Originally Posted by
Skroe
US Syria policy represents, to a degree, the political consensus in Washington. Some would like to do more (a lot more). Some would like to do less (a lot less). What Obama and Trump have done represents, broadly speaking, the political middle.
Russia has never understood US politics and could never understand them. Even there own citizens who comment here don't understand them. They can't because in their own autocratic regime, they have no frame of reference. In Russia, Putin coaxes and balances the competing agendas of his inner circle to press his own agenda. He decides. In the US, the President is just but one vote.
This is something that the Trumpkins have never understood, and probably still don't understand. When they were saying last year "Hillary's No fly zone in Syria would lead to World War III", I ridiculed it as moronic from many angles, and one of those was the fact that like with defense spending going up, Hillary and Trump would likely have nearly identical Syria policies to Obama, because they represent an ideas that has emerged organically, that the President is only one particpant in.
There is the Senate with it's many power centers, that Trump will never control.
There is the sprawling US Foreign Policy establishment, which is so inter-linked to each other, good luck every fully "de-institutionalizing it". It'll never happen.
There is the Pentagon and the Defense Establishment, which elected officials across really, over a century, since the days of General Sherman, have failed to completely control.
There is the armada of lobbyists for industry and other governments.
Syria policy, like North Korea policy, like European policy broadly represents the workable consensus. If Russia, or the alt-right thinks anything changes with Trump, they really need to pick up a history book. He's not the first "change" President. He's actually the third out of the last four (Clinton and Obama were the other two). Change Presidents always become Establishment Presidents.