US ambassador compares US to Ottomans and British - insists "we're not leaving" As troops pack up In a speech at the Doha Forum, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Burke delivered a remarkably candid history lesson on American empire, marking Trump's current withdrawal as a strategic choice rather than a forced withdrawal. "We are here. we are not leaving We're just saying we're not going to hold it anymore. We need participation from the region, and the president is doing it," he declared. Let's examine what "not leaving" actually looks like on the ground: All US combat forces and logistical support have officially left Iraq, closing the last base in Erbil. The US has told Saudi Arabia it will not directly intervene in its defense against the Houthis. Diesel from Russia to ease its energy crisis Barak openly compares the United States to the crumbling Ottoman and British empires. When he says "we just won't own it anymore", he means that the US can no longer afford to subsidize Middle East security. substack | talk.

US ambassador compares US to Ottomans and British - insists "we're not leaving" As troops pack up In a speech at the Doha Forum, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Burke delivered a remarkably candid history lesson on American empire, marking Trump's current withdrawal as a strategic choice rather than a forced withdrawal. "We are here. we are not leaving We're just saying we're not going to hold it anymore. We need participation from the region, and the president is doing it," he declared. Let's examine what "not leaving" actually looks like on the ground: All US combat forces and logistical support have officially left Iraq, closing the last base in Erbil. The US has told Saudi Arabia it will not directly intervene in its defense against the Houthis. Diesel from Russia to ease its energy crisis Barak openly compares the United States to the crumbling Ottoman and British empires. When he says "we just won't own it anymore", he means that the US can no longer afford to subsidize Middle East security. substack | talk.