With criticism flying in from both the left and right, President Trump took to Twitter to address his decision to pull back troops from areas that Turkey wants to invade that are currently held by the Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, our allies in the battles against the Islamic State in Syria.
The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area. We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate,…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
…..again said “NO,” thinking, as usual, that the U.S. is always the “sucker,” on NATO, on Trade, on everything. The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
…figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their “neighborhood.” They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
His points are accurate, but there are problems that should be addressed. If this turns into a bloodbath with our allies among the Kurds being displaced or wiped out by Turkey, it will bring into question America’s willingness to stand by our allies. With many saying we’re abandoning those who helped us defeat a dangerous enemy, any major offensive by Turkey into the war-torn nation will not be viewed positively by most Americans or the rest of the world.
He’s correct. This isn’t our problem. Moreover, it wasn’t his problem, as it was a carryover of a strategy employed by his predecessor. But we were there and our exit likely means many who fought side-by-side with our troops will be killed. That’s not a good look no matter how one tries to spin it.
Were there alternatives to indefinitely holding a military presence that was essentially babysitting the Kurds? Nothing comes to mind since Turkey refused to properly negotiate a peace plan for the region or a buffer zone in Eastern Syria. It’s one thing to hold to non-interventionism and recognize that our troops cannot be human shields for the Kurds. But this seems like a move meant to appease Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more than anything else.
There’s also the challenge of handing over 12,000 Islamic State fighters to Turkey. What will happen to them? Could they become part of a future caliphate engaged by an increasingly militant Turkey? It may seem unlikely now as Turkey has opposed the Islamic State, but one thing many in the west fail to understand is that Turkey’s opposition to Daesh wasn’t so much ideological but more about who’s running the show. Erdogan isn’t opposed to a new caliphate. He just wants control over it.
Turkey has been a horrible ally for a while with growing disdain for the United States and our allies most apparent over the last two years. For them to be pressuring DC to pull out of Syria and for us to finally comply to those demands is concerning. It’s hard to see it as a coincidence non-interventionism happened to win over or foreign policy the same day President Trump spoke to President Erdogan.
Things don’t add up.
We’ll see what happens in Syria in the coming weeks, months, and years. Those expecting to immediately understand how it will play out forget the upcoming battle has been ongoing for over three decades. Our status as human shields was recent and short term.
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