Leaving Syria Stupidly

A few years ago, the counter-insurgency expert, David Kilcullen, remarked something to the effect that "just because you invade a war stupidly, doesn't mean you have to leave it stupidly" (see Tom Rick's book, "The Gamble," p. 29). Kilcullen had in mind the 2nd war with Iraq, and we should've heeded his advice. Back in 2014, rather than removing all of our troops, we should've left a small force behind that could have secured the safety of Iraqi citizens. We didn't, and that allowed ISIS to emerge and develop into a deadly force that the world is just now getting control of.

And now it looks like we've done it again. This time we're leaving (or have left) Syria "stupidly," leaving some of our allies in the fight against ISIS, the Kurds, to fend for themselves against a historical foe (Turkey) that would prefer they'd go away. So, now it appears that the Kurds have allied themselves with Syria, and the Russians have swept in to protect them. There's also some evidence that ISIS prisoners have escaped, which could help it reemerge in the future. It makes you wonder if anyone will ever trust us enough to ally themselves with us ever again.