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2019-10-15 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Trump's Syria withdrawal is a boon for ISIS ‐ and a nightmare for Europe
[VOX] A wave of would-be returnees could rekindle terrorism on the continent.

With the surprise withdrawal of US forces in Syria and the subsequent ‐ and immediate ‐ commencement of Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces, chaos has ensued. Kurdish forces are claiming that hundreds of ISIS prisoners have escaped at the Ain Issa detention facility while fighting raged nearby, while two officials told the New York Times that the US military had failed to secure 60 or so high-value detainees before its forces departed.

President Donald Trump, however, has assured Americans that his new approach would not prove a threat to the US homeland, saying, "They’re going to be escaping to Europe."

Europeans, to be sure, will not find this reassuring. Given the thousands of Europeans who went to fight for the Islamic State and the problems Europe has had with jihadist terrorism in general, they should be alarmed by the US abandonment of the Syrian Kurds and the possible escape of large numbers of ISIS prisoners. The good news is that the potential threat illustrates the counterterrorism progress made in the years since 9/11, but the end of the US role in Syria is clearly bad news.

Europe has a painful record when it comes to jihadist terrorism, suffering repeated mass casualty attacks in the post-9/11 era, including an ISIS-orchestrated set of strikes in Paris in 2015 that killed 130 people. European states, however, have made strides on this front, bolstering intelligence collection and sharing, toughening up their laws, and otherwise improving counterterrorism measures. The latest crisis in Syria highlights the need for Europe to continue its aggressive counterterrorism policies, improve how it handles terrorists in jail, and develop a more coherent set of policies to handle suspected terrorist detainees.
Posted by Besoeker 2019-10-15 07:10|| || Front Page|| [2 views ]  Top

#1 European bird cage liner.
Posted by Besoeker 2019-10-15 07:18||   2019-10-15 07:18|| Front Page Top

#2 I wonder if we still have black sites in Syria?
Posted by JohnQC 2019-10-15 09:43||   2019-10-15 09:43|| Front Page Top

#3  Author: Daniel Byman is a professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. This essay draws on his new book....

Typical of our fake "journalism" that, instead of doing real reporting-- like Thomas Wictor @ThomasWic@social.quodverum.com, who has actually been observing this war in situ, on the ground, and who knows what the hell hes talking about-- they ask an academic to speculate and build an entire 5,000+ word article about a hypothetical event that he attributes to Trump but has zero evidence for.

So instead of clear reporting and fact-based analysis we get more "I can't verify this but remember: OrangeMan Bad"

Clowns.
Stop calling what these outlets do "journalism." Nothing of the sort.
Posted by Lex 2019-10-15 09:46||   2019-10-15 09:46|| Front Page Top

#4 Sees Vox, scrolls to comments.
Posted by Bright Pebbles 2019-10-15 10:18||   2019-10-15 10:18|| Front Page Top

#5 It's only a nightmare for Europe because they don't have sense enough to secure their borders.
Posted by Abu Uluque 2019-10-15 11:06||   2019-10-15 11:06|| Front Page Top

#6 If Europeans are so concerned, let them deploy their own troops in Syria.

If they don't, we can only conclude the whole thing is a tempest in a teapot.

Although I am deeply enjoying the rank hypocrisy of the far left outraged that peace is breaking out and endorsing the military-industrial complex that they so long vehemently opposed.
Posted by Herb McCoy 2019-10-15 12:30||   2019-10-15 12:30|| Front Page Top

#7 If only there was a modern industrialized nation with skin in the game near to that region that could do something....
Posted by ruprecht 2019-10-15 13:09||   2019-10-15 13:09|| Front Page Top

#8 Given the thousands of Europeans who went to fight for the Islamic State and the problems Europe has had with jihadist terrorism in general, they should be alarmed

Yes, it's all good fun playing both ends against the middle until the lone wolves start coming home. As the saying goes, "Ya get what ya play for..."
Posted by M. Murcek 2019-10-15 13:36||   2019-10-15 13:36|| Front Page Top

#9 Europe just pulled their troops out, over 1,000, leaving the 50 US troops without any support. The news wont tell you they had an ODB and a couple A teams and that's all there...
Posted by 49 Pan 2019-10-15 15:07||   2019-10-15 15:07|| Front Page Top

#10 ODB = Operations Detachment Bravo, operations and planning cell. Can have one or more Operational Detachments (ODA's) attached. Usually led or commanded by a Major.
Posted by Besoeker 2019-10-15 16:47||   2019-10-15 16:47|| Front Page Top

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