The White House looked into attacking Iran

John Bolton, who may be insane, is a threat to national security. The fact that Mike Pompeo, who made the ridiculous “swagger” video, goes along with him shows how the risks are magnified when frivolous amateurs run things. https://t.co/z5vzoadkp7

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) January 13, 2019

Breaking: Mike Pompeo tells Al-Arabiya, “We are ready to confront Iran.” pic.twitter.com/b45OUmZ1Pp

— Zev Shalev (@ZevShalev) January 13, 2019

The White House's National Security Council asked the Pentagon last year for plans for launching a military attack against Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports https://t.co/RuuXthjoxN pic.twitter.com/Uy24463ah1

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 13, 2019

Amazingly, this important story has gotten lost today. https://t.co/SLCDtZSdio

— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) January 13, 2019

Trump echoes Russia’s position on their war in Afghanistan

Just another reason to ask: What does Russia have on Trump?

Chuck Rosenberg: "The President of the U.S. is echoing directly the line of the Kremlin on a whole bunch of things … This is something that U.S. intelligence officials have to understand: Why is the president saying what he’s saying? … is something being fed to him?" @MSNBC

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 4, 2019

The WSJ editorial board on Trump's comments that the Soviets were right to invade Afghanistan in 1979: "We cannot recall a more absurd misstatement of history by an American President" https://t.co/LVb1CvtI3G

— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) January 4, 2019

An excellent, needed piece. Thank you for writing it, @davidfrum. https://t.co/bu1Uhxne1a

— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) January 3, 2019

The incomprehensible ignorance displayed in that 63 seconds on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the collapse of the Soviet Union is really breathtaking.

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) January 2, 2019

Afghans not thrilled with Trump's history lesson yesterday: https://t.co/GJxYGolapx

— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) January 3, 2019

The party of Reagan has become the party of Brezhnev.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 3, 2019

Trump's media boosters are very good — too good — at looking the other way… https://t.co/olKMa0i6Ph

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 3, 2019

The remark does weirdly align w Soviet propaganda of the period. https://t.co/NdqaJtJYPG

— David Frum (@davidfrum) January 2, 2019

There’s a lot of “Wow, Republicans sure aren’t the party of Reagan anymore” lamentations these days but it’s kinda hard to top endorsing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) January 2, 2019

Worse yet, even back in the day, the Soviets didn't make the argument that the USSR needed to fight terrorism by going into AFG. Trump basically made that part up. The Sovs argued that it was to stop "counterrevolution" and "American imperialists" and all that crap. /1 https://t.co/ibZTQ8mYmK

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 2, 2019

On March 10, 1982, Ronald Reagan denounced Russia for invading Afghanistan “without provocation,” calling it “a violation of every standard of decency and international law.” Today, Donald Trump answered his criticism of Russia by saying “They were right to be there.”

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) January 2, 2019

Remains absolutely stunning that POTUS yesterday said "the reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there."

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 3, 2019

Defying history, Moscow moves to defend Soviet war in Afghanistan, @vkaramurza writes https://t.co/On2PKBf0pI

— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) December 8, 2018

Just learned from @vkaramurza via @maddow that Putin's party IS seeking to rewrite the history of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan! And our president just echoed the same. Amazing. I had no idea from where Trump had picked up this crazy idea. Now I have a theory. Thanks Rachel. https://t.co/j63ULNhhb4

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) January 4, 2019

Trump lie on ambassadors

This is a lie. Because:

a. The problem isn’t a long list of unapproved ambassadors. It’s that Trump left the most important slots vacant for virtually his entire first 2 years (eg Saudi Arabia)

b. Ambassadors need only 50 votes. Mitch, not Chuck, is the issue. https://t.co/0lm6ybPk5L

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 31, 2018

NASA will host a sanctioned Russian

Bad idea

Lawmakers and former national security officials say Dmitry Rogozin's invitation undermines U.S. sanctions and would give a government-approved platform to an anti-American bigot https://t.co/U7fBktH6ob

— POLITICO (@politico) January 1, 2019

Trump brings lies and politics to Iraq

It is good that Trump finally visited American troops in a war zone. I commend him for this. However, as usual he told lies and brought politics into what should have been a non-political event.

Trump lied about how long it has been since troops got a pay raise and how much it was. Does the dotard think they don’t know the truth about their paychecks? Who is he fooling – I guess it’s his cult. He has told these lies many times before.

Trump also bashed Democrats. Totally inappropriate.

He signed MAGA hats. That is totally inappropriate, too. I blame Trump and the military for this one.

Sad!

Trump misled on military pay increases, bragged to troops about 10 percent raise they won't get https://t.co/9g8kJPvwZS pic.twitter.com/66JpGgH2bB

— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) January 5, 2019

#APFactCheck: Trump makes false statements to cheering troops about their pay raise, and twisted ones about the border wall and Iran deal. https://t.co/LLTFFzxJs4

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) December 29, 2018

CNN Fact-Checks Trump’s Claim of Signing First Military Pay Raise in 10 Years: ‘That’s Just Not True’ https://t.co/9M4qB1avQa pic.twitter.com/efYlRe1WO5

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) December 27, 2018

Trump bragged to service members in Iraq about a 10 percent raise they’ve not been given https://t.co/seZWkZESkp

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 27, 2018

Trump misleads about military pay raises againhttps://t.co/Vwor4RH1Sl

— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) December 27, 2018

An officer. https://t.co/KRAuVmRtrj

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 27, 2018

Trump to deployed troops today: “The Democrats don’t want to let us have strong borders.”

He simply can’t help himself. He has to politicize every outing with the military.

It’s beneath his office. And it puts those troops in an impossible position.

Totally inappropriate. pic.twitter.com/DTrepckPjC

— John Kirby (@johnfkirby63) December 27, 2018

Under DoD Directive 1344.10 “active duty personnel may not engage in partisan political activities.” Trump thrust this illegality upon the service people by messing with his campaign paraphernalia. Reporters should ask if he brought it. https://t.co/Oq5R9baj2A

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) December 27, 2018

This is your occasional reminder that Trump is violating all kinds of norms when he talks like this in front of the troops and it’s pretty repellent. https://t.co/1mIrCLNf3D

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 26, 2018

Then 2) He said he raised the military's pay by ten percent. FACT: It was raised 2.8% in 2018 and another 2.6% in the current NDAA.

— Ali Rogin (@AliABCNews) December 26, 2018

The President made an important visit to US troops in Iraq today. Why did he claim falsely he raised military pay for the first time in 10 years (it’s gone up every year for three decades but 1983) & by 10% (it went up less than 3%)? Troops know the truth. Who’s he speaking to?

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 27, 2018

Trump used his speech to the troops in Iraq to attack Democrats: “The Democrats don’t want to let us have strong borders.” (Presumably, many of the soldiers listening to his remarks are not registered Republicans) pic.twitter.com/M1MWCLkMMb

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 27, 2018

Three things can all be true at the same time:

* A President honorably visiting troops overseas

* Deployed troops grateful to see their President

* A White House using troops as political pawns in photo ops

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) December 27, 2018

Troops are prohibited from "politicking" in uniform. Trump is putting them in an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable position here, because — unlike Trump — most of these men and women actually care about abiding by rules and laws. https://t.co/1qEvSaSCsw

— Caroline Orr (@RVAwonk) December 26, 2018

Visiting the troops is great. Lying to the troops is not. https://t.co/cGT0NGhSGU

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 27, 2018

Trump dropped his promise Mexico would pay for a wall we don’t need. But he’s wiling to keep our government shut down until he makes Americans pay for it.

I get Trumpists are hypnotically devoted, but are there really Americans who like to be lied to & then pay extra for it?

— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) December 26, 2018

Note to @realDonaldTrump: Had you served in the military you would know that each month we get a Leave and Earnings (LES) statement that shows our pay. So many military members know you are lying about their paycheck, but they are respectful so they don't say that to your face. https://t.co/4K5ZZKBZZn

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 27, 2018

Trump tweeted a video exposing the identity of several Navy SEALs. If you put that detail in a movie about a moron-becoming-POTUS, that detail would be thrown out as "too on the nose” and “too dumb even for a dumb President. We are in “stranger than fiction” land.

— Touré (@Toure) December 27, 2018

"Ending forever wars responsibly is a code the US hasn’t yet cracked, and Trump deserves credit for aiming to try. But the way Trump’s doing it means the US will be less likely to be able to build and hold together coalitions when future threats appear." https://t.co/nWCALKAAhJ

— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) December 27, 2018

Not just inappropriate, a violation of the Hatch Act, if true.

Back when I was the Hatch Act lawyer in the White House (apparently they no longer employ one), this would mean campaign would have to pay appropriate costs for the trip. Reporters should ask if Trump Campaign will. https://t.co/o8rYMgVj0c

— Ian Bassin (@ianbassin) December 27, 2018

Centrist types should probably spend at least a minute worrying about the partisan skew of the military for every hour they spend on the partisan skew of university faculties. https://t.co/U2uViPGbFO

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) December 27, 2018

Commander in Chief lies to the troops he’s supposed to lead. Nothing to see here. . . https://t.co/dYobckvO9u

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 27, 2018

Trump undermines our national security

The Threat in the White House via ⁦@nytimes⁩ https://t.co/C24pEAqEaI

— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) December 24, 2018

McGurk, top US envoy in fight against ISIS, resigns

Another departure based on Trump’s new Syria and Afghanistan policies.

Of course, Trump trashes him on the way out. Why would anybody work for Trump?

The fact that you say you don’t know @brett_mcgurk speaks volumes about your commitment to fighting ISIS @realDonaldTrump. Why don’t you know the man who has done more than any civilian to degrade ISIS? I can assure you @BarackObama knows him well. https://t.co/OzvKRrmVF5

— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) December 23, 2018

Uhhhh…you don’t know your own coordinator of the anti-ISIS campaign?

Over the past 5 years, no one has done more to put ISIS on its heels than Brett. We all know and rely on him. The fact that our President has no clue who Brett is should scare the hell out of every American. https://t.co/m7SNU1SA7z

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 23, 2018

Trump tonight tweeted that he doesn't know who Brett McGurk is, the U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State.

McGurk has literally been the American leading the fight against ISIS.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 23, 2018

Brett McGurk clerked for Rehnquist, worked in the Bush Administration, and once co-authored a @FedSoc white paper with Trump's 5th Circuit appointee Jim Ho and other young conservative lawyers. Thanks for your public service, Brett, in all administrations. https://t.co/DyXm2aXB6L

— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) December 23, 2018

And McGurk’s departure is equally major. https://t.co/wfq3nea1q1

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 23, 2018

As an American Citizen directly impacted by @brett_mcgurk’s work as a diplomat, I thank him deeply for his years of dedicated service. Without his relentless efforts @YeganehSalehi and I would not be here. That’s a fact. https://t.co/Ba0d9M8WVJ

— Jason Rezaian (@jrezaian) December 22, 2018

This is a very big deal. And if President Trump doesn’t know Brent McGurk that’s not a demonstration that McGurk’s departure is a nothing burger, it’s a demonstration the president has a stunning disinterest in the foreign policy of his country. https://t.co/yNxx1PqNNJ

— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) December 23, 2018

Actually, after he clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist in 2001, McGurk was appointed by George W. Bush to be special assistant to the president and senior director at the NSC for Iraq & Afghanistan. He served under both Bush and Obama. Like Bob Gates. https://t.co/yDcZefGaxA

— Jay Carney (@JayCarney) December 23, 2018

Tweeting that you don’t know the head of the government’s effort to combat ISIS is an amazing self own https://t.co/NdNG5H5tsY

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) December 23, 2018

Trump makes Putin happy by withdrawing troops from Syria

update 12/29/18

Russia, Turkey discuss coordination in Syria after U.S. withdrawal https://t.co/cZL6yPYoYH pic.twitter.com/jHuzNrinav

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 29, 2018

update 12/23/18

Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria defied the warnings of his senior advisers — including Bolton, Mattis and Pompeo — while blindsiding U.S. allies, from @missy_ryan and @jdawsey1 https://t.co/jPvqVYdf3Z

— Alan Sipress (@AlanSipress) December 20, 2018

more stuff since yesterday:

Vladimir Putin Welcomes U.S. Withdrawal From Syria https://t.co/HJwk43BYxj

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 20, 2018

Trump gave Putin a big Christmas present this year: Syria.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) December 19, 2018

This is ghastly. https://t.co/lW77oA7K7h

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 19, 2018

This giveaway to Russia must be evaluated in the context of the emerging evidence of Trump's quid pro quo with Putin. Trump & his team clearly asked for and got Russian business and election help. Did he & they signal policy concessions in exchange–& is this another example? https://t.co/nVr6lE7yyU

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) December 19, 2018

Trump abruptly announces withdrawal of troops from Syria against the advice of General Mattis and the Pentagon.

Three questions:

1. Why is Trump doing this?

2. Why is Trump doing this now against the advice of his own Generals?

3. Who does this benefit and who does this hurt?

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) December 20, 2018

So, Trump talked to Erdogan, and Netanyahu…
…but not the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Tell me more about how anthem kneeling disrespects the military. https://t.co/OxiujTvmwq

— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) December 20, 2018

Putin applauded Trump's decision to begin pulling U.S. forces out of Syria https://t.co/TV1dsg2vDS

— POLITICO (@politico) December 20, 2018

It is not FAKE NEWS that Russia, Iran, and Assad are unhappy about our decision to withdraw from Syria.

They are ECSTATIC! https://t.co/7cZgEDBbdT

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 20, 2018

So much for Trump’s conceit that he is the most pro-Israel president ever. A U.S. withdrawal from Syria will entrench Iran on Israel’s doorstep. That damage vastly outweighs the empty symbolism of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. My latest: https://t.co/0gdlRq5x7S

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) December 19, 2018

It's almost as if abandoning allies has consequences https://t.co/cxYdqmvKd1

— Dan Byman (@dbyman) December 20, 2018

First Syria, now Afghanistan?

JUST IN: Trump administration is considering a significant reduction in U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan – two officials tell Reuters pic.twitter.com/idmC8Wslto

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 20, 2018

update

"The US has about 14k troops in Afghanistan, most of which are present as part of larger NATO-led mission to train, advise and assist Afghan forces. Any withdrawal would be complicated by the fact that the U.S. is part of NATO's Resolute Support mission." https://t.co/LXg9GIo3Jz

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 20, 2018

OUR SCOOP: Trump wants to pull a significant number of troops, as many as 3k, out of Afghanistan as early as next month. me with @jessdonati @nancyayoussef https://t.co/8QMo8BDjxb

— Gordon Lubold (@glubold) December 20, 2018

JUST IN: White House has ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans for a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, 2 defense officials and a person briefed on the matter tell @NBCNews. https://t.co/yQXYAOQJVk

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2018

Trump helps Russia and Turkey in Syria

Who is he working for? Even Republicans think this is a bad move. Trump is bribing Turkey to keep quiet about the Khashoggi murder plus they bought weapons from the US.

Trump claims ISIS has been totally defeated in Syria but this is not true.

New statement from @PressSec confirms that the US is withdrawing troops from Syria and reiterates Trump's claim that "the United States has defeated the territorial caliphate" pic.twitter.com/zuwiQdw5ds

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) December 19, 2018

If this actually happens, it’s a stunning development both procedurally and substantively.

There’s lots of room for reasonable debate about what role—if any—the US military should be playing in Syria. But a knee-jerk, unplanned, across-the-board withdrawal seems … unwise. https://t.co/tO2N2qeZGf

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 19, 2018

Here is the full Reuters quote:

The decision came after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Friday. “Everything that has followed is implementing the agreement that was made in that call,” the official said.

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) December 19, 2018

MORE: All U.S. State Department personnel are being evacuated from Syria within 24 hours – official pic.twitter.com/XOnbuEzarZ

— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) December 19, 2018

Syria pullout + Patriots + plus promise to look again at Gulen extradition; Erdogan got an awful lot from Trump. In exchange for what? I expect we won't be hearing much more from Turkey about the Khashoggi murder. https://t.co/zRpPJeqhhU

— Jackson Diehl (@JacksonDiehl) December 19, 2018

Isn't one likely explanation of the Trump Syria announcement that it's part of the price paid to Ankara to go easy on the Saudi crown prince? The 2000 US personnel are deployed with Syrian Kurds- a big irritant to Ankara. Syrian Kurds now weakened https://t.co/Goap3G2jTJ

— David Frum (@davidfrum) December 19, 2018

Three separate reports including by the Pentagon Inspector General, by the United Nations and by ⁦@CSIS⁩ have estimated that ISIS still has between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters just in Iraq and Syria, but sure, let’s call the group “defeated.” #DejaVu https://t.co/6hDb4ilUIR

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 19, 2018

Marco Rubio railed on the president’s decision to pull out of Syria, saying whoever advised him has done a “great disservice” to the country. He said to us that Trump has put the US at risk by his decision – and it will make the world view America as an unreliable partner.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 19, 2018

Trump ally Lindsey Graham calls a withdrawal from Syria “an Obama-like mistake,” arguing that it will "be seen by Iran and other bad actors as a sign of American weakness in the efforts to contain Iranian expansion."

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) December 19, 2018

Responding to this, a Pentagon official asks me: “so when does Russia announce their victory?” https://t.co/1kWL3XH9oT

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 19, 2018

We have not defeated ISIS in Syria or Iraq. We have, however, left Raqqa and Mosul in ruins, filled with dead bodies and unexploded ordnance, and cut recovery aid. There is every reason to expect the group’s resurgence. https://t.co/GwRoksaESh https://t.co/bZPKc2g71e

— Ben Taub (@bentaub91) December 19, 2018

#Syria & US racing developments:

• Trump ready to withdraw ~ 2000 US troops: WSJ , CNN , Reuters
• Move coordinated with Erdogan: US military disagrees, State sidelined
• Pence to the Pentagon
• Trump called Erdogan Friday
• Allies informed

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 19, 2018

There is no strategic logic behind what the President just did in Syria, unless the strategy is changing the news cycle and trying to rally the base in anticipation of worse news to come.

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 19, 2018

Nice to know everyone in the Trump administration is on the same page regarding Syria policy https://t.co/Fmf7ufENOu

— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) December 19, 2018

“But one Defense Department official suggested that Mr. Trump also wants to divert attention away from the series of legal challenges confronting him over the recent days: the Russian investigation run by the special counsel…” https://t.co/fGWsPVUbLm

— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) December 19, 2018

The president has now dismissed or undermined US intelligence assessments on:

– Russian interference in the election
-Saudi Crown Prince direction of Khashoggi murder
– North Korea’s continued missile and nuclear activity
– ISIS’s continued presence in Syria

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 19, 2018