Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
JUST a side comment...what we are actually seeing in Syria is not an Obama nor a Trump and his merry band FP....

We are seeing a SecDef Mattis FP backed up by AIM 9s.....and specific Iranian counter air strikes.....to enforce a red line policy.

The Mattis FP problem begins the exact day he attempts to take back under control those advanced weapon systems given to the PKK....after Raqqa...
I would disagree that Mattis has a specific foreign policy that he is executing. However, Mattis is an obviously good interlocutor with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Combatant Commanders. What we are observing is a continuation of Obama's policies with regard to Syria, albeit with the military empowered tactically.

Where Trump and Obama differ is on Iran. I doubt that Trump will unilaterally abrogate the JCPOA, given the advice of the foreign policy, intelligence and defense communities, however, he will not kowtow to Iran's adventures in Iraq and Syria merely to ensure that Iran upholds it.