Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump Betrayed the Kurds. He Couldn't Help Himself.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/trump-betrayed-kurds-whos-next/600004/
Humiliating his own Cabinet secretaries was bad. Putting faithful American allies in harms way is far worse.
6:00 AM ET
Peter Wehner - Contributing writer at The Atlantic and senior fellow at EPPC
Updated at 11:06 a.m. ET on October 15, 2019.
President Donald Trumps betrayal of the Kurds stung deeply. They trusted us and we broke that trust. Its a stain on the American conscience. These, according to The New York Times, are the searing words of an Army officer who has worked alongside the Kurds in northern Syria.
Kurdish forces played a central role in aiding the United States in fighting the Islamic State. But in a phone call a week ago Sunday, Trump gave the green light to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to invade northern Syriaand, in the process, to engage in what even one of Trumps most loyal supporters, Senator Lindsey Graham, describes as the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds.
According to Jennifer Griffin and Melissa Leon of Fox News, Trump was supposed to tell Erdoğan to stay north of the border, but instead went off script. By Wednesday, the Turkish offensive began, with Erdoğans aim to push back the Syrian Kurds from the border region. The results have been swift and brutal: the displacement of more than 100,000 people, executions and war crimes, the escape of hundreds of Islamic State prisoners. (If Islamic State fighters escape, theyll be escaping to Europe, Trump said last weekas if Europes problems dont affect the United States.) For the Kurds, the consequences of Americas policy change will only get worse. I dont know how many people will die. A lot of people will die, a senior military source told Fox News. Yesterday the Trump administration tried frantically to make Turkey stand down, but enormous damage has already been done.
For once, Republicans have forcefully spoken out against Mr. Trump. Graham said our Kurdish allies had been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump administration. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said Trumps decision is having sickening and predictable consequences. Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, said on Face the Nation that leaving an ally behind is disheartening, depressing. He added, The Kurds found out on Twitter, for goodness sake. We have left them to the wolves. And the message this is sending to our allies around the world, I think, is really going to be bad. Senator Mitt Romney, the Republican lawmaker who has been the most willing to speak the truth about Trump, declared on Twitter, The Presidents decision to abandon our Kurd allies in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal.
<snip>
Betrayal is a leitmotif for this presidents entire life. Think of how he cheated on his wives. Think of the infant child of a nephew who had crucial medical benefits withdrawn by Trump because of Trumps retaliation against his nephew over an inheritance dispute. Think of those who enrolled at Trump University and were defrauded. Think about the contractors whom Trump has stiffed. Think of Jeff Sessions, the first prominent Republican to endorse Trump, whom Trump viciously turned against because Sessions had properly recused himself from overseeing the investigation into whether Russia had intervened in the 2016 election. Think about those who served in Trumps administrationRex Tillerson, John Bolton, Don McGahn, Reince Priebus, Gary Cohn, James Mattis, and many morewho were unceremoniously dumped and, in some cases, mocked on their way out the door.
</snip>
Humiliating his own Cabinet secretaries was bad. Putting faithful American allies in harms way is far worse.
6:00 AM ET
Peter Wehner - Contributing writer at The Atlantic and senior fellow at EPPC
Updated at 11:06 a.m. ET on October 15, 2019.
President Donald Trumps betrayal of the Kurds stung deeply. They trusted us and we broke that trust. Its a stain on the American conscience. These, according to The New York Times, are the searing words of an Army officer who has worked alongside the Kurds in northern Syria.
Kurdish forces played a central role in aiding the United States in fighting the Islamic State. But in a phone call a week ago Sunday, Trump gave the green light to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to invade northern Syriaand, in the process, to engage in what even one of Trumps most loyal supporters, Senator Lindsey Graham, describes as the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds.
According to Jennifer Griffin and Melissa Leon of Fox News, Trump was supposed to tell Erdoğan to stay north of the border, but instead went off script. By Wednesday, the Turkish offensive began, with Erdoğans aim to push back the Syrian Kurds from the border region. The results have been swift and brutal: the displacement of more than 100,000 people, executions and war crimes, the escape of hundreds of Islamic State prisoners. (If Islamic State fighters escape, theyll be escaping to Europe, Trump said last weekas if Europes problems dont affect the United States.) For the Kurds, the consequences of Americas policy change will only get worse. I dont know how many people will die. A lot of people will die, a senior military source told Fox News. Yesterday the Trump administration tried frantically to make Turkey stand down, but enormous damage has already been done.
For once, Republicans have forcefully spoken out against Mr. Trump. Graham said our Kurdish allies had been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump administration. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said Trumps decision is having sickening and predictable consequences. Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, said on Face the Nation that leaving an ally behind is disheartening, depressing. He added, The Kurds found out on Twitter, for goodness sake. We have left them to the wolves. And the message this is sending to our allies around the world, I think, is really going to be bad. Senator Mitt Romney, the Republican lawmaker who has been the most willing to speak the truth about Trump, declared on Twitter, The Presidents decision to abandon our Kurd allies in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal.
<snip>
Betrayal is a leitmotif for this presidents entire life. Think of how he cheated on his wives. Think of the infant child of a nephew who had crucial medical benefits withdrawn by Trump because of Trumps retaliation against his nephew over an inheritance dispute. Think of those who enrolled at Trump University and were defrauded. Think about the contractors whom Trump has stiffed. Think of Jeff Sessions, the first prominent Republican to endorse Trump, whom Trump viciously turned against because Sessions had properly recused himself from overseeing the investigation into whether Russia had intervened in the 2016 election. Think about those who served in Trumps administrationRex Tillerson, John Bolton, Don McGahn, Reince Priebus, Gary Cohn, James Mattis, and many morewho were unceremoniously dumped and, in some cases, mocked on their way out the door.
</snip>
Great read!
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 741 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (20)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump Betrayed the Kurds. He Couldn't Help Himself. (Original Post)
Dennis Donovan
Oct 2019
OP
dem4decades
(11,296 posts)1. I want Graham to explain the blood of allies on his hands.
dchill
(38,502 posts)2. Me, too, even though I KNOW it will somehow be Dems' fault.