Oklahoma military spouse opinion- Stay the course in Syria

"Donald Trump ignores our allies, some of whom are there fighting with us."  - Kathy Larsen

An echo opinion published in the Oklahoma newspaper Tulsa World. 

No Syria withdrawal

To the Editor: About the alarming events regarding our withdrawal from Syria, President Trump says we won and our troops are coming home.

I don’t think that he and his supporters have any idea what could happen if we withdraw.

We are a military family, and my husband served with distinction for 20 years including three tours in Korea and Vietnam. I would have been ecstatic if he had been able to come home early, but that was not his mission.

We were forced out of Vietnam because our troops were fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. Vietnam is now communist, supported by China, which is not our friend.

We were able to contain the communists with China helping in North Korea. Think about what that peninsula would be like if they had prevailed.

We are still there and will be for the foreseeable future — to keep the peace.

Trump ignores our allies, some of whom are there fighting with us. If he does this regardless of our allies’ support, he further isolates us, giving enemies an opportunity to move in and undo everything we tried to do.

It also devalues the extreme sacrifice our dead and injured made there. If we have another 9/11 who would support us? I wonder if that is the point.

We are becoming more isolated. If that were to happen, we would be standing alone. People need to look at the wider picture and consider the future.

This president serves at this country’s peril.

From Kathy Larsen, Collinsville, Oklahoma