNEDY: The Russians had come to two different peace agreements, both of which were eminently reasonable. I consider the terms of the Minsk Accords fair. And that's what Russia already offered to sign.

[OTI FactCheck: The Minsk Accords would grant Donbas self-determination on independence from Ukraine, and would leave Crimea annexed to Russia].