There is no other site where the American flag can be reliably planted while uniquely depending upon Kurdish Peshmerga to achieve conjoint security goals.
KURDNAS President Sherkoh Abbas, Robert Sklaroff, MD 27/10/19 12:02 | updated: 14:00
Within a fortnight—triggered by President Trump’s abrupt relocation of American protection for Kurds in the Rojava—the Russians have helped Turkey consolidate its ethnic cleansing of Kurdish cantons and have flipped to coveting the oil-rich region of NE-Syria now peacefully governed by the Kurds.
Accompanying this historic blunder have been misstatements and smears that have relegated Kurds’ valiant efforts to avoid being massacred to a schoolyard scuffle with the parties to be separated “after they fight a bit”: “We have no troops in Syria, and want to negotiate between the Turks and the Kurds….Kurds aren’t angels…Did Kurds help us in Normandy?”
Trump’s ignorance is dramatized by his having echoed the false conflation of the Syrian YPG with the Turkish PKK by Turkey’s Jew-hating Islamist President Erdo?an, a distinction recognized by Congress’s Syria Study Group; the latter has terrorist leaders, whereas the former is comprised of soldiers who loyally fought alongside U.S. troops (suffering 11,000 deaths to America’s 8) agains ISIS.
In response, overwhelmingly bipartisan House condemnation may be politically motivated and Senator McConnell’s resolution may be a gesture, but suddenly everyone seems to love the beleaguered Kurds.
Yet, the only “language” understood both by Trump and the world would be passage of an Authorization for the Use of Military Force focused upon what is now claimed by Sen. Graham to be the retrenched “hope” for a settlement, ostensibly, protection of this region against an ISIS resurgence:
WHEREAS, an ethnic cleansing operation has been initiated by Turkey affecting, in particular, the peaceful residents of Rojava, and
WHEREAS, The 1000 United States troops in NE-Syria protecting against a resurgent ISIS would not violate the NATO treaty if they were to be attacked by another country such as Turkey, while Iraq may evict American troops at Iran’s behest; THEREFORE be it
RESOLVED, That The United States of America endorses immediate implementation of an Authorization for the Use of Military Force to protect Kurds peacefully residing in oil-rich Northeast Syria (contiguous with Iraqi Kurdistan), coveted by Ottomans, Persians and Czarists; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the United States of America shall invoke whatever land and airborne operations are deemed necessary to accomplish this goal.
As we have consistently predicted, there is no other site where the American flag can be reliably planted while uniquely depending upon Kurdish Peshmerga to achieve conjoint security goals.
We have dismembered “conservative” arguments published on “conservative” websites in the Jewish Exponent [https://tinyurl.com/y4yz8xqs], as we elucidated why “Abandoning the Kurds Is a Shanda.”
Undermining their unabashedly and blindly pro-Trump portrayals of the Syrian War is our durable factual backgrounder in the Spring 2014 issue of the InFocus Quarterly—published by the Jewish Policy Center—that succinctly summarized both the history of Kurdistan and the myriad Kurdish factions that have emerged.
[To provide full disclosure, know that the first author wrote in the Exponent two essays praising Trump’s populist conservatism and a letter condemning Democrats for abandoning Israel; thus, he has been forced to experience a seismic challenge to what had been settled assumptions, anguish that was conveyed inter alia to Paul Teller, the White House Congressional Liaison and to fellow travelers in the Tea Party movement.]
Proof of how Trump has endangered his Evangelical base was evidenced during the Values Voters Gala in Rev. Brunson’s prayer (delivered with his hand on Trump’s shoulder and punctuated by audience applause) that Trump be helped to recognize whom he should trust. And Pat Robertson warned Trump could risk “losing the mandate of heaven.”
Just as Iran views Israel as the “Little Satan” and America as the “Great Satan,” Seth Frantzman (op-ed editor of the Jerusalem Post) perceives Kurdistan’s fate to be linked to that of Israel, recognizing Kurdistan is Israel’s “Canary in the Coal Mine.” Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has contradicted all of Trump’s assertions.
Trump has been attacked by generals across the political spectrum (Petreaus, Keane, Votel, McCaffrey), both for what he did and how he did it. Although Trump claimed he’s “overrated,” General Jim Mattis said resurgence of ISIS is “a given” after withdrawal of US troops and, when Mattis spoke at the 74th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner (joking he’s “the Meryl Streep of generals”), his praise of America’s “Kurdish Allies” received a Standing-O.
Defenders of this retreat decry endless commitments— forgetting Korean and German deployments—and ignore the instability that Trump created, leading only to the empowerment of America’s regional enemies (Turkey, Iran, Russia and the Islamic State) who are opportunistically and expeditiously filling this vacuum; the NATO Charter does not mandate impotence when a member nation seeks to ethnically cleanse a neighboring region, attacking America in the process.
Most historians decry Chamberlain’s appeasement prior to World War II, and Roosevelt’s inaction during the Shoah; yet, Erdo?an has been unleashed as a Trump proposed Turk-Kurd mediation and threatened after-the-fact tangential economic sanctions.
What had been perceived positively as a sequential strategy to strengthen the economy prior to rebuilding the military has been supplanted by grudging recognition that Trump shrouds neoisolationist pacifism and rationalized procrastination within professed “friendships” with global despots.
As a result, notwithstanding his self-image of exuding wisdom, Trump’s impulsiveness has sparked a conflict that quickly drove the Kurds to the Russians, shattering Trump’s “transactional” foreign policy framework.
Regardless of how this seismic event is resolved, its negative ripple effect throughout Trump’s foreign policy construct undermines America’s ability to affect global efforts to help freedom loving peoples.
A “tell” that Trump is in trouble is the absence of the ordinarily strident voice of Kellyanne Conway from Fox and Friends.
Pax Americana has been supplanted by Pacem Putin.
Impromptu Capital Hill lobbying on Tuesday was therefore targeted at staffers who have been outspoken critics of this retreat, but who have—thus far—been reticent to recommend to their Representative-bosses that they transcend the irrelevancy of proffering Humanitarian assistance.
Granted, this is composed amidst swiftly moving events, but the conclusions herein are immutable.
We have written that recognition of the Golan necessitated an appreciation that artificial borders established a century ago must be adjusted to reflect reality; similarly, the denial of a Kurdish homeland at Lausanne must be reversed.
And Jerusalem now must worry that Trump may have granted Iran unimpeded access to Israel’s borders.
Sherkoh Abbas is the President of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria; Robert Sklaroff is a physician activist.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:Kurdish Statehood would be a long process. They also need to unify and get their act together.
Not a simple task but a just and needed one. It needs people supplying them weapons. Start by carving out a piece of land. The UN will not be the vehicle.
It is possible if Iran or Iraq implode and breakup the land in the Kurdish areas can be taken for a state.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
Adam,
“I believe it would require a major American military operation, lasting several years, to actually install such a state and armed it so it could defend itself against a coalition of four enemy neighbors. And I don’t think the American people or Congress are at present willing to support such a war.”
I believe you have accurately described the situation.
@ Bear Klein: All true, Bear. But let’s not exaggerate how quickly this action would lead to an independent Kurdistan. One or more of the other four permanent members of the Security Council would probably veto such a resolution. Most of the non-permanent members of the Council would probably vote against it too, because they don’t want to offend the four ruling states. That is usually the way diplomacy happens. Even if such a resoultion were to pass, the council would be unlikely to grant the permanent members permission to enforce it militarily. I believe it would require a major American military operation, lasting several years, to actually install such a state and armed it so it could defend itself against a coalition of four enemy neighbors. And I don’t think the American people or Congress are at present willing to support such a war.
On the other hand, a plea on behalf of the Kurds in the Security Council would have some propaganda value for them. It might smooth a path towards their independence in the long run. Unfortunately, diplomacy and even military force can rarely accomplish good results quickly. These things take time.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
Yes, the USA ought to urge an Independent Kurdistan and help them within reason. This country if formed would naturally be against the Islamist’s enemies of both the USA and Israel. Which includes Turkey, Iran and Iraq which is mostly run by militia’s friendly or run by Iran.
@ Michael S: All these people do in fact need and deserve their own homelands. but I agree that it is not the duty of the U.S. Congress or President to provide these oppressed people with states of their own.
Nor do they have the power to do so.
It might be a good idea for the USG to call a meeting of the UN Security Council to call attention to the plight of these oppressed peoples. This, however, would make enemies of all the governments that are currently ruling and oppressing these peoples, including the Spaniards. The U..S. has many interests in many of these countries that would be endangered. Perhaps it would be best to start with urging independence for the Kurds. The only states that would be likely to offer strenuous objections to this would be Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, which currently rule the Kurds. Of these countries, only Iraq has maintained reasoonably friendly relations with the United States–but even Iraq, not all that friendly.
@ Ted Belman:
HI, Ted. You noted,
” …The CIA helped depose the Shah or Iran. Obama removed Ghadafi in Libya, and Mubarak in Egypt and he tried to unseat Assad in Syria. Bush Jr went for removal of Hussain in Iraq. Kennedy tried to remove Castro in Cuba. I am sure there are more examples.”
Indeed. I think all of the above have turned out to be foreign policy nightmares for the US — a good reason NOT to pursue regime changes. Then you said,
“There is a war going on between the Nationalists and the Globalists.”
I assume you don’t mean a “shooting” war, because you go on to say,
“I see nothing wrong with removing Globalist dictators by a coup. Certainly better than going to war to remove them.”
I notice you confined yourself to advocating removing Globalist “dictators” by coup — presumably excusing non-dictators such as Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Moon Jae-In, etc. — even though these Globalists are far more dangerous than the likes of Bashar Al-Assad and Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, not to mention non-“leaders” like Mark Zuckerberg.
Let me mention, moreover, that the most dangerous Globalists, by far, are the Chinese leaders who have Mark Zuckerberg, Phil Knight, Bob Iger and the whole hornet’s nest in their pockets. Are you proposing a regime change in China? Anything less would amount to “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”
I have no doubt, that regimes will change in coming years, from Jordan to Zimbabwe; and I have even less doubt that these will make a dent in the “war between Globalism and Nationalism”. None of this is worth the shed blood of one American.
Adam Dalgliesh Said:
Did you expect them to say anything differently after the fact??? Get real!!! Many reports among them Jen Griffin of Fox News says otherwise and that ” The Pentagon was taken completely by surprise and were rushing to catch up and adapt to Trump’s whimsical sudden action.
Adam Dalgliesh Said:
One can argue the wisdom of Trump’s Obama-like policy but you cannot intellectually support and agree with the manner and or lack of process including the obvious lack of strategic regional assessments… Ergo one can only conclude he is a dolt!!!
I supported Trump and may do so again from no better choice but I am not prepared to call an idiot a genius just because his support base attaches near divinity to his every word and action… Very dangerous reminds me of German support for Hitler…. When any leader does well and his policies work for the majority of the people I am all in. When they don’t and are plainly harmful
I speak up.
BTW the Secular Turkish Gov that aligned with America and was admitted to Nato is not the same since Erdogan. Now apro Islamic Jihadist support state under Erdogan. Russia today is not the USSR. Reginal alliances maps and interests are no longer the same. Support for an independent Kurdish state in Kurdish controlled Syria is not only historically just but logical for many American strategic reasons vis a vis ( Islamist non-Loyal) Turkey, Iran, Russia (Shia controlled ) Iraq and finally Israel. Trump too stupid to see that he has adopted the foreign policy precepts of Obama “Leading From Behind” and “Strategic Patience”
@ Sebastien Zorn:Many consider Spyer the foremost expert on affairs in the middle east in places like Syria, Iraq, Kurdish area. (By the way I was not trying to provide you corroboration. I feel no need to do that). Spyer is regularly interviewed all over the world for his expertise. His articles are published in numerous places.
See his numerous article about the area here: https://jonathanspyer.com/
Bear Klein Said:
To what? What were you pointing out? You attached a video which, except for a flag in one of them, couldn’t tell what flag, I googled the Kurdish and Turkish flags and they are different, could have been pictures of anything anywhere purporting to be of a grave site and some scenes of some areas that appeared to have suffered destruction. You mentioned some anonymous Kurds you know and trust. And you mentioned Jonathan Spyer’s occasional info with no link attached. Who is he, by the way? This is your idea of corroboration? Meanwhile, Caroline Glick, who is in a position to know, had a lot of information and corroboration not just a kind of “trust me I know what I am talking about” attitude. You have to do better than that to persuade me. There are a lot of theories out there and a lot of fake news and fake photos like the U.S. air show ABC published twice and said it was destruction of Kurdish villages. And the Kurds, as you must know, are not united and some of them are close to Assad, with whom they just made a deal, and Iran. Same thing went on in Yugoslavia, where we also should not have intervened.
@ Bear Klein:
Thanks for all this information.
Background information on what happen in Syria Kurdish Enclave called Rojava.
Below is the Kurdish view of what occurred. I believe this is accurate based on multiple sources that I view as reliable.
Since 2014, when it gave air support to the Kurdish armies fighting ISIS in Kobane, the U.S. military has worked closely with the Syrian Kurds. Together they developed and expanded the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to the point where roughly half of its soldiers are Arabs. They agreed to fight far from the Kurdish homeland, as requested by the United States, on the understanding that if they gave their lives to defeat ISIS, the United States would in turn protect them from Turkey. But Turkey, which opposes and fears Rojava—the autonomous, majority Kurdish region in northeastern Syria that is home to the SDF—in August got the U.S. government to agree to a jointly patrolled “safe zone” of disputed size along the border. As SDF General Mazloum Abdi wrote on October 13:
At Washington’s request, we agreed to withdraw our heavy weapons from the border area with Turkey, destroy our defensive fortifications, and pull back our most seasoned fighters. Turkey would never attack us so long as the U.S. government was true to its word with us. We are now standing with our chests bare to face the Turkish knives.
The Kurds have lost nearly 11,000 soldiers fighting ISIS; they were the ground troops who sacrificed their lives so the United States would not have to put “boots on the ground.” With one careless phone call, Donald Trump destroyed an alliance that was fundamental to the defeat and continued containment of ISIS and handed Rojava to the wolves. This is a world?class betrayal.
What Happened?
Erdo?an has been threatening to invade Rojava for years, but a small contingent of 1,000 U.S. troops acted as a buffer to hold Turkey off—until October 6, when Trump told Erdo?an it was okay for Turkey to invade. He did this without informing either Rojava or the Pentagon in advance. Trump immediately issued orders to move U.S. troops. The next morning Turkey began to bomb Rojava.
Large numbers of officers were purged from the Turkish Army after the failed 2016 coup, and Erdo?an now relies on Free Syrian Army Islamist militias as ground troops, merging the two into what he calls the “Syrian National Army,” which he frames as defenders of the “real” Syria. Erdo?an loves Orwellian doublespeak: invaders are called defenders, the invasion itself is called “Peace Spring,” and the “Syrian National Army” is bankrolled by Turkey.
According to the Rojava Information Center, Turkey has sent in three militias notorious for their brutality: Jaysh al-Islam, which ruled Douma and Eastern Ghouta by torture and imprisonment until Turkey evacuated them; the Sultan Murad Brigade, accused by the UN of committing war crimes against Kurds in Aleppo; and Ahrar al-Sharqiya, made up of former al-Nusra members from Deir ez-Zor. (Al-Nusra is the Syrian branch of al Qaeda.) These militias will repeat what they have done in Afrin, which Turkey invaded and occupied last year: drive out as many Kurds as possible; kill, rape, and torture those who remain; kidnap and hold them for ransom; and steal their homes, businesses, and property. In short they will commit war crimes with impunity.
The war crimes have already begun. According to Doctors Without Borders, shelling has forced at least one hospital to close; there are also reports of ambulances and trauma units in Serekaniye being shelled. FSA units backed by Turkey are stopping cars on the M4 road, killing civilians, and video recording their crimes.
ISIS Gets Another Chance
On October 6, the White House announced Turkey would take charge of ISIS prisoners. For years Kurds and American researchers like David Phillips and Anne Speckhard (who interviewed ISIS prisoners) have documented Turkey’s support for ISIS throughout the war. The Kurds, who after years of close fighting know many ISIS members by name and face, have even published a spreadsheet naming forty ISIS members in the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. If Erdo?an really were given charge of ISIS prisoners, the first thing he would do is release them to fight the Kurds and blackmail Europe.
Given this history, it is no surprise that ISIS sleeper cells were activated in coordination with the Turkish offensive, or that Turkey bombed several prisons to help ISIS prisoners escape, including one in Quamisli and another in Ain Issa, which held families of ISIS fighters, at least 500 of whom escaped.
@ Sebastien Zorn:The Kurds both in Iraq – Pershamaga (are the USA ally) and the SDF in Syria have proven trustworthy allies.
That most Americans do not know anything about them nor bother learning about them even though they lost 11,000 fighters when fighting with the USA to destroy the Caliphate is not a real reason for abandoning them.
These red-herring type of arguments should we go to war with the Chinese over Tibet are empty. The USA wanted allies in the middle-east they could rely upon and found the Kurds reliable, brave and capable. Spitting them out when you think you may not need further, is not good for the future of the USA as a power. Then isolationists and the ignorant do not care.
Saying the USA would have gotten into a war with Turkey over the Kurds is simply false because Erodgan is not that stupid. Then trying to justify what Trump has done is hard to justify and needs lots of stretching and bending of truth and logic. Seems many who are doing it know very little or nothing about the conflict and do not really care to learn more.
The Oil fields are being defended by the US and the SDF. The same SDF the US let down a little bit to the west.
Sebastian I was pointing out were you could learn about what is going on in Syria, Kurdish areas and Iraq. Clearly you seem resistant to that. That is your choice, if you want to open yourself up to information centers beyond what you already read or not.
@ Bear Klein:
I don’t know what this video is supposed to prove and who is the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis? I never heard of them. Your other corroboration about a few Kurds you know and Jonathan Spyer’s occasional info and resources is way too vague for me to trust. Trump has a record now and I trust him not anonymous naysayers.
I also think it would be foolhardy for us to use our military just to “liberate” people. Aside from the fact that that has often backfired, what makes the Kurds so special. Why don’t we liberate Tibet while we are at it? Yeah, let’s go to war with China. So silly. We are on the brink of war with Iran. It is absolutely absurd to start an optional war with Turkey that has nothing to do with defending American interests.
Also, there are different groups of Kurds. American and Kurdish forces are defending the oil fields.
Pointless sacrifice of American lives to get involved in this quagmire militarily for humanitarian reasons.
@ Bear Klein:
Trump “should hire” our Caroline Glick…..?
Only The Bear would be so bold, no, you must be jesting. IMO, Trump would never do that…..and neither would Glick. They would not get along in that prescribed relationship. Glick must be free and unfettered. With Trump she would suffer a stroke or worse. I want her to thrive.
Her articles are improved, lately, in general, with a few outliers.
Trump is a control freak. Let Trump do it himself.
Glick could survive a party with Trump, that is about it.
@ Sebastien Zorn:Yes there is disinformation out there.
I many times for my own information use very uncommon sources (to westerners) that have proven reliable. I have a few Kurds I know plus rely on Jonathan Spyer’s information and sources he makes available at times.
He manages “Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis @midEastreporting”. Check this out on Facebook
Checkout Youtube video on Turkish Bombing. https://www.facebook.com/MidEastReporting/videos/2226814684019693/
@ Bear Klein:
How sure can we be of our facts? “ABC News Airs U.S. Gun Range Video, Calling It a Syrian War Zone — Twice https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/10/14/abc-news-airs-u-s-gun-range-video-calling-it-a-syrian-war-zone-twice/
@ Sebastien Zorn:Trump should hire Glick for his communications director as she had the best effort so far in trying to make a decent argument for Trump’s Syrian policy.
Still did not explain the 300,000 at least forced from their homes and the dead due to the policy. The Kurds I know do NOT buy it at all!
“Al-Baghdadi and Trump’s Syrian chess board” by Caroline Glick. Nov. 1, 2019. https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/al-baghdadi-and-trumps-syrian-chess-board/?fbclid=IwAR1ukQEzsgDyFAnlqSTDUqcKzthpK4nFMJwhPKOAFVcyxltNSlYInA1KEUc
“Congress Claims Situation In Syria Is Bad But Not Bad Enough For Them To Actually Declare War” – (Babylon Bee is a hilariously insightful fake news site) https://babylonbee.com/news/senate-claims-situation-in-syria-is-bad-but-not-bad-enough-for-them-to-actually-declare-war
@ Ted Belman:In Turkey the Army General’s are now Islamist’s loyal to Erodgan.
What we would hope for in Turkey (WHICH IS NOT LIKELY ANYTIME SOON) is that the opposition party take over and the Gulenists who were arrested be freed.
These are more normal tolerant people. Many of the General’s that were arrested were closet to the USA. Hopefully they could be let out of jail and put back in military positions of significance.
@ Michael S:
Regime change is a tool in the execution of American Foreign policy. The CIA helped depose the Shah or Iran. Obama removed Ghadafi in Libya, and Mubarak in Egypt and he tried to unseat Assad in Syria. Bush Jr went for removal of Hussain in Iraq. Kennedy tried to remove Castro in Cuba. I am sure there are more examples.
I am in favour of removing Erdogan and Abdullah by coups and the Mullahs in Iran by revolution.
There is a war going on between the Nationalists and the Globalists. I see nothing wrong with removing Globalist dictators by a coup. Certainly better than going to war to remove them.
I do not believe that new regimes have to be propped up because they are new.
At least they will be allies.
@ Michael S:
Ted,
I was hasty in my judgment. After reading the latest from DEBKA (Veracity Alert!):
https://www.debka.com/soleimani-takes-helm-of-iraqi-security-from-prime-minister-abdul-mahdi/
I still have to conclude that trying to rearrange the Middle East into some Balkan-style collection of statelets is futile. At the same time, it’s obvious that trying to deal with the current cobbled-together “sovereign states” like Iraq, the way US presidents have for decades, is probably equally unworkable. What is the sense, after all, of trying to prop up governments in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, for them to simply become pawns of the Russians and Iranians?
Ezekiel 38-39 predicts that Turkey, along with its allies Iran, Sudan and Libya, will attempt to sweep through the Middle East, take Israel (and, no doubt, its Arab neighbors) and establish a “Pax Ottomana”. The passage says God will “put hooks into the mouth” of the Turkish leader” (Erdogan, likely) and lead him into this war against his better judgment.
What I have just said, has been repeatedly ridiculed. Nevertheless, it is the most logical outcome of the situation there. By destroying ISIS, President Trump has won favor among a significant number of Americans. Nevertheless, it is a stopgap band-aid that will not heal the situation. The majority in the Fertile Crescent is Sunni Muslim, and it will likely be so until something miraculous happens. Turkey, meanwhile, is the most powerful Sunni power in the region, having the second-largest army in NATO. Trying to hold Turkey back, with this backdrop, is like trying to push back the ocean with a broom.
Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are artificial, multi-ethnic failed states that can no longer be held together on their own. Middle East history has shown that neither this type of state, nor a Balkan-style replacement, has lasted since the time of the Crusader States. What HAS endured, for centuries, is alternately Sunni and Shiite caliphates, sultanates and emirates; and before that, empires. This is what the Middle East will progress into, whether its leaders want it or not.
In light of all this, what is the use of “regime changes”? These can replace one ineffective puppet ruler with another; but they must be forever propped up by foreign intervention from Russians, Americans, Chinese, etc.
These are things that are very likely to happen. As an American, I don’t see why my country should waste its efforts getting bloodied in the matter.
@ Bear Klein:
“The article is correct the Kurds need a state, the sooner the better.”
I don’t believe creating Kurdish states (they would certainly be several states) would accomplish anything positive in the area. In the very recent past, the southern tribes of the KRG waged a bloody war against the northern tribes (who had Saddam Hussein for an ally). Even today, some 30 years after Yugoslavia broke apart, NATO troops are still policing some of the countries. Some of the others have become havens for gangsters and smugglers. “Kurdistan” would almost certainly go the same way.
@ Ted Belman:
“Long term, the US policy should be the removal of Erdogan and his replacement by the Turkish army.”
Ted, you seem eager to replace regimes all over the Middle East. Have you never read about “sovereign states”? In case you never noticed, state sovereignty is the cornerstone of US foreign policy under President Trump, a policy which most Americans agree with.
You’re Canadian, so you’re welcome to any opinion you want to hold; but don’t expect the US to follow these wild whims of yours.
Yam, sorry to have to burst your bubble of anti-Trump invective. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff(Finney, I believe his name is) said in a press conference that they knew of Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces at least several days beforehand. So did many U.S. generals. Trump gave them four days to talk Erdogan out of his invasion plans. One general who knew Erdogan personally even met with him somewhere in Turkey in an attempt to change his mind. But when they reported to Trump that they had been unable to change his mind, he spoke to Erdogan and asked him to give the u.S. enough time to withdraw American troops from before the Turkish invasion route. This was the so-called “green light.”
In fact, Trump had announced his intention to withdraw U.S. forces from Turkey in 2018, a full year ago. So of course everyone at the Pentagon knew all about his intentions. Trump delayed implementing this plan for a year because because of Pentagon objections. But everyone at DoD knew he was determined to go through with a withdrawal at some time or other.
According to Fox News’ national security affairs correspondent, the National Security Council had formulated a plan as early as the 2017, shortly after Trump’s inauguration, to allow Turkey to occupy a 20-mile “safety zone” in Northeast Syria once iSIS was defeated. The reporter says that he headed a “study group” working as contractors for the NSC, which helped to draft the plan. If this reporter (whose name eludes me for the moment) is accurate, Trump was implementing a nearly three year old “script” created by his White House National Security Council staff when he gave Erdogan his “green light.” Since the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the the head of the CIA are all members of the National Security Council, they must have known about this contingency drawn up by their staff for more than two years before Trump ordered U.S. forces to implement it. Perhaps they didn’t agree with Trump. But they were certainly well aware of his intentions.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
Sorry to have to burst your bubble of Trumpian apologetics. Trump according to to all sources changed the script while talking to Erdogan. Some have even stated that Erdogan was actually yelling and threatening Trump before Trump caved to the demands of Erdogan… ( not very presidential) Trump did not consult beforehand with any of his senior advisers, the Pentagon, CIA and NSC. All having to adjust and catch up with sudden Trump ad-hoc decision. Everything he has said since is political spin to cover his ass politically.
Turkey / Erdogan has purged all senior military officers that were in the American and democratic political orbit in Turkey. He has purged judges, journalists and members of opposition he has jailed. He has supported Jihadists against the West and pushed refugees from Syria into Europe and is blackmailing Europe with more refugees for money. He cozied up to Putin and China Purchasing advanced Arms that are forbidden to Nato members. Technically is supposed to be under sanctions but Trump gave them a waiver. Turkey as almost as insidious as is Iran playing all sides against each other….
It is clear the Kurds have suffered a huge loss. After eight years of the Syrian civil war, during which they were able to maintain their autonomy in northeastern Syria in an area comprising about 30% of the country, their achievements were wrested from them when Washington turned a cold shoulder to their substantial contribution to the defeat of ISIS.
With that said, it is not yet clear who won. Seemingly, Vladimir Putin’s agreement to a Turkish security zone on Syrian soil—to a depth of 30 kilometers along about 120 kilometers of the Syrian-Turkish border—appears, from Erdogan’s standpoint, to be a fulfillment of the campaign’s objective. But from another perspective, the Russian president’s achievement is much greater than Erdogan’s.
All that is known at this point about the campaign concerns visible combat events and publicized diplomatic meetings. But strategic events inevitably involve important aspects that are hidden from public view. It is in these, to a great extent, that lie answers to basic questions. For example, what really motivated President Trump to withdraw his forces and abandon the Kurdish allies in their hour of need? What did Putin and Erdo?an agree on during their parley in Sochi? The information made public about that meeting did not necessarily give a full or accurate picture, and it is entirely possible that the details that were leaked were (like the official announcement) intended to mask the real understandings.
Erdogan and Turkey are no longer a reliable ally. IMO Trump should have seized the moment and opportunity and totally backed the Kurds and supported their quest for independence… Giving them safety with a no-fly zone and more military arms support as the Kurds have unlike others proven their fighting skills and ability… Gaining American support for Kurdish independence would put a serious impediment to Russian, Turkish and most of all Iranian push for regional hegemony. It would give America clout in a region where they have since Obama and continued with Trump abandoned their role and position in the ME.
.Turkey cannot replace America in the short term if at all. Most of the Turkish military is built around American weapons and aircraft and you can’t change to another supplier overnight it would take 10-20 years of massive investment and Russia has trouble supplying their own military financially and Turkey is too big a nut for them. Trump need only stop the supply of orders like the F-35 and spare parts for all American arms that have been sold to Turkey then an economic embargo and prohibiting trade in $$$ would break Erdogan in short order. Trump did not have to remove American Troops just the threat against Erdogan would have been enough. Erdogan is a vile bully but stupid he ain’t.
No Trump was playing a political card pandering to his base and did not consider consequences or the strategic outcomes resulting from his stupid cowardly decision. There is no upside to his surrendering to Erdogan not for Trump or America. The genius may survive his stupidity politically but it will eventually come to bite him in his butt.
This assertion is not accurate. The Kurdish regional authority in Syria, which forms the core of the SDR, idelogically and verbally supports the PKK in Turkey, and acknowledges its “terrorist” leaders as its own leaders. In particular, the Syrian Kurdish leaders revere the leader of the PKK who has been jailed in Turkey since 1999. His picture is said to be everywhere in the predominantly Kurdish regions of Syria, especially in the Kurdish regional governments offices. However, American and Kurdish sources both maintain that the Syrian Kurds have given no military support whatsoever to the PKK. Their support for the PKK is purely verbal and ideological, according to the u>S. military. But even this level of support makes the predominantly Kurdish SDR an extension of the PKK in the minds of the Turkish public, on whose support Erdogan relies on. And Erdogan claims that the Syrian Kurds have fired on Turkish positions across the border, even though this has not been confirmed by non-Turkish forces.
The biggest flaw in the Turkish argument is that it is very dubious that the PKK is a terrorist organization. Its designation as such by the U.S reflects Turkish influence, and is unfair.Its forces target Turkish soldiers and Turkish police and paramilitary forces,such as the so-called “village guards.” But there is little evidence that they have ever targeted noncombatent civilians. They are more accurately described as ‘insurgents.” This is the name that the U.S. military and State Department have used for years to describe the Taliban. And the Talibanis certainly vastly less humane than the PKK. Unlike the PKK< it does sometimes deliberately target civilians.
The article is correct the Kurds need a state, the sooner the better.
Trump is Commander in Chief and he is responsible for his decisions good and bad. He ignores plenty of advice from the Pentagon and other advisors when he clearly mistakes making excuses for him making a very very bad decision is not simply not valid.
As Harry Truman said the “Buck Stops Here”. Trump is responsible for his decisions.
Apparently, the correct spelling is oomph. Depending on the spelling, you get wildly different, even opposite, meanings. Same sound, Who knew?
Funny how Constitutional authority gives war a certain, je ne sais quois, Umphf. This article is from a satirical fake news site. Its fake news is sometimes more on target than the real news. https://babylonbee.com/news/senate-claims-situation-in-syria-is-bad-but-not-bad-enough-for-them-to-actually-declare-war
What everyone is missing is that the U.S. failure to prevent Turkish aggression against the Kurds in Northeast Syria is inextricably bound up with America’s long-term alliance with Turkey, which was begun by President Truman way back in 1947, and has been continued without interruption ever since. It is because of this long-term involvement with Turkey, which is continuing, that the U.S. failed to stop the Turkish invasion and abandoned the Kurds. It was not some impulsive personal decision by President Trump alone, but a result of the heavy U.S. military and financial investments in Turkey that have continued under President Trump, but were also continued by President Obama and every preceding President, and Congress, going all the way back to Truman.
The only way that Trump could have prevented the Turkish invasion would have been to have disentangled the U.S. from its alliance with Turkey over the past two and a half years. That would have meant removing U.S. forces in Turkey, closing the U.S. air bases there, and finding uther ports for U.S. naval vessels in the East Mediterranean. All doable, I think, but very big and expensive operations that I believe are opposed by very powerful interests in the United States.
Trump, I believe, was advised by the Pentagon to continue U.S. backing for Turkey, in order to continue to maintain the U.S. air bases and port access for the U.S. Navy there. It is also very likely that the American corporations that are heavily invested in Turkey, including major U.S. defense contractors, have also put pressure on him to continue the Turkish alliance.
In the absence of a willingness to withdraw American forces from Turkey and to impose tough economic sanctions on Turkey, which would have hurt several large American companies, Trump was powerless to prevent the Turkish invasion. Of course he had to remove U.S. troops from the line of fire, since Erdogan had openly threatened to attack the. His soldiers even fired warning volleys at the evacuating U.S. soldiers. Erdogan could have replied to U.S. sanctions on Turkey by ordering U.S. troops out of Incerlik and other u.S. air bases, kicking the Navy out of Turkish ports, and breaking Turkish contracts with several large corporations, incurring heavy financial losses on them. It is understandable that Trump decided against exposing the U.S. to these reprisals. Certainly had he did so, he would have got even more flack from Congress, the press, and the Pentagon than he has for his withdrawal decision.
Where I disagree with many other commenters on this site is not about the withdrawal decision itself, which I oppose as much as everyone else, but about the way people put all the blame on it on Trump. It is not true that Trump, or any American president, is completely free to do anything he wants in foreign affairs and defense matters.
@ Ted Belman:
@ Ted Belman:
Ted,
A Clear-Eyed and passionate position of this situation.
Right-On!
!2 years ago Sherkos Abbas invited me to be a director of the Kurdish American Friendship League and I not only accepted but flew to Washington to participate in its launch. I have kept in touch with Sherkos ever since. I have always supported their independance even though I knew the US didn’t. I have advocated for both Iraq and Syria to be broken up into independant ethnic states. That’s where I stand intellectually and emotionally.
When Trump first announceUS withdrawal from Syria a year ago, I was very disappointed. Similarly with his recent announcement.. On the macro question of whether the US should retain eastern Syria that they now control, absolutely. She must hold on to this territory to enable her to better contain Iran.
Should she allow Russia, Turkey and Syria to take over the safe zone, possibly. Its a very complicated matter. Though it was in the interest of both Israel and the Kurds that she stay there, it was Trump’s decision to make.
I have absolutely no love for Erdogan and pray that he be deposed. I do not consider Russia to be an enemy but a potential ally. So far, the US, Israel and Russia have been working it out. But I want to see more pressure on Iran to get out of Syria. I want to see eastern Syria, dominated by the Kurds, to be maintained as a longtime ally of both Israel and the US. The US should not withdraw.
It is a black mark on Trump that he allowed Turkey to invade resulting the dislocation and death of so many Kurds. Even though he never promised them eternal protection, it is still a betrayal. Hopefully he will make it up to them.
Long term, the US policy should be the removal of Erdogan and his replacement by the Turkish army.
“similarly, the denial of a Kurdish homeland at Lausanne must be reversed.”
Really? then, what about an Azeri homeland in NW Iran? a Tibetan homeland in SW China? a Uighur homeland in NW China? a Lapp homeland in N. Norway & Sweden? a Dakota Sioux homeland in the Dakotas? a Mayan homeland in Mexico and Guatemala? a Nuer homeland in S. Sudan? a Fur homeland in W. Sudan? Ibo and Yoruba homelands in Nigeria? Berber homelands? Catalan and Basque homelands? The list is endless. Is all this the responsibility of the US Congress, much less the US President? Who laid this burden on us?