President Donald Trump has made an executive choice to withdraw U.S. troops out of Syria. As a person who has always questioned wars in the Middle East, I could not be happier. 

I was reading a Reuters article in which soldiers criticized Trump’s Syria retreat stating strongly that we are abandoning our Kurdish allies. The thought that popped into my mind was almost instantaneous. What about all the other soldiers? The ones who want to go home and see their family? 

I have often engaged in conversation, sometimes debating the presence of U.S. military forces throughout much of the Middle East, and I always came to the same conclusion, “Why are we really there?” 

Some would say because we are stealing the oil, but my conclusions were always more sinister. I believe we are involved with Middle Eastern conflict because of the profits of war. 

According to an article in Newsweek, the Pentagon spends $250 million a day on war. That’s a lot of money. This, of course, ignores private contracting for manufacturers that would see a rise in spending, but the conclusion is the same. 

War makes money. It always has. 

Why did America join in on World War I? The general opinion was deeply against U.S. deployment in Europe during the time, but the sinking of the Lusitania ultimately forced the U.S. to engage directly in the “war to end all wars.” 

Without going too tinfoil conspiratorial, I’ll simply say someone profited off of this. Where does that money go? While I do not have that answer, what I can say is this: people are losing money with Trump’s withdraw in Syria, and that makes me happy. 

Is this then the withdrawal of American deployment throughout the Middle Eastern region for the foreseeable future? It is highly doubtful. 

Both sides of the political spectrum, Democrat or Republican, are war hungry. Politicians pockets are lined by war lobbyists. When I see Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer criticize Trump for his withdrawal in Syria, I just think about the money that forces such a criticism. 

Similarly, people criticize Trump for instigating war-like action, especially from a boisterous Iran regime. In the end, while Trump has withdrawn from Syria, he is not perfect in my purview, but progress is progress.