Adopting the rationale of “they didn’t help us in World War 2” leads to “Trump didn’t serve during the Vietnam war, so we can all abandon him in 2020.
4
What if Turkey "accidentally" or deliberately attacks US troops still stationed in northern Syria. According to the NATO Charter, shouldn't Turkey then be obligated to join the other NATO members in retaliating against Turkey?
1
Did Japan help us at Normandy? Why not cut them loose too?
3
This “president”! That’s the bad idea!
2
I pretend to be a Canadian when I travel abroad these days
3
The fallback for Republicans still is to criticize Obama's policies regarding Syria. We are again in a televised war, with implications that go far beyond Saddam Hussain's capture. Trump's decision to unleash Turkey will stand as a historic mistake of huge proportions as most Republicans refuse to stand for principle and are being lead by right wing ideology which have no world vision. It appears that Republicans are following the ideology of the far right in Europe and the BREXIT crowd who love walls and isolation from a very complicated world. I'm disgusted and I need to strum a few chords on my guitar.
Graham should be proposing the banning of any US operations of a business with or within Turkey that is not an essential humanitarian operation. For example, Trump towers in Istanbul should be required to be shut down as long as any connection of ownership, profit sharing or management to and by a US interest exists.
2
The actions of this president virtually amount to a collaboration with Turkey in the assault on the Kurds. This is one of the most deeply immoral actions taken by the United States of America in my lifetime. I am so ashamed of my country.
2
It's so transparently that Trump's "bad deal" declaration is confined to the harm such actions might have on his Turkish holdings.
Obvious that profit, power and 'holdings' are the only guiding principles for Trump and his lackeys.
1
I have a question. Does Trump work for us or Putin?
2
So Trump says “they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.” Well Donnie, neither did your father. So I guess no American has any obligation to protect you.
The President now has the blood of innocents and allies on his hands! Yes, totally a "Bad Idea" and totally "Senseless" , Yet, the President sanctioned this betrayal!
1
What country or people will ever trust the assurances of the United State’s ever again? Shame on Trump, his allies, and the United States for again abandoning people who fought and died for us to their implacable foes. We may be witnessing the start of a Kurdish genocide triggered by Trump.
1
Lindsey Graham thinks that Congress can now - “ offer “severe” sanctions legislation against Turkey, which Mr. Graham predicted would have “widespread bipartisan support.”- will have any discernable affect on the president, then he is delusional. Trump will pay no more attention to his Republican Senators than he does to the Democrats in either congressional chamber. He does what he wants to do, without worry, believing that the Republicans will side with him no matter what. Congress is powerless to resist the President. So America will be seen as acquiescing to the genocide of former allies, the Kurds. Erdogan knows how to manipulate Trump and how to use the “terrorism” sham, to steal more land
2
Why does the NYT keep referring to the PKK terrorist organization as a "Turkish guerilla group?" They have bombed many civilian targets (civilian airports, police stations, soccer stadiums, etc.) and there's undeniable evidence that the YPG (Syrian Kurdish militia) is an extension of the PKK. It's fair to critically assess Turkey's actions at its border, but at least be honest that it has legitimate security concerns with terrorism that are far greater and more immediate than US concerns about ISIS terrorists allegedly entering through Mexico.
A "bad idea" is committing treason by repeatedly soliciting foreign interference in our elections. Allowing Turkey to invade Northern Syria is directly facilitating the slaughter of thousands.
131
While I oppose this President, for the last two plus years I had been pleasantly surprised that a colossal disaster (beyond politics) had not occurred on his watch. But I need only have waited.
279
@Lee
I consider the alt-right murders of U.S. Citizens in our border cities and actively sowing division in our country a colossal disaster. Not to mention the massive rounds ups, deaths and imprisonment of people who speak Spanish.
59
1) Kids in cages
2) Corruption
3) Emboldening dictators
4) Eroding democratic institutions
5) Endorsing racism
6) Climate change denying
Etc.
Another week, another disaster, I’m afraid.
100
@Elton Theander -- destroying land, air, and water. Throwing out safety regulations. Emptying our treasury of trillions of dollars for the rich. There's hardly any end to it.
31
So, just to be clear Mr. President, you assure Erdogan that US troops will not intervene if he attacks the Kurds, you announce to the US people that we will not intervene if Erdogan attacks the Kurds, then you claim surprise when Erdogan attacks the Kurds?
403
@CritterDoc see, that’s what unmatched wisdom is for.
14
@Susan Wladaver-Morgan
Yes, these contradictory impulses of the Fake President well illustrate his very stable genius.
Sickening.
7
The GOP still cannot get over the fact that a non-white Obama was handed the Presidency. For 2 terms even. Let's be honest with ourselves: In retrospect, Obama's Presidency was a dream compared to the current Presidency. And to think that he walked into the Oval Office and had to deal with the worst recession in 75 years right from Day One. Think about it. Seriously. I am no democrat or Republican. But credit is due where it is due.
4
Already a bit late to "reconsider". The damage is being done as I type. Or to note that what Erdogan is doing is a "bad idea". Pretty clear they were ready to do what they're doing as soon as Trump made his decision public. And if he's refusing to enforce sanctions that are already in place, why should we believe he'll step up now?
The world will not forgive us.
1
Trump just got the building permit for Trump Tower Two in Turkey. Have I cleared all this up for you all now?
1
A truly epic, world class example of whataboutism:
"The president was not without his defenders." And exactly ONE defender, Rand Paul, is named.
What is so difficult with writing the unambiguous truth, which is trump's betrayal of the Kurds, our allies, has been universally condemned?
1
Trump does have a point in his unmatched wisdom. The Kurds did not help us in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Central America or during the Cuban Crisis. Why should we protect them now?
No one will trust us now.
America First? Nah! America Alone.
6
Forget Pentagon policy, foreign policy, trade policy, domestic policy...... The only policy in DC is Trump Inc policy, which includes to reverse or obliterate everything Obama did.
7
Trump has to dig deep into his acting bag of tricks to deflect from Master'$ orders. Thus,....oh, ho hum it's a bad idea, Turkey. Please, stop sometime soon. No, I really mean it! Pooty-poot'$ had the best birthday EVAH. These two, along with mbs, should imprisoned and put on trial in the Haig. The WORLD vs cold blooded murderers.
1
By green-lighting Turkey's action, Trump has opened a Pandora's box of trouble that will not only go on and on and probably accelerate and escalate. While considerable damage to our allies and our reputation around the world has now happened and cannot be undone. Trump should try to reverse what has happened and failing that contain the situation. Wishful thinking!? Most certainly. The Turks have committed to a major action and will not now halt operations till their objective is obtained. That objective is to kill and decimate our allies. Trump, well he doesn't really care what he has unleashed.
4
Every dead Kurdish civilian is evidence of Trump’s utter lack of loyalty and concern for human. His only consideration ever - what is there in it for me?
5
-It does take some linguistic flexibility to make cowardice sound strong.
Not sure the president is up to the task.
1
Why is Trump so soft on Erdogan? The Turkish president doesn’t have the Saudi crown prince’s wealth and Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal tie to Jared Kushner. Putin may well be the answer.
Despite Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defence missile system–the first shipment arrived in July–Trump has avoided enforcing sanctions to punish Ankara, which are “mandatory under a 2017 law meant to penalize countries for doing business with Russia’s military.”
Erdogan and Putin have forged close ties in recent years. Forgotten was Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet in December 2015, after Ankara decided to buy the Russian S-400s in 2017. Erdogan was Putin’s guest of honour at the opening of the MAKS aviation show outside Moscow in August. The two buddies stopped at an ice cream stand for refreshments and Erdogan was heard asking Putin, “Will you pay for me?”, to which Putin responded: “Of course, you're my guest.”
Erdogan hosted the trilateral Syrian summit in September with Putin and Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani before the UN annual assembly. Erdogan and Putin discussed in a phone call the planned operation into Northeast Syria as Turkey geared to launch its cross-border offensive against the Kurds.
Putin capitalises on Turkey’s incursion to portray the US under Trump as perfidious, ready to betray the Kurds, who have sacrificed their lives - over 11.000 - in fighting ISIS. The US has lost its credibility and will stand alone after leaving the Kurds to their fate.
5
Why should Trump make a big deal out of this? America stood by as the Saudis , with our assistance, bombed a school bus full of children in Yemen. And the American response was a yawn. Trump is betting Americans will think about this for a day or two and then get back to wondering what the Kardasians are up to or whether Lori Loughlin will actually go to jail or what Meghan Markle is wearing these days. And he will likely be absolutely right.
1
“they [thr Kurds] didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.”
“With all that being said, we like the Kurds,” he added.
Duh, I'll bet the Kurds didn't help us in the War of 1912 either. Russia did help us in WWII and look at that alliance now. As usual,. trump makes no sense.
2
@Literatelily Give him a break. He's a bit befuddled and probably minced his words and meant to say "They didn't help us, nor with Mandy". Stormy, Summer, Karen, and so on. Mandy's probably just another on his mind.
1
Obama laid down a Red Line in Syria that Assad promptly crossed without response. Trump may want to lay down a line in Syria to contain Turkey's advances into Syria. Suggested line color - Yellow.
1
The Turks are the direct descendants of the Ottoman Empire, the barbaric killers of the Middle East and parts of Europe for centuries. Forget sanctions. Bomb them back to the Stone Age. It is unfortunate that our "fearless" President has no backbone to support the Kurds who have been decent allies over a 30 year period. Anyone would be a fool to be an ally in the future.
1
They Didn´t Help us in the Second Word War, Trump says
Is it only a question of time, that germans become arrested in the US because they were the enemies in WW 2nd?
I am a Dutchman and I read the New York Times because I am interested in the US and its politics. But even as a Dutchman I feel shame for the betrayel Donald Trump committed.
12
@Paul van der Kooij
Read the Washington Post, it's much better.
I read them both every day; I’d pick the Times if I had to pick one. WaPo will be faster but the comments section stinks. These days I often wish my grandparents hadn’t immigrated from Rotterdam; this country is increasingly an embarrassment. Thanks for being informed and showing you care in a way our so-called president doesn’t.
2
The Turkish slaughter of the Kurds has begun. Trump's betrayal of an ally has brought great shame on our country. What foreign government will now be foolish enough to trust us? Last evening both Trump and Pompeo lied about and otherwise distorted the heroic role the Kurds have played over the past five years in fighting alongside us against ISIS.
The insanity of the administration is astounding.
8
Where was the USA when the Franks were fighting alone the Muslim invasion of 732?
Yeah, it is stupid but it is a joke. On the other hand, Trump is the president. It is as if he planning his defense against impeachment by pleading non-guilty due to insanity.
8
Putin owns Donald Trump.
Trump did this to benefit Putin.
Lindsey Graham should care every bit as much about Trump committing crimes and shredding our democracy as he does about a commitment to the Kurds. His values are way way way out of wack.
The abandonment of the Kurds is a dark stain on this country and a betrayal of allies who fought and died for us.
One more nail in the coffin of America's greatness as a world power, courtesy of Donald Trump.
6
As this administration tells only lies where are we, the ones who accept reality as the truth left? We pay the salaries of these lying crooks and they are stealing as much as we allow them. It is clear this country is built on lies, and with no reprise on the horizon the horizon looks bleak. There is no future in lying.
1
Pity? No. But..yes, they fought and died..but only in payment for their land and lives....our Leader sees a farther horizon..as if a Man-God walked among us..kneel..adore..see..blood on the tongue, blood on the hand -- Heart of America.
1
Please people don’t just pin this debacle on Trump this is also equally owned by Senate Republicans who have never said no to their mad king Trump. I’m looking at you Mitch and Lindsey.
5
@Chris
The REPUBLICON PARTY is 100% responsible for worldwide chaos and death by allowing this entity to be a candidate.
2
I'd like to see the transcript of the call between Ergodan and Trump.
4
Schiff can arrange that, I’m sure.
@Hla3452
Funny thing, so would our Congress. Like to see the Sargent if arms throw the perps in prison.
"Senators Lindsey Graham and Chris Van Hollen said they would introduce legislation that would punish senior Turkish government officials."
But what about the person who enabled "senior Turkish government officials?"
I guess it will be only the Democrats who hold hold senior US government officials responsible.
2
What an ignoramus Trump is; the Kurds have never been permitted to have their own country Kurdistan to be officially recognised after 80 years of asking for it.
So how could Kurdistan assist in WWII?
It was countries that became allies not people without countries.
Trump is the laughing stock of most of the world and we feel sorry for those who did not vote for him.
My best friend had a holiday in NY last month, and she said friends and strangers apologised for their "president who should remain nameless!"
4
Strange how our decision to stop endless war immediately caused a war.
4
The useless, cowardly and frankly lying Pompeo, our Secretary of State, today is shown on TV in the UK saying the US did not give Turkey permission or a general go ahead to do what they are now doing. Well, had this Secretary of State enunciated a policy in the first place (and he still has not) it might be possible to believe him, however it is not as he has not, going along with Trump's one phone call which gave the green light, and even here we see he will not condemn the out & out incursion by Turkey, and the repercussions this has for our long time ally, the Kurds, who did the job, not Turkey, to eliminate ISIS. Lies from Pompeo and Trump as usual, no specific policy and no intention to bother constructing one.
3
Are Trump supporters now willing to admit they were mistaken?
I feel for you and as America's current Nobel Laureate so eloquently sung in 1965:
"Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where its at
After he has taken
Everything he could steal?"
Well you got your wall.
A big beautiful impenetrable stone wall.
That is the only wall you will get. Unmatched wisdom. Stable genius. Yeah right. Tell that to the double-crossed Kurds who have a notable lack of bone spurs.
6
@Bob Guthrie
Excellent post. Bobby also says, "When you ain't got nothing, you've got nothing to lose."
Tramp has billions to lose, along with his towers, towers, everywhere. But, more than anything else, he pines for a tower in Moscow. Plus the fact that he's OWNED.
1
Trump's pop-up withdrawal policy is simply a distraction from the impeachment show and a lame attempt to make good on one of his campaign promises. It won't make him any new friends.
And so, Trump, in his self-proclaimed "infinite wisdom", and in opposition to present US foreign policy, betrays our Kurdish allies and grants a foreign dictator carte blanche to pillage, kill and expand. He does this because he knows they're coming for him and he is happy to throw the Constitution, the GOP, and his own children under the bus to spare his own hide.
3
A bad idea because it makes him look bad.
Astonishing. Despicable. For Trump to say about the Kurds “they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy" is just way beyond the pale. I doubt that this is another of his long-held grudges because he has no comprehension of history or world affairs. No, he knows that he has messed up yet again and is looking to try and rationalise the Kurdish deaths that will now mount up further (further than supporting the US against ISIS) as something that is in part deserved. A shameful betrayal by the US. And, be in no doubt, he will not take strong action against Turkey because Trump is, essentially, a weakling and the world knows it.
4
This President is completely clueless.
This is one of the worst strategic military, economic and political decisions in US history.
We are betraying our most effective military partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
We are assisting a NATO ally but against our ally with whom we have been conducting military operations as recently as last week.
Turkey is led by a despotic President on the way down who is desperate to distract voters from the catastrophic realities of his leadership.
Furthermore a full blown conflict in Syria between Turkish and Kurdish forces will have a huge impact on civilian populations creating massive amounts of new refugees in a world that is struggling to absorb record breaking levels of refugees.
Another example of why this reckless, ignorant man is unfit for office.
4
What bothers me about this more than most of Trump`s misconduct is the fact that this is simply a betrayal of our allies. Besides destroying the USA`s international reputation, this betrayal results in the outright murder of people who fought with us.
5
The Republicans have been nearly unanimous in their unified support of Donald Trump’s pro-Russian foreign policy, but they are scurrying to make a showy stand against Mr. Trump’s sellout of the Kurds, to whom so much is owed for their fight against ISIS.
Republican senators are twisting themselves into illogical pretzels to voice support for the Kurds and to criticize Erdogan, the ruthless dictator of Turkey, while simultaneously trying to figure out a way to blame this tragic mess on Barack Obama and the Democrats.
Democratic senators, despite this Republican hypocrisy, are still willing to co-sponsor bills proposed by Republicans to sanction Erdogan, if there is a chance it will save the Kurds.
The public, weary as it is of war in the region, is not stupid. People see through the phoniness of Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence and others. The voters will not forget it.
2
It took "great and unmatched wisdom" to realize, post-hoc of course, that bombing civilians is "bad idea"? When will the idiocracy end?
4
What does Erdogan have on trump and his family that he dictated terms to a U.S. President? This is one conversation that I would love to see the transcripts publicized. Or are the Kurds all Democrats?
3
I think Trump has authored The most epic betrayal of a friend and ally in history. I can think of none more stark, nor of one less deserved.
I note the “unmatched wisdom” of this fool’s actions are consonant with his consistent undermining of American credibility and honor and consistent promotion of the interests of Putin.
I think, I hope, it is too cynical to consider that his Istanbul buildings played a role in his decision to offer Erdogan the ability to slaughter our comrades-in-arms. But perhaps a lesson in cynicism from Trump & his sycophants is appropriate.
2
Trump's excuse now is that the Kurds didn't help in D-day (something he learned from a “very, very powerful article”).
Despite everything, my first reflex was to think it must be a spoof. But no, he really said it -- and he followed it up with a tweet to make sure we all knew.
____________________
Trump acquiesced to the Turkish operation in a call with Turkey’s president on Sunday, agreeing to move American troops out of Turkey’s way despite opposition from his own State Department and military.
On Wednesday, hours after the operation began, he condemned it, calling it “a bad idea.”
By that time, Turkish fighter jets were streaking through the sky over Syrian towns, while artillery shells boomed overhead. Traffic was jammed with terrified civilians fleeing south in trucks piled high with possessions and children.
https://nyti.ms/2oisN9r
1
Trump has lost his mind. To suggest that the Kurds "didn't help us in the Second World War. They didn't help us with Normandy," ...well, these are the words of a clueless madman. And, he's the President of the United States of America. There is no bottom to this man....and the people of the U.S. and the rest of the world are the beneficiaries of this madness. I've been sad for a long time...but to think that the Republicans can't coalesce around the idea of getting this guy out of office, is equally sad and sick. It would be easy to turn our backs and hum to ourselves. But, the simple overriding need here is to continue to confront Trump at every turn. He needs to go....and to then go straight to jail via the Southern District of New York.
2
Trump says that the Kurds didn’t help us with the invasion at Normandy. How would he know? He skipped a day on the beach due to bone spurs.
1
Wow!
What an assertion of American strength and directness, unvarnished and to the point by marksjc.
"We abandoned the Kurds after our first Iraq invasion and we now repeat that betrayal. There is little we have done well in the Middle East since we walked away from Israel and Palestine resolving their distrust and stopping their acts of desperation and suppression. Trump has no concept of war, poverty, hunger, or feeling hopeless. Wealth and power have immunized him and he acquiesces to any powerful man who leads anywhere except here in the US where he dreams of absolute power, if only for his children. Trump defends no one but humself, his own power, his authority; not the US, not Americans, and clearly not the Constitution. He has been baptized by fame, fortune, and now believes he's immune from any authority whatsoever."
Americans who served in northern Syria until Sunday night with Kurds have opinions too following the American president who had a chat with the Turkish leader and dumped years of international policy.
Mr Trump may not have read his intelligence briefs when he said:
“They didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.”
Mr Trump has put allied troops at risk in the middle east.
Trump has got the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy boating around the straight of Hormuz.
NATO troops are present.
Will Mr Trump backstab other allies like the Kurds?
Treason?
Americans will deal with Mr constitutionally.
1
Are we not tired of his constant manipulation?
Trump's taking orders from Erdogan, now? Did he get anything out of the deal for himself, or as if he'd even think about, for the US?
1
“they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.”
Could somebody ask Trump how he helped the US in Vietnam?
2
The blood of our Kurdish allies rests squarely on the head of Donald Trump. Our governmental and military leaders decried Trump's decision to withdraw from support of these fearless allies. If the wanton death of these heroes is not a high crime or misdemeanor than I do not know what is. If the Cabinet refuses to enact the 25th Amendment and if Congress and the Senate will not impeach and convict then what more proof is needed to show our nation is beyond morally bankrupt.
1
For decades Trump sat in his family business office on the phone thinking himself some genius of strategy and that he was out-witting the person on the other end. Fast forward to the Oval Office and his imagination still conjures this scenario. I imagine that he sees the Generals and other military advisors as just specially trained secretaries. A former White House staff reports he is impervious to facts. What a tragedy for the Kurds and all the thousands of people whose lives that Donald Trump, his cabinet and the Republican Senate have wrecked and continue to wreck. No wonder they demur, being complicit with this administration means no longer listening and acting on any morals or ethics. Oh and Mr Graham, you do too little too late; your outrage displays your guilt.
2
Wow. This is as close as you can get to not actually committing these atrocities yourselves. And for apparent reason other than to assert is authoritarian will over military officials who desperately tried to circumvent him and do the right thing.
1
What is the point of this article? To take up the Neocon cause and to applaud American involvement in endless war? Should we dismiss the progressive view at the same time in order not to make cause with the hated Trump? Trump was right in every point he made in his press conference,
@Edward Right on every point? Trump could have given many more truths about the Kurds in addition to not helping with Normandy - they haven't put a man on the moon, they have never won the 4 by 100 mens relay at the Olympics, their native language is not Norwegian, they don't go in to battle on skateboards, and so on. What on earth had Normandy got to do with any of this?
1
Other news reports state Kurdish fighters now killed by Turkish forces. There goes another red line.
It seems to be about Leadership. Erdogan has weighed the options, the consequences - good and bad - and come to a decision which is now being implemented. Trump seems incapable of doing this sort of thing. It's not just Turkey, it's Iran, North Korea, Mexico...
Indecision, ineffectiveness, weakness. America's reputation has taken a (probably permanent) beating thanks to the current POTUS.
This is no longer “a disaster in the making.” Sixteen Kurds have lost their lives - this is officially a disaster.
While I would dearly love to have all our troops out of the Middle East, and there is no perfectly right and painless way to accomplish it, this was clearly the wrong way. If Trump’s wisdom wasn’t so unmatched, he would have just given his military advisors a deadline to accomplish the same goal without the bloodshed. If Trump thought he needed to do something, mid impeachment, to endear himself to the Left, this isn’t working. Is it helping him with his base? I didn’t think they needed the encouragement.
Graham has got the airs. It might be a good time to invest in a fan company. People say that bonnets are coming back too. Fainting couches are next. What say you, Sons of the South?
2
Trump's worried about his two beautiful towers in Istanbul much more than he is concerned about a few million Kurd civilians who were out allies in Iraq and Syria. Trump has taken us down. All the world can now be sure that America's word cannot be trusted. Ever.
2
I have often wondered what it would take for significant numbers of Republicans in Congress to cease supporting this president. If his agreeing to allow Erdogan to commence this military action to Syria that will result in the slaughter of the Kurds, who had been our staunchest allies in trying to eliminate ISIS in Syria, doesn’t cause them to do so, I doubt that anything will. God help the Syrian Kurds and God help this country.
Trump's actions are an attempt to bump the impeachment narrative from the top of the headlines. First, he caused the recent conflict between Turkey and the Kurds by pulling out U.S. soldiers, thus inviting an attack. The result is that he will receive bi-partisan support in imposing sanctions and other punitive actions against Turkey. Trump said, "We like the Kurds." He sure has a strange way of showing it. Sixteen dead and over thirty wounded so far. That is on him.
The President might as well have pulled the trigger himself.
1
Wow, this Trump decision has both Republicans and Democrats confused. Republicans are confused because they support nearly every Trump policy and want to maintain a presence in Syria to protect US interests; Democrats are confused because they oppose nearly every Trump policy yet agree that we should bring our troops home.
It seems a bit odd that only two Senators have the chutzpa to assume responsibility for taking the initiative in Congress to take the initiative away from POTUS to deal with Erdogan and his attempt to annihilate our ally in Syria. Lindsay Graham is a very unpredictable sparkplug, and it makes me nervous to think of him as the new POTUS presumptive.
let's hope the president doesn't let this middle east stuff distract him from the addressing the biggest problem our country faces : steve kerr. sure, steve said he wouldn't comment on the china nba issue until he learned more about it, but he did say a couple of years ago that presidents shouldn't divide the country for personal gain. good thing trump has conservative media to keep him focused.
2
Notwithstanding any claims of action on the part of the Senate, Trump will simply veto the result. Trump's heavily invested in the Trump Istanbul hotels and there's simply no way he would endanger those investments. Furthermore, as Canada and Great Britain were the only two countries that supported the U.S. at Normandy in WWII, it would now appear that under Trump only these two countries have any legitimate basis for U.S. military support. Under Trump the credibility of the U.S. in the world is quickly being reduced to his personal level of credibility, absolutely none.
3
"Speaking to reporters, the president... noted that “they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.”
Of all the ridiculous excuses to knife an ally in the back. If I remember correctly, they didn't help us at the Alamo either. And shame of shames, they let Custer get walloped at the Little Big Horn.
81
@Judy Donald didn't help much in Vietnam either.
2
The Republicans own this disaster. Innocents will be sacrificed for right wing supreme court justices. As long as the creep will appoint right wing judges for the evil Reublicans, no one is safe, nor is the Constitution.
Now I understand why Noam Chomsky considers the Republica Party the most evil entity on earth.
48
Because Trump is trying to get us out of an endless war? That he thinks it was the biggest mistake to be the policeman for the Middle East? That our European allies are not doing their share? The Neoliberals have taken leave of their senses.
Trump only does things in his own interest. So the question is, dear NYT reporters, what does Erdogan have on Trump?
26
Donald Trump is, without doubt, the most woefully ignorant person ever to have become President of the USA.
49
Our pitiless leadership. We abandon the group that saved our bacon in Syria and dismiss them when Trump tires of “endless war. Mr. Trump seemed dismissive of the plight of the Syrian Kurdish fighters who are in Turkey’s cross hairs because of his decision to abandon Syria out of the blue without consultation within his own government. Some leadership. Our most impulsive president ever and that is how he was elected also, on impulse.
27
Why would anyone expect the US to show loyalty when a President casually throws allies into a fire zone when it suits. This may lead to further terrors as the actions by the US in initially supporting Bin Laden, then subsequently creating a mortal enemy.
The Present is a clear and present danger to world peace and stability- God help us al.
20
Unfortunately, the most likely reason for the U.S. withdrawal is that the Turks gave Trump a sizable bribe. It could be as basic as a mountain of cash in a Cyprian bank account, or it could be more subtle such as brokering a purchase of Trump properties with laundered money or an agreement to pay more for each F-35 delivered to Turkey with a portion of the bonus to flow to Trump (my best guess given the papering over of the S-400 dispute). But Trump has proven that he cares only about himself and, to a lesser extent, his family. Stop trying to attribute his decisions to impulsiveness, susceptibility to flattery, or a misguided sense of America's best interest.
15
The only logical conclusion is that Trump is compromised and Erdogan used this.
17
How many more examples are needed that this man is unfit for office? The GOP stands by and puts up with endless examples of his recklessness and lack of any type of ability to lead - no decency, no dignity, petty name calling tweets like he's in middle school instead of President of the United States. He believes only in himself - a vain, mentally fragile narcissist who proves day in and day out his complete lack of understanding of the Constitution - he is a joke to the world and if he slithers through this - then he must be voted out in 2020.
21
Most of the comments here assume that Trump does things with a thought-out approach, when he is clueless and merely winging it. I doubt he could find Syria on a map and certainly has no ideas who the Kurds are.
Essentially Trump is just a father-dominated ignoramus who merely reacts, often erratically and without logic, to the last person he has spoken to.
17
Trump in terms of policy cannot walk and chew gum at the same time whenever his gut gets involved.
4
POTUS didn’t help the US in Vietnam neither, cause he deserted his duty by another lie.
25
What's really tragic about Trump's Normandy/WW II jibberish reckless comment is that it resonates with his political base. Incredible.
20
The Trump "foreign policy" is atrocious because he has no policy. The man is driven by his greed and delusional picture of himself as a "stable genius, and one with "great unmatched wisdom."
Trump is also driven by and is influenced by his business dealings. The Trump Towers is in Istanbul. Turkey government officials have booked into Trump hotels, Ivanka has served as her father's surrogate in business to Turkey through the years.
There are many levels that Trump is unfit, unqualified and downright dangerous to hold the office of the man in the WH. He has broken the emoluments laws of the Constitution dozens of times. And, he is caught red handed asking foreign countries to come up with dirt on the Bidens in order to tamper with the upcoming election. He is tampering with our election folks, out in the open, also asking China to come up with something on Biden. Trump is dangerous to America's democracy. And, withholding arms to Ukraine until his request for dirt, again, is unconscionable.
Impeachment and removal from office must be carried out as it is plain to see he has used the presidency to line his pockets, to further his foreign business deals. We can surely see where the money flow has caused him to be beholden to not only Turkey but Russia (and what else we will someday learn).
Trump is not doing this president thing for his country, the American people, nor to make the world a better place. He is playing us for suckers.
14
Sanctions on Turkey for buying Russian missiles while at the same time barring Turkey from military transactions with the US? The idiocy of the non-foreign policy by this great and unmatched mind of a stable genius spreading to some senators now?
3
''... They didn't help us with Normandy ...'' : what does it means ? In which way ? Consider that more than fifty millions of americans voted him and gave him the power to decide who can live and who can die . He is the worst plague to mankind .
22
Anybody sorry that our dumbest president ever, George W. Bush, toppled Saddam Hussein throwing the entire region into turmoil, creating ISIS, and practically inviting Shia Iran into majority Shia Iraq?
9
Whom is he going to blame after a video hits us of an American prisoner taken by a new ISIS?
9
What a disgrace this guy is to our country’s values. I guess Loyalty doesn’t count when it’s “darker people “
15
“We’ll see how he does it,” Mr. Trump said. “He could do it in a soft manner; he could do it in a very tough manner. And if he does it unfairly, he’s going to pay a very big economic price.”
How does Trump define "betraying your loyal ally and legitimizing their slaughter" as being done "fairly"?
24
@dano50 So we should just leave the handful of U.S. soldiers in Syria to be slaughtered after Erdogan warns he is finally going to move on the Kurds? Should Trump risk war with the second largest army in NATO over a border skirmish? Just what is Washington trying to accomplish in Syria anyway?
2
People are fleeing and dying because of Trump's decision. As I was comfortably sitting in a restaurant today, drinking my tea, thousands of miles away some woman is experiencing a type of fear I have never experienced, desperately gathering what belongings she can take with her, grabbing her kids, and hoping to get somewhere safe where they aren't all killed.
It is sickening to me that because of what our monster president did, people's lives thousands of miles away are being destroyed.
31
@megan Why is this the business of Trump or anyone in Washington? Please explain how a handful of U.S. soldiers is suppose to prevent the second largest army in NATO from accomplishing its goals on the border of Syria? Just what is it we are doing there anyway?
1
@tmauel - ok, I’ll bite
Ever heard of strategic retreat? It’s done in a thoughtful manner, with allies ready for our withdrawal and our own teams (aka pentagon) aware and ready with an efficient plan to decrease presence without encouraging insurgency.
Doing it DJT’s way, no other stakeholder seems bought in, informed or aware. Pray, tell me - why do it this way? The only rational reason - inability to explain and gain consensus among stakeholders as there is no logical rationale to persuade them.
If all stakeholders are stating that this is a terrible idea, doesn’t it concern you that it may be a bad idea?
1
@tmauel: Because behind that handful of US soldiers stands the largest army in NATO and nuclear power? Because the US should not betray its allies?
I’d like to hear Republican heavy hitters like Senators Graham, McConnell, and Rubio and Congressmen Jordan and Meadows try to explain what Trump’s foreign policy is and as a follow up, why all of his decisions seem to benefit himself and/or Russia.
24
Unanimous Senatorial support for impeachment is the only Republican outrage that will register with Trump. Republican Senators must embrace impeachment now as Trump yanks US military support from the Kurds. Democrats need to brand all GOP Senators as complicit murderers of the Kurds if they fail to take up the impeachment baton.
7
Yes he is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. But how has executive power grown to the point where a single incompetent president can make such decisions without the consent
of Congress? Googling tells me this has been an issue since the Korean War.
9
NATO, South Korea and Japan take note. Trump is not a trustworthy leader. He will turn on you on a whim.
12
Erdogan played Trump.
8
Perhaps the so-called Christian evangelicals will now reconsider their deal with the Devil.
18
Can you imagine, a Commander in Chief saying “they didn’t help us in the Second World War”, when he couldn’t find his way to help his Country, during the time of the Vietnam Nam War.....
24
In reply to this point I would say that failure to take part in America's dishonourable war in Vietnam was the only honourable thing Trump has ever done.
Not for honourable reasons I hasten to add.
3
Trump is inept, has Kurdish blood on his hands and should be tried for war crimes...
14
The Kurds didn't help us in WWII? Really? The airport during our Revolutionary war was funny. This is so ignorant and so tragic. The Kurds were not an independent country, didn't have a Army, navy or air force during WWII, so no, they were not much help. How could they. Trump is easily the most history challenged President we have ever had. Trump assertion that Turkey will conduct a Humanitarian invasion is also so transparently stupid is beggars belief. They have already started bombing civilian areas so even as Trump was uttering those insipid statements. In the fight against Isis in Syria the Kurds did all the heavy lifting. We gave them arms and intelligence but the Kurds went into the cities, the Kurds lost 11,000 fighters we sadly lost 6. How many American military lives did the Kurds save while sacrificing their own lives to help us rid the world of Isis. And how does Trump reward them? He gives Turkey the green light to slaughter them, with help from the Russians. The Turks have the second largest Army in NATO. The Kurds will be utterly wiped out. Shame, Shame, Shame on us for putting this man in the White House
27
@KJ Peters
Trump caused great offence in the UK with his grandstanding at the D-Day commemorations earlier this year. Going on about 'helping' - as if the other Big Three powers tossed in a handful of cadet reservists soldiers whilst Americans did the fighting.
More than 2/3 of navy ships at Normandy - right up to heavy gun battleships - came from the British Royal Navy. Under Eisenhower, the three overall service commanders - army, air and naval - were British. US forces numbered 1.5 million, British empire and Commonwealth, 1.1 million. Mulberry harbours and the Pluto undersea fuel pipeline were designed and impleneted by the British. That sounds a bit more than 'helping'.
Oh, and the ENTIRE US casualties - killed and wounded - in the Overlord operation numbered fewer than British losses on the FIRST DAY of the 1916 Somme offensive.
If I were the leader of Germany or the leader of Japan I would now fear being abandoned by the USA just as the Kurds have been. After all, applying the president’s logic, neither Germany nor Japan helped us in WWII. Also the Japanese were not at Normandy.
12
@Gary Turetsky: Applying Trump’s logic, what were we doing in Normandy anyway?
Donald Trump does not represent the American people. Donald Trump represents Vladimir Putin, Tayip Erdogan and Kim Jong Un.
16
Trump must be thankful that the US does not recognize the International Court of Justice and its jurisdiction over war crimes and war criminals. Assuming — without any justification, I know — that Trump even knows there is such an institution.
9
Abandoning the Kurds is just another business decision for Trump. Having co-opted the United States government, no one can look after Trump Towers Istanbul like he can. Makes you wonder what Erdogan’s part of the quid pro quo looks like.
9
Why would Trump criticize Erdogan? Doesnt he have financial and real estate dealings with him? Trump doesnt care about the end result here. He's in it for the money. Lives dont matter.
8
I understand our desire to disengage from conflicts but I do not think I would start in Syria. I'd start in Afghanistan where the dispute is wholly internal and is not really our business.
In the case of Syria, we started the problem there because our dumbest president ever, George W Bush, decided to invade Iraq based upon false allegations that Iraq possesed WMD's and took part in 9/11. He thereby created ISIS, Islamic State n Iraq and Syria.
As such, since we caused this mess we should stick it out until the mess is taken case of.
Plus I don't trust Turkey and Erdogan as they are allied with the fake, so-called islamic republic of Iran with its unelected, illegitimate, Twelver dictators and who, even if we haven't noticed, have taken over Iraq and installed their Shia religious cohorts there. Expect the same thing in Syria.
10
I shudder to think what will happen should the 2,000+ Isis fighters escape. It's been almost 20 years since 9-11 and President Trump has, singlehandedly, made the world a much more dangerous place again. This is just another example of how our country is being placed at risk by an impulsive and uninformed President. Congress: it is your duty to protect us from this incompetent, lawless president.
8
Amateur night at the Whitehouse. So much to lose, will Americans really let it all be tossed aside so glibly?
6
Trump didn't help with the WWII, either. What irony.
12
So here is the source of Trumps moronic Kurds Normandy comment. https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2019/10/08/critics-aghast-as-trump-keeps-word-about-no-more-wars-n2554328 Since we know he does not or cannot read, God only knows which one of his lackeys shared this with him. My guess is Stephen Miller.
6
Donald Trump has ripped off hundreds, probably thousands, of contractors who worked for him. He throws “friends” under the bus as needed to preserve his supreme self-regard. He has repeatedly betrayed the Constitution and his own oath of office. His betrayal of the Kurds is the latest—only now he is betraying American allies in our name. Meanwhile, he plans to reward Erdogan with a visit to the White House on November 13. Trump business in Istanbul is doing fine. That is all he cares about. Can anyone with a functioning brain think otherwise?
7
Trump "noted that “they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.”"
Come to that, the Trump family wasn't a lot of help in WW2. Nor were those of his current best buddies such as Erdogan, Kim Jong Un and Xi.
If Trump had any sense of history (hint: he doesn't) he would recall that the Kurds did help us nearer to these times. Does Desert Storm ring any bells?
5
@Andrew , the President knows a thing or two about helping out in wars. Just consider his own personal record. It's beginning to actually appear as if he cannot go too far. The Republican response has been tepid, at best.
3
As another mindless and cruel tragedy begins to unfold, I wonder if Mr. Trump stopped to think about what his betrayal of the Kurdish fighters might possibly mean in terms of the safety of his own family? I doubt he ever considered that the Kurdish fighters he has abandoned, or their surviving family members might feel such anguish and betrayal at the loss of their loved ones that in the future, that one or more of them might seek to avenge their losses against some of Trump's own family members. One does not wish it on anyone, but given the realities of the incredibly close family bonds in that part of the world, it is not impossible to imagine one or more of those he heartlessly disavowed might someday seek revenge on Trump's family for his terrible act of betrayal of this ally.
3
Jim Mattis resigned last December when Trump was first bamboozled into this by Turkey.
He’s been a good Marine and not gone out on a limb about Trump. Lord forbid that Marines will speak out against the most dishonorable Commander-In-Chief we could possibly conceive of! Mueller was extremely circumspect too...
Who do ex-Marines honor, a ghastly an criminally dishonorable President, or the Constitution and country they serve?
Senior ex-Marines matter! They are RESPECTED! And yes, America expects more from them...
It’s time: for the love of God and country, SPEAK OUT AND SPEAK HARD TRUTH!
8
I think Erdogan and Putin spend their free time discussing how to next leverage the Moscow Ritz-Carlton videos.
5
Folks, things are sliding fast. This is not a drill. Country over party. Impeach. And if needed: Article 25.
10
Because of trump’s spineless republican enablers and sycophants, just as he has bragged that he could do, trump is getting away with murder. Putin must be very proud of his disciple and loyal servant. The Constitution, however, describes this conduct as giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
5
“They didn’t help us in the Second World War." Thank God we're finally settling that score. Next up, the Japanese and Germans.
5
what's
Turkish incursion into Syria? What is Trump going to do about it? Nothing
1
This is classic Trump:
Speaking to reporters, the president said that while the stateless Kurds had fought alongside American troops against the Islamic State, or ISIS, they had done so out of self-interest, “for their land,” and noted that “they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.”
Trump: You may have helped us this year, but where were you 80 years ago?
It's completely absurd.
7
Perhaps Mr Erdogan promised to investigate the Bidens, bingo.
That being said, this is such a sad, tragic betrayal of an important ally; whether or not they helped us at Normandy.
3
Did we elect Trump? Given that less than 100k votes threw the Electoral College his way, and all we are learning about poor election security, I am now not sure he actually won in 2016.
And I was already having the creeps.
4
Stop the endless wars by paving the way for more. I’m curious what Erdogan has on Trump. There is more here than meets the eye. Did Trump know in advance of the plot against Khashoggi?
7
Does anyone wonder what Turkey may have on Trump or what business deal he is wanting to do with Turkey or what dirt he thinks Turkey can gather on Biden? It all leads back to what does Trump get out of this. It's not lost on me that my wondering above sounds like a conspiracy theorist.
7
What reason would there have been to believe that the draft dodger in chief would have any appreciation for the sacrifices made by others (Kurds) on the battlefield in support of the US. He'd be more sympathetic to them if they had bone spurs and might not be able to party away the '70's at Studio 54.
6
Quite honestly Trump is a serial killer. I don’t say this lightly. He is standing aside, allowing innocents, allies and our troops to be placed in harm’s way. He talks about “endless wars” as though he has compassion for these people. He doesn’t. He is a cowering bully.
7
Without the Kurds, the US would be transporting dead soldiers by the airplane and ISIS would be strong and powerful.
Not the US, not the Iraqi, not the Syrian Army and certainly not the Turkish Army is willing or able to pay the high price that a victory against ISIS demands.
Now, without the Kurds, Trump was won the war for ISIS. Mr. Trump you are truly a traitor and you, and Mr. Graham and McConnell reek of the blood of our allies, that you betrayed.
May the ghosts of the many American soldiers who perished against ISIS haunt you. Impeachment and removal is a small punishment, opprobrium and disgrace is what you deserve.
12
This is yet another example of bad leadership and a poor example for America.
Examples like this is why 9/11 happened in the first place. Former allies, who are betrayed, often become enemies seeking vengeance.
7
What in the world does WW2 or Normandy have to do with any of this Donnie? Idiot
19
More than 100,000 Australians have died in wars fought alongside the US as allies. Some of those wars had no direct relevance to us. We have treaties vowing mutual protection. Our peoples have much more in common than divides us.
All US allies should reflect on whether this now all counts for nothing.
11
“They didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy.”
The President does not seem to recognize that it is not their commitment to us that is at issue, but our commitment to them.
14
Given this "president", three thoughts come to mind:
1) Trump has business interests in Turkey;
2) This is the new shining object to detract from Ukraine;
3) Turkey has some dirt on Trump.
Trump acquiesced to Erdogan after one phone call, leaving our Kurdish allies to their fates. What could be more perfect?
11
@Joel Sanders
You are on to something, Joel. I think it is all three + more.
I bet Putin knew before Erdogan.
He might be the cabinet official Trump discussed it with.
3
The sooner Donald Trump is out of the Oval Office, the safer the world will be. How much longer will this loose cannon spread chaos and destruction wherever he goes? His supporters claim that Trump just says what he thinks. I disagree. He shows little sign of thinking, and today and tomorrow and the day after, people will die needlessly because of his words.
10
Someone needs to look at the financing of Trump Towers in Istanbul as well as Turkish patronage at a Trump properties.
I smell a quid pro quo.
13
So Pres. Trump argued that the Kurds did not help us in WW II ...as someone wrote in a very, very powerful article today."
Who wrote this senseless junk? I gotta know.
(Snark= maybe it's related to bone spurs.)
2
We’ve had Trump University, Trump Hotels, Trump Steaks, Trump Genius.
Now we have Trump Genocide.
12
Trump is such a sociopath that he likely did this to divert attention from the impeachment.
8
@Mark And when they talk about impeachment it won’t be Hunter Biden they are talking about. Stabbimg your allies in the back and permitting an invasion of their homeland show Hunter Bidento be nowhere near Trump’s level of corruption and ignorance. This dwarfs whatever it is he is supposed to have done by comparison.
2
October 7th is Putins birthday
4
Trump is a disaster in the making!
@Just Vote I in the making? I think you missed his first three years as President.
3
@TM
That cake has already been baked.
2
Trump does moronic things. When he does these impetuous acts of idiocy, many people die. Because he is so amoral, it matters to him not a wit.
3
Donald Trump has become a toxic cesspool of doublespeak. Nothing that comes out of this man’s mouth can be trusted.
So why would the New York Times care to report on what this president, who can no longer be trusted says, on any given day?
Why pay attention to his idiotic tweets? Why dignify this person‘s words by putting them in print when they are not worth the paper that they are printed on?
1
I'm not impressed by Lindsay Graham's expedient maneuvers. Loyalty to the Kurds? Yes, he knows about loyalty. In South Carolina, where he is running for reelection, loyalty is a quality that voters look on with reverence. So he plays the loyalty card well at this time. His loyalty to Trump, unmistakable, again with reelection in mind, has been striking. That makes me wonder if he has higher office in mind, especially if Pence gets fired, the usual eventual fate for those who work for Trump. Whether Graham has loyalty to the US Constitution or believes that's necessary for reelection is another matter and clues to that will be played out shortly.
5
I think I recall the Trump is going to destroy the Turkey Economy.
3
@Just Me
In time for Thanksgiving?
2
I guess we now a clear idea what MAGA stands for. It means
accommodate, capitulate, then withdraw with false pride and head held high instead of deep shame with tail between legs. Many people in this country had the same idea in the 1930s into 1940 as fascism took over Europe. They were as
wrong then as the ogre in chief is now.
Unfortunately the Kurds will be the first to pay the price, but
they will not be alone. A thoroughly ignorant impulsive
decision such as this withdrawal of an American trip wire
will have as bad a set of consequences as Obama's disinclination to confront Assad when it might have done some good early in the Syrian disemboweling.
We will surely deserve the consequences of this pathetic
display of childish and erratic decision making, this cowardly display of moral exhaustion, of intellectual vacuity, this
cut and run when the released or escaped evil ones start running amok in Europe etc.
All this also tells putin is that we are too tired, too self absorbed in our own messes, largely aggravated by this cabal
of Munich '38 surrender warriors, to stand in his
way as he undercuts both Europe and this country
with skilled and focused disinformation campaigns
that help dig our divisions still deeper.
The delegitimizing of the election on top of the purposeful
chaos created around the impeachment will make the
next several years very unstable as the society comes apart at the seams without capable leadership if trump is reelected.
3
The Criminal Trump is now complicit in genocide. Putin can show how unreliable the US is and the Russian Turkey Saudi Israeli axis of thuggery will rule the day. Make America grovel again
3
"I want things both ways."
"That's what made America great."
"I'll use it to make America great again."
What's that "forked tongue" flashback I'm having?
It'll pass. Hope other things do too!
1
djt and his republican supporters are a bad idea. his green lighting of Turkeys invasion of the Kurds is a traitorous nightmare. Who is going to rid us of this insanity?
Vote Democrat in 2020 if it is not too late.
4
Trump as always is WEAK.
5
Trump said the Kurds, who he just stabbed in the back, didn't help us in Normandy on D-Day. And 74,000 ISIS terrorists are going to be set free in the chaos of US retreat in N. Syria. He likes chaos. So does Putin. How long before the Baltics are invaded by Russia? What crazy stunt will he pull next week to divert attention from impeachment?
8
Republicans have sold out their country.
13
Trump will give Ukraine to Russia, the Kurds to Turkey, and probably, if he could, China and North Korea anything they want. He will roll over for anyone, anytime. And the GOP rolled over for him? Sad.
9
Imagine the telephone call with Erdogan.
The Republicans are finally waking up.... maybe.
3
No one should be surprised. Trump is amoral. No sense of right or wrong. No ethics. No religious beliefs, no church membership. His only perspective: You win or you lose.
3
I had never thought I would see, as Ambassador Wendy Sherman put it, “the United States taking the side of genocide.” That situation appears imminent.
I weep for the innocents who flee in terror with nothing—and soon, not even their lives.
After this, who will trust us? And then who can—or should?
I grieve for what we were, and have become under this President.
12
Somebody needs to make a new tee shirt to replace the one people wore in the 70’s showing the American flag. That one said...”These colors never run.” The new tee needs to be amended to say, “ These colors never ran. Until Trump.”
Maybe Ivanka could have one of her Chinese companies run them up. Make every penny you can while there still enough suckers out there who believe in your great and unmatched wisdom.
8
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Suppose the Kurds embrace that maxim, arm the ISIS folks held prisoner, and set them loose against Turkey?
3
Because that assumes that ISIS might behave rationally, and that’s not what they do.
1
The president of United States stood aside to allow a dictator to slaughter an American ally.
He should be tried for war crimes.
17
Someone get trump a calendar. WWII was over 70 years ago and the world politics were completely different from today. The Kurds that were alive then are all dead today. Leave it to the great unstable idiot to hold their offspring to account for their ancestors actions and to use that as justification for slaughtering them today. trump is starting to act more like Kim Jong Un every day: barbaric, unhinged and sociopathic.
6
@Ski bum Trump’s father wasn’t at Normandy either. Fred Trump was marching with the KKK and busy with his pals in the American branch of the German Bund.
Those activities went out of style when the US entered the war and and probably could have gotten a person interned,
While Fred T didn’t seem to pass on much of his business sense to his son, he does seem to have been more successful in passing on his racism and bigotry.
4
What an ignorant fool. Trump speaking of the Kurds: “they didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us in Normandy” and were only interested in fighting for “their land.” In WW II, Turkey remained neutral until 2/23/1945 with the war in Europe ending 5/7/1945. In WW I, what later became Turkey, the Ottomans (vast majority ethnically Turkish), fought against the US and its allies on the side of the Central Powers. Turkey unquestionably committed genocide against Armenians in the WW I period. Christian Ottoman Greeks, Assyrians, Kurds, Chechens and other ethnic groups have suffered mass killings at the hands of the these same ethnically Turkish murderers that Trump unleashed on these Kurds who lost thousands of lives taking our fight against ISIS. A damnable traitor sits in our White House. Elected Republicans or Democrats in Congress who fail to vote for Trump’s impeachment willfully abet his malfeasance and will carry to their graves the blood of any Kurds killed by this attack as well as the ghost of our Constitutional Democracy.
10
@Roger W. Frydrychowski, Esq.
"the Ottomans (vast majority ethnically Turkish), fought against the US and its allies on the side of the Central Powers"
More American revisionist history. The US entered the war in 1917, poorly equipped, organised and led. America's role in European operations was thus limited to some (albeit useful) tactical skirmishing and a lot of sword waving. By the time the US had got its stuff together, British and French armies had defeated Germany in France.
The Ottoman Empire was defeated by the forces of the Britsh Empire and Commonwealth. American forces played NO part in this.
The majority of American soldiers killed in WW1 acually died of disease not from battle.
'Fighting alongside'.... Please.
Trump didn't help us in Vietnam, either. That said, we don't care for him.
17
These events highlight the impotence of Graham et al who are left to threaten more sanctions while our allies die. Especially since Turkey already bought a missile system from Russia thus demonstrating their level of concern for sanctions. While we are investigating could someone investigate this and find out what Russia has on trump that insures he always wants to push their agenda. And perhaps someone could also ask him how he thinks “facilitated genocide” will look on his resume.
3
Anyone thought about morale for US troops?
Our soldiers are professionals for sure, but what do you think their view is on leaving their brothers in arms out on a limb.
Besides the obviously bad strategic idea, giving Turkey room to assert itself further in the region and crush the Kurdish allies. The other reason this is horrible planning, is that it demoralizes all the men on the frontlines who gave their word and also cheapens the word of the US government to allies in the future.
11
"I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey.” With this statement Trump has declared his policy of deterrence. He will use economic pressure, not military action, to get his way. Look for more of this.
1
@Paul
And like with China, Europe and every other country he's threatened with tariffs, the cost will be passed on to the American consumer.
Making America Poor Again.
2
Vlad's cardiologist had to be called in because his heart was bursting with joy.
8
@Lawrence
Putin sure seems to have something really compromising on Trump. Russian oligarch money? Moscow Hotel videotapes? Trump promises on tape?
1
Trump is now invoking who helped in WW2.
This is rich from the man who had an absurd deferment for “bone spurs” from Vietnam.
10
.. while the stateless Kurds had fought alongside American troops against the Islamic State, or ISIS, they had done so out of self-interest, “for their land,”
So, Trump, who puts America First and has lectured at the UN about each putting their country first, is now complaining that Kurds put Kurdistan first.
and noted that “they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us in Normandy.”
!!!!!!
“With all that being said, we like the Kurds,” he added.
We're in a full-blown constitutional crisis predicated upon a racist and violent white minority's loyalty to Trump, every alliance and arms control treaty is collapsing, we are materially and morally strengthening authoritarian regimes ranging from weak democracies to full dictatorships, destabilizing Central American countries and the Middle East, and walking at the precipice of a world wide financial crisis.
What else is he going to inflict on us.
8
@DM Well, I hate to even think this, but Trump does controls the nuclear arsenal of the U.S.
3
Why don't they punish Trump instead of the Turks? Would you punish the dog for biting you instead of the owner who let it off the leash?
What is wrong with Graham and these other sycophants in the Republican party, other than being sycophants?
Trump is stiffing the Kurds just like he has stiffed everyone who has ever worked for him, from lawyers to architects, contractors
to workers. This is what he does for a living.
No more excuses for Graham and Company. Make them pay in 2020.
8
Trump telling Erdogan that slaughtering our Kurdish allies is a "bad idea" is his notion of a brutally harsh sanction against a country that has a Trump Tower in its capital. Any dog owner would be harsher than that if their pet had an accident on their carpet.
This is yet another example of why nobody but Putin and Erdogan trusts us. And they only trust us because Trump is their puppet.
7
I thought our oh so wise President was going to destroy the Turkish Economy if this happened.
3
@Jamie No he won't do that. Instead he invited Erdogan to the White House next month.
3
Remember the chaotic violence that followed Erdogan’s last visit to Washington? Expect more/worse next time.
what were the words again: "mildly nauseating" ? Strike the mildly, please
7
The man is a nut job. Does he think we can’t understand what he’s saying? What his words mean?
4
Foreign policy for sale to highest bidder... EFT's, traveller's checks, or cocaine accepted.
5
Half of me wants to look up the facts about who helped us in WW II. Does what Trump said make any sense? Even if the Kurds somehow fought against us in the war, and I doubt they did, it was 70 years ago. Watching Turkey bomb Kurdish cities, it is beyond horrible that Trump has abandoned the Kurds. This is not OK.
3
@Hah!
Save your time. NOTHING Trump says ever makes any sense.
6
Lindsey Graham step forward and take a bow,
as trump's greatest enabler in the Senate with predictable results.
Mr. Graham, please, shut-up you have no credibility to call this “a disaster in the making” that happen three years ago and you’ve done your best in supporting and creating this “disaster” of a man-child.
Now it’s time for you to stand up and take responsibly for your words and deeds.
14
"Didn't help us in Normandy."
How much do you want to bet that all that Trump knows about World War II is from movies like "Saving Private Ryan." The man has a sense of history that any 9th grader could best. Unfortunately, our allies around the world now have evidence that Trump will leave them in the lurch at a moment's notice and so will pursue defense policies that are not predicated on any assistance from the US, including our NATO allies, not when he says ISIS won't be our problem because "they'll go to Europe."
It's also likely that nations like South Korea, Japan and Germany are making plans to develop nuclear weaponry, a logical move when at any moment Trump could make some similarly boneheaded move with regards to the security of their countries.
7
@T Herlinghetti
Not Germany. Unlike America, they've learned their lesson from megalomaniacal dictators.
3
Don't look now, but Trump's Evangelical support is teetering on this disaster as there are vulnerable Christian groups being threatened by Turkey's military expedition.
7
Why the sudden shock and outrage? What do you expect from the man who invoked "national security" as a reason to raise tariffs on an ally who lost lives alongside the US in Afghanistan.
3
The price of a hotel these days.
15
“They didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us in Normandy.” -- President Trump.
For reasons I can't quite fathom, this brings to mind the famous quote:
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
19
Of course Trump limits criticism of Turkey...he’s got businesses in Turkey he’s got to protect and profit from.
3
@SJ
Where the Emoluments Claude when you need it?
3
Apparently like Donald Trump, I'm opposed to senseless wars.
Unlike Donald Trump, I'm opposed to senseless, incompetent, unqualified, vitriolic, flailing, aggrieved presidents who have nothing better to do than play golf, tweet, bloviate at "rallies", watch tv, ignore expert advice, and do whatever else he does.
4
Trump wants that war to distract everyone from his impeachment trouble.
3
Weak president lets autocrats of lesser countries walk all over him. What else is new? Remove this Russian conspirator (read as traitor) and put him in prison for life. It’s the least he deserves.
7
Trump uses the excuse that he opposes 'endless, senseless wars to justify withdrawing these troops? So what has he created by his actions, a holiday picnic? The war between Kurds and Turks will be a decades long war to the death. But of course we will not be directly involved, though there is the matter of the arms that we send to Turkey and Kurds to fight the war and Trump will bare the responsibility for the untold masses of people who will die because of his actions.
7
At this point who believes anything that Trump says or tweets? He is a walking, talking, lying machine. One would be hard-pressed to point to a single sentence he has uttered in the last year as completely truthful. To make matters worse he knows nothing about history, or government, or foreign policy, or the law,... you get the idea.
The Republicans have the power to end this madness. Their VP Pence will support the GOP agenda without the TV reality show drama and he speaks in complete and coherent sentences. He is abhorrent in many other ways but at least he is a relatively normal human being. If the Republican Party has any hope of regaining its moral and ethical bearings, they need to get behind impeachment and removal of the worst president in the history of the U.S. We cannot survive another year with Trump.
8
Trump started this and should not be allowed to weasel his way out of it. There is no way Turkey would have begun this offensive had Trump not given his okay. He can’t take it back. This is not a schoolyard.
6
@Rainy Night
You're right. It's not a schoolyard -- it's a business transaction.
2
I would assume that the source of all of Trump’s actions begin solely with Putin wishes.
Was the latest action in Syria a favor for Erdoğan from Putin via Trump?
The upcoming slaughter of Kurds in Northern Syria is the kind of reason Trump should have been removed from office LAST YEAR.
If not then then surely now is the time ---Today!
By giving him that extra year to play his game we only increase his ability to destroy our Democracy. What will be next --- World War 3?
6
"A bad idea" indeed, Mr Trump, the several Kurds already killed by the Turkish forces invading north Syria, after you gave Erdogan the go-ahead!
3
Moron Trump is a treacherous human being. He justifies his cowardly betrayal by saying that the Kurds didn't help us at Normandy in WWII!?
God save Israel if Netyanhu or someone there upsets Trump, Trump will turn on them in a second justifying, "-the Jews didn't help us at Normandy in WWII."
Trump is a cancer on the world..
10
"...they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us in Normandy."
am I having a nightmare?
32
@Acep1111 I was completely against the Vietnam war. Mine was the class that saw the young men who were my classmates get sent to Vietnam first. They were the classmates and relatives who died and were wounded there.
But this inane, insulting statement about the Kurds comes from a man who had the temerity to brag about his war against STDs while others of his generation were being blown up I’m a place he wouldn’t t have been able to find on a map, and wouldn't care to. He didn’t get an exemption to teach school or do graduate work. He got it by faking a disability and then used it to continue his debauched and privileged life
3
Don't be so upset with the result, Mr. President. You broke it, you own it.
14
@George
But like everything in his life, someone else is going to pay for it.
Namely, us.
7
From Trump's standpoint what is "a bad idea" is stirring up the sleeping Republican dogs in the Senate who so far have been quite satisfied to tamely rolled over for all his autocratic and corrupt behavior, happily wagging their tails as he scratched their bellies. When Lindsey Graham rises up on his hind legs and bares his teeth, you know you have crossed an important line.
With an impeachment trial becoming ever more likely, Trump needs to keep his loyal best friends in the Senate placated. Trump clearly has no compunction about selling out the Kurds. But he needs to be concerned about riling his heretofore passive supporters who are not as prepared as he is to betray long term allies.
4
There is something concerning about an American president having active business interests in partner nations - i.e. Trump towers licensing agreement in Istanbul. How can it ever be known whether those business interests infuence presidential decisions. Congress must eventually review this potential threat to national security.
9
Lindsey and Van Hollen are punishing the wrong party. They should instead support efforts to impeach Trump. Speaking of whom, someone needs to remind him that this is all of his fault and all of the blood of our allies and their families is on his hands. This is a moment of profound national shame and the GOP has again proven itself to be morally bankrupt.
13
2019. The year third world countries showed the rest of the world that Trump is nothing but talk. Republicans take note, this is not your dude after all.
3
Trump's promises to hold Turkey accountable for killing our former allies the Kurds are about as empty as his campaign promises.
3
Trump basically authorized Turkey to commit genocide against the Kurds. Basically we are now participants in a genocide.
11
Turkish fighters are known for their ferocity. Telling them to be moderate by the 'Unmatched stupidity' of Trump, is like telling a starving tiger to go soft on his prey...
Erdogan is a brilliant but ferocious autocrat who has been playing NATO/US against Putin. He cannot tolerate dissent among his ranks (just like Trump does not!) nor does he honor any commitment to friend or allies.
Trump just walked into a foreign policy cesspool...
2
Hypothetically if Russia had planted a Manchurian candidate to be President of the USA, that person would be acting suspiciously similar (against our allies and in favor of Russia) as the current president is acting. They say you’ll know a tree by it’s fruit. Methinks the fruit in question is Russian flavored.
9
You are a nation with no dignity, no integrity and moral to have elected this man to your president, millions will suffer as middle eastern wars will ensue and your economy will collapse as well. When your country will get into trouble no nation on earth will want to help you after making that man your leader and letting him destroy the life’s of millions, just for a photo-op, or because America is not getting enough $s.
8
What a liar, it was a done deal before he spoke. Only a traitor to our country would abandon our allies for his personal gain. His corruption is clear, his business involvements with our enemies, dictators, makes him the worst kind of traitor, one who lies and double deals while he attacks Biden who did nothing wrong; trump blew this up to take out his biggest threat to his election. And the prosecutor Biden had removed was corrupt and falsely prosecuting corrupt practices, he was a sham, just like trump.
9
Trump doesn't care whether Turkey slaughters the Syrian Kurds, loyal US allies, as long as Turkey takes care of the Trump Towers in Turkey.
After all, the Kurds didn't contribute to Trump in any way. With Trump, it's the Trump Crime Family's interests first, last, and everywhere in between.
16
He’s an absolute disgrace. And is demonstrating the reason why presidents can not maintain business interests, active stock portfolios and must release their tax returns. They must be above reproach. This guy ain’t.
7
Whhaaaat?
What is the Babbler in Chief babbling about now? Did he actually excuse hanging the Kurds out to dry because “the Kurds didn’t help us in Normandy in WWII”? Yes he did. That is beyond preposterous.
As I understand it, after a super private privileged phone conversation (that nobody will ever hear or see transcripts of) with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he apparently promised to order US troops in the area to stand down, he did just that. Which means that he pretty much held the door open for Erdogan to send his army through to demolish our Kurdish allies “but in as humane a way as possible”. Now, after huge blowback, he announces that he thinks the operation is "a bad idea"?
Does that dunce in the White House actually imagine that the entire world doesn't hear and see what he is doing to the Kurds?
Trump is a fool fooling nobody. Trump can go on about the ‘big economic cost” he’ll levee on Erdogan if Erdogan isn’t fair, but that is sheer malarky. People are going to die and it will be because of him, the Donald, Donald Trump.
It's on him and on his supporters.
30
I'm shocked that Benedict Donald would betray the Kurds like this. It's so out of character for him to do this to people.
13
Since he set it up, why would he be critical. Oh,yeah, it’s because he’s NUTS!
13
The mistake the Kurds made was not in believing that the United States would never abandon an ally that had fought and died to defeat ISIS. No, their mistake was in not having a Trump Tower. We all know that Trump would have cared about that. After all, that's more important to him than the credibility of the United States.
Also, you can be against "endless war" and still be for protecting an ally. The goals are not mutually exclusive.
18
If Trump wants to redeem himself, he should call on Turkey to stop its invasion, and he should call on the world to create a homeland for the Kurds. Ireland, Portugal, Serbia, Jordan, Laos, and Cambodia have fewer people than the 30,000,000 Kurds. Why shouldn't the Kurds have their own country?
6
@Maurice Wolfthal
If trump wants to redeem himself, he should resign. That would be a good start.
16
@dejikins
Exactly. And he should do it immediately. Tonight.
7
Donald Trump has no clue.
It takes too much energy to say more.
19
Will the Trumpies finally turn on him if American soldiers are killed in the mess he sanctioned/started? Probably not....
5
It is a daily embarrassment being an American in the age of Trump. Threatening to “obliterate” Turkey’s economy? What kind of leader says that?
14
A leader mentally unfit to lead says that, and that is who we have for another godawful year.
14
Trump: said the Kurds had fought alongside American troops against the Islamic State out of self-interest, “for their land,”
I kind of thought defeating ISIS was about lowering international terrorist efforts that could ultimately affect "our land".
You say potatoes, Trump says tomatoes.
9
I thought it was obvious that Turkey was going to invade and was the rationale for leaving, right? Wasn't that obvious. I think it was in the reporting about the decision to pull out. Whatever. Every decision we make in the middle east that is not paying fines and retribution, apologizing, and leaving is bad. Each move betrays and creates new enemies. We need to stop selling weapons and fueling more conflict around the world.
2
Our President is at very best a naive moron and at worst a boy for Putin. I don’t know which, but this is the worst we’ve seen in a bad few years.
15
I, for one, completely appreciate why Donald Trump abandoned the Kurds so the Turks can slaughter them.
I mean, where were the Kurds during the Mexican-American War? Huh, huh! Did the Kurds send troops to the Texas border in 1846? No, they didn't, so the heck with them.
I don't even want to think about what the Kurds didn't do for us during the War of 1812.
21
Normally I would snicker or laugh, but this so awful that I can’t even muster even a smile.
4
I did laugh. Thank you for that. Now I will go back to feeling nauseous.
4
Trump is now defending another disastrous phone call.In this call he evidently got rolled by Erdogan who insisted that Turkey was ready to move with or without US permission.Trump can’t say “no” to a strongman so he agreed to allow Turkey to overpower the Kurds , our allies in the struggle against Isis.For good measure he threw in a visit to the White House.There is rare bipartisan outrage-Mr Erdogan should reconsider a trip here- he is not welcome!
12
To Lindsey Graham: you are the trump administration. To the NY times, let's call this what it is: trump is in impeachment trouble and he is creating a huge diversion of attention of the news cycle and you fell for the trap. Shame on you! Don't print rand Paul's comment press him hard on how this makes America stronger? We'll never be able to put a coalition of nations together to confront a real danger. Who would believe an American? We have allowed a carnival huckster to erase a century of good will and world leadership.
15
No, Mr. Trump. You continuing to dye your hair is a bad idea. Giving another nation carte blanche approval to commit genocide is being an accomplice to murder.
20
Every headline, every commentator, every newscast, should lead with Trump's "But the Kurds didn't help us at Normandy" commment, to let the entire country know that this man is a danger to the U.S. and the world.
14
They didn't help us in WW2? Say what? His ignorance is absolutely astonishing. BTW Mr. President you didn't help us in the Viet Nam War so it should be OK to ditch you, the sooner the better.
25
The biggest bad idea was Trump pulling us out of Syria, but then again if he had a brain maybe he might have used it and his actions showed that he doesn't.
1
Bringing up Ww2, Normandy in relation to a reason why it’s okay to abandon the Kurdish people is just the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Most likely it’s not the dumbest thing trump has ever said but real close.
8
trump said he could shoot someone and get away with it.
This shows how:
https://www.cagle.com/nate-beeler/2019/10/trump-and-kurds
1
Donald Trump is a psychopath who is deliberately destabilizing the world order so that he can be “indispensable “. He will likely succeed and woe will follow.
4
No, they didn't help us in the Mexican American War either. So what?
14
Looking forward to the future wrath we’ll endure thanks to this foreign policy mayhem. We have ZERO integrity or credibility anymore. The American Experiment is over.
6
The most dastardly part of Trump's comment about Normandy and the Kurds is the fact that in the years leading up to World War II, the Kurds were getting slaughtered...by Turkey.
24
Where is Trump’s famous hyperbole? “Bad idea”? Since when is anything merely bad where Trump is concerned? If he really didn’t like Turkey’s move, it would be horrible, disgusting, terrible, awful, deplorable, sinister, etc. No, he’s really good with it, or he wouldn’t stop at “bad idea.”
7
Republicans - you’re still not afraid of having this man in the Oval Office? Our allies will never trust our word and if they were smart, they wouldn’t share intel with Mr. Trump.
17
This is like an accomplice , enabling murder, then calling it a bad idea. So typical of Trump.
8
Just Trump following Putin’s orders. Trump won’t do anything about Syria. Kurds are doomed.
5
To add insult to injury, Trump says that because the Kurds did not help us during World War II or Normandy, we don't have to support them now. He actually said that a short while ago. Of course, the modern Kurdistan was not recognized until the 1970's but that's not important to Trump.
I think what this says to me that Trump is ignorant by choice as it gives him "plausible deniability" when making such outrageous statements. It also says to me that Trump revels in his ignorance, rolls in it and uses it like a club. Unfortunately, our allies the Kurds are being destroyed as we speak and the repercussions of abandoning them will make America seen as unreliable and untrustworthy.
How much longer we can tolerate Trump's irrational uttering's is of serious concern. Perhaps in addition to the impeachment process now under way, we should also consider the use of the 25th Amendment as Trump is in no way capable of carrying out his duties as president in a responsible manner.
17
Too many Americans and some rich powerful people support him. Others may be afraid of him. He knows it. He can get away with anything.
2
Am I crazy or does it seem like the more the evidence against him mounts, the closer the next election looms, the more outrageous and pro-Russia the behavior? And how did the presidency become so powerful that he could cause these shockwaves so unilaterally and unchecked?
13
@Sarah
You're not crazy. He is.
8
I wonder why President Obama and other leading members of his administration have not vigorously opposed the attack on the Kurds. Their silence and timidity makes them complicit in the actions of this administration.
Obama? He’s retired.
8
Susan Rice spoke out 2 days ago.
8
@Juniper
And Hillary Clinton spoke out on it yesterday.
3
OMG.
Do his loyalists not see this?
I did not realize he is so bad. Mr.Trump needed to distract from impeachment inquiry and so he take this step of betraying the Kurds?
So many children and families... it is one thing to be America first. But this person is a very vacant realty TV star. Ratings and winning is all that matters. It is himself first.
I hope America stands together on this.
AJ
8
So will he be ruining their economy tomorrow?
7
Lets dump Trump because he didn't help us in the Revolutionary War, or the War of 1812 or the Civil War, or WWI, or WWII, or Korea, or Vietnam, or the Gulf. He never helped America with anything. Dump him.
28
Yessah. I guess that, 'I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it,' ala DJT, ain't working out so good now, ya think? Out putting his hotels in Turkey in front of America's best interest don't seem to swift to me.
2
Weakest of fig leaves - “Look, I’m saying something when I’m really saying nothing”. It reminds of his smirking “Don’t interfere in our elections” the last time he was with Putin.
2
Man Who Invites Others to Commit Arson Says Arson is a Bad Idea. News at Eleven.
7
Trump’s only accomplishments in office has been to constantly fool his base of moronic sycophants.
16
And a lot of rich people
4
They’re not fooled; they’re greedy, selfish and short-sighted.
1
Trump, this “bad idea” was all yours. Only a buffoon would expect anything other than Turkish genocide after your comments.
7
December 2020 is the scheduled groundbreaking ceremony for Trump Hotel Istanbul
7
@ZiHg
And in November 2020 Recep Tayip Erdogan visits the White House.
Connection, anyone???
3
He pulled the trigger. Now he wants to spin his action. Shameful and un-American and treasonous and ruinous of American relations with sovereign states around the world.
7
Trumps abrupt abandonment of our allies is the "BAD IDEA" ... his foreign policy plans are swung from whim to whim. He can't leave office soon enough for the safety of the whole wide world.
10
Now that he's taking heat from Republicans Trump wants to be a hero. Where was Trump when he gave permission to Turkey to unleash death and destruction? Oops, another quick move that backfired. But, but, he said he would send me a love letter and, and, and . .
3
trump must be talking to his boss (Putin), since it was trump who activated this bad idea. trump does not care if allies of the USA die, so as long as his polls stop dropping.
4
I recall how broken up Bill Clinton was over his not having come to the rescue of Tutsi tribal communities in Rwanda back in the '90s. Contrast this with Trump's willful abandonment of our Kurdish allies. They got him "his" victory over ISIS so now they can rot. Shameful.
12
25th Amendment.
8
No. Trump is a bad idea
7
There was a time when American diplomacy was making the world a better, safer place.
Seems we're turning into nothing but a fat, rich, incompetent, easy target.
5
When was this? It seems to me that the USA has caused turmoil all over the globe.
“they didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us in Normandy.”
“With all that being said, we like the Kurds,” he added.
"We", as in confused old celebrity (aka The Reality President that has zero grasp of reality) likes hanging them out to DIE!
25th Amendment, NOW! Let's go Pence, NOW!
4
Trump has decided to draw his red lines with other people’s blood, apparently.
9
Kinda wiped impeachment off the front page, though, didn't it.
8
Dear Trump voters,
He has betrayed everyone else in his life. It's only a matter of time before he betrays you as well.
Unless you think somehow you are special, and the one person ever that Mr. Trump will be loyal to.
18
It wouldn't be surprising if the Kurds released the ISIS prisoners. If that happens then all the accomplices ( Turkey, Russia and the USA ) will regret.
4
It's a "bad idea"? Trump set this up by deciding to withdraw. He doesn't get the right to call it a bad idea. These issues are fundamental to American foreign policy. You don't get the right to be the President of the United States and claim ignorance about the consequences of your decision. There are volumes of data and expertise at his fingertips from the military to the state department to help him make these decision. This is just abysmal foreign policy decision making. The consequences of an Isis re-birth in the region, not to mention loss of civilian life in addition to what has already been done, is on him.
12
A "bad idea" would be to allow Erdogan to invade, potentially resulting in both Kurdish and civilian casualties and the release of ISIS members, after a brief phone call without the input of the Pentagon or immediate aides.
8
Nobody takes Trump seriously.
The US is DONE
8
this is what happens when an idiot becomes the president of the united states. chaos not just in the states but all over the world. disaster in the making eh? why not call him by his name mr spineless?
14
I miss our previous conservative village idiot, G W Bush.
6
Unbelievably yes.
1
Why is Trump whining “endless wars” only about Syria rather then Afghanistan? Could it be that leaving Afghanistan doesn't assist Putin whereas leaving Syria does? If you think Putin doesn't have “kompramat” on Trump then you aren't paying attention. EVERY single move Trump makes somehow helps Russia/Putin. Every single one! Wake up republicans!
8
They know and they don’t care because they’re all in on it. They’re all criminals.
After the phone call with Erdogan, Trump indicated that he was removing 1000's of troops from Syria with the unspoken, but clear goal of getting our troops out of the way of the attacks.
Trump effectively said, "tough luck" to the Kurds who were the primary fighters in accomplishing the goal Trump claims credit for, "defeating" ISIS.
Now effectively we will have":
1) Dead Kurds and loss of a US ally in northern Syria. permanent hatred from them to the US, all of us!
2) Additional loss of US credibility throughout the world. No one thinks that, say, North Korea or Iran are watching. Let's see should we trust anything that Trump says, ever? NO, NO, NO.
3) A million Syrian refugees to be relocated to Northern Syria. Surely Syria will house and feed them, or so Trump thinks if he has thought that far ahead. So who is going to take care of them? Well the US certainly has a few $100B to spare, plus manpower, plus **troops** to defend them.
4) Release of 10,000 ISIS fighters into Syria. That might take the wind out of Trump's claim, "mission accomplished" or some such thing.
Trump is a moron and an irresponsible thug who has no understanding of repercussions of any of his actions. He can't visualize the future beyond a few hours. His dementia has crept in so that he was stunned that anyone would criticize his acquiescence to Erdogan. I'm surprised that he didn't accuse L. Graham of being a traitor for disagreeing with the Emperor.
13
I just saw on the news Trump blithely blow off the Kurds by reminding everyone that they didn’t fight with us in WWI , and they were not by our side at Normandy. Please make this man go away. I’m an atheist, and I have taken up praying in an attempt to save my sanity.
21
But what is astounding is that Republicans keep licking his boots and his supporters keep cheering him on.
2
Agnostic here. I am praying these days like the little Catholic kid I used to be ages ago. It is so bad that God is whispering to me, "It took Trump to get you to return to Mass, huh?(pause...) that's quite a price to pay to get you redeem yourself." Sigh...it is.
2
“Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump administration." - Lindsey Graham
Thoughts and prayers aren't going to cut it, Mr. Graham.
16
Germany also did not help us in the Second World War ! In fact, as everyone knows, they did quite the opposite, but are now one of our staunchest allies. Or at least they were until Trump came along.
The way things are going, America will have no allies left and the Third World War will be the world against America. And if Trump thinks Russia would fight on our side, boy, has he another thing coming.
5
Gee, Lindsey Graham is speaking out against this move??!
Maybe Trump just had his own “bad idea”... one of thousands, of course, but the one that breaks the camel's back is the one that counts!
4
I don't understand what they mean by the Kurds helped us defeat ISIS. Obama said it would take years probably a generation to reclaim the caliphate. Did that already happen? how?
Donald Trump's entire being is a bad idea.
10
MBS quid pro quo. Someone please get those phone transcripts out of the vault.
6
Trump tells Turkey, "Go ahead, I won't stop you, what a terrible idea."
The guy couldn't run a real estate company. No, seriously, he couldn't. He ran it into the ground, repeatedly. What an absolute disaster.
12
Ha! Trump started this debacle with Turkey. Does the grifter have regrets? The problem is the US gets painted with the same black brush as Trump. Unbelievable turn of events for us as caused by our yo-yo decision maker in the WH.
4
Trump is against senseless wars? Why does he enable one to begin?
This guy simply says anything that enters his “mind”. Covfefe!
8
My first thought upon hearing about Trump's move was "what a stupid, tragic move."
Then I thought, "I wonder if he's doing this, knowing full well the Turks will move so he can engage them on a larger military scale when he needs a political lift. Like any day now."
I guess I've just grown pessimistic in my middle age.
2
That's too sophisticated for him to think of.
Real simple—— Trump Tower(s) in Turkey. Need I say more...
History will be incredibly harsh to CrazyTrump, his corrupt family and sycophants in the GOP and Congress.
8
Do you think this will have a negative effect on winning the Nobel peace prize?
10
So long for that Nobel Peace Prize, Donald!
7
Now if Senator Lindsey Graham would only acknowledge that most of Trump's policies (trade, immigration, etc.) have been "a disaster in the making" then I'll believe that he is not merely cherry picking his disasters.
10
Right now Putin is considering his options....
1). Play it cool and try and get Trump re-elected to do more extensive damage to the United States after November 2020.
or,
2). Should he order Trump to do as much damage to the United States before November 2020 now that a there is an impeachment hearing, pubic opinion is shifting and a second Trump term is in question.
What would Putin do?
We shall see.
8
I'll order the WWPD rubber bracelets for all of us...
1
Typical Trump response. A day late and a dollar short.
After signing away any credibility this country might have left to satisfy an urge and who knows what else, this president has the nerve to say Turkey's military incursion is a "bad idea".
When the reality is he did everything to facilitate it by pulling U.S. troops out without a plan for what comes next.
And what comes next is going to shake the world.
Trump is going to find out the hard way that ISIS has not been defeated.
12
I despise him more with each passing day.
13
Now we need to see the transcript of Donald’s phone call with Erdogan, because again, he can’t be trusted with such responsibilities. Trump has been unfaithful to his wives, unfaithful to business partners, unfaithful to United States allies, and now he betrays our Syrian Kurdish allies to their deaths with a kiss to Erdogan. It is way past time to invoke the 25th amendment. He is unfit to be President of the United States of America. And he takes credit for defeating ISIS while it was the Kurdish people who actually did the fighting and dying. He is disgusting and manifestly unfit.
16
It is a wonder we have any allies at all.
7
Every Trump idea is a bad one, so he would know.
10
Thank gawd fishing is not subtracted from one's years of life on earth because this president is wasting many years for many people.
1
United States allies are DYING! And he calls is a “bad idea?” He did this without consulting ANYONE! And he has commercial interests via a Trump building in Istanbul. What more do you need - people on the sidelines?! US allies are being slaughtered! What will be enough for you?
10
Trump has to go. He is incompetent, apparently self-dealing and does not have a clue or care as to the damage he is causing. Who will ever trust America’s word again.
9
Dirty Donnie the flip-flopper in chief seems worried about the chaos and death he just created in Syria. And it's tiresome, listening to his apologists pimp another needless invasion in the Middle East.
4
So Erdogan speaks with the USA's mental midget in chief over the weekend and says he wants to attack the Kurds in Northern Syria.
Will the mental midget in chief look the other way if I let him build more gilded towers in Istanbul? Who knows right?
Any moron knows that Turkey has been after the Kurds in Turkey (roughly 20%) of their population, Iraq and Syria for decades.
The GOP is sinking deeper into the White House's open sewer on a daily basis. The stench is suffocating.
13
Trump has not a clue as to what he is doing. He is supporting a corrupt autocrat Erdogan who is raining hell on the Kurds with the very planes and missiles that the US gave him. Vote out the GOP!
14
This has something to do with trump's towers, two of them, in Turkey.
Erdogan put the screws to trump somehow to get what he wanted.
8
Throwing your partners under the bus, means you will only be able to get poor Slovenians to partner with you
3
Oh Lord!
Republicans, how can you allow this man to continue to rampage across America, and the world - committing SO MUCH GHASTLY DAMAGE?!
World War II? Seriously?
I am ashamed! No President has ever taken us this low. What will it take before you say Enough?
9
"In a statement issued by the White House, Mr. Trump asserted that “Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place.”
Yes Mr. Trump, and in 1938 before you were born but I was 2, Mr. Chamberlain, famously said after the Munich meeting with Hitler, "Peace in our Time."
Once again, empty words.
8
Perhaps he spoke with Turkish president about digging up dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for removing US forces?
5
I really wish the Kurds would take all the ISIS fighters they have in custody and let them go in downtown Moscow I’m sure that if there’s a will there is a way
5
@JD
There's plenty of room and Mar-a-Lago and Doral. They can get work visas.
5
@John Harper that would be awesome
1
This isn't standing on 5th Avenue and shooting someone, this is allowing your allies to be slaughtered.
5
It’s not simply a “bad idea,” Mr. President. Yhe attack against our allies, the Kurds,
Is happening now because of your stupid, Impulsive, off-the-cuff tweets.
6
Un-flipping- believe-able.... If President Obama has abandoned our allies like this he’d have been pilloried by Republicans as being a gutless traitor. Republican enablers in Congress are spineless Hippocrates whose oath it seems was to Donald Trump rather than the Constitution of the United States... It’s shameful that there had been no pushback from his party, to this ‘stable genius’ man child in the Oval Office that has brought us to this awful point in our history. Are we collectively so stupid? Shame....!
6
Trump is directly responsible for the Kurd Massacre. Period!
6
He knew and enabled what Turkey was planning which includes attacking our Allies, the Kurds. Shameful. But, his track record is shameful on all fronts. He is weak, he is a coward.
5
Lindsay Graham and his like minded congressmen bear full responsibility for this ruthless, possibly genocidal betrayal of U.S. allies. They have enabled this president every step of the way
9
Yet another Turkish genocide.
4
What if someone retaliated and hit his hotel in Turkey? Would it only be "a bad idea?" Evil. Just plain evil. Sending artillery into populated area? Yes, a really bad idea.
4
Actually the "bad idea" was in thinking a real estate shill would make a good "president". That's turning out to be the worst idea in history.
15
It seems like our inexperienced president is committed to ‘Make Russia Great Again’.
8
What was a real bad idea? Electing Trump.
10
Bad idea ? Seriously. What did you think the Turks were going to do ? Invite the Kurds to tea and cakes ? Either Trump is supremely naive or he does not care about allies or partners. First opportunity there is to dump a friend, lawyer, business partner or a wife, Trump is on the ready. No principles or values. And he thinks North Korea is going to trust him to give up their only leverage which is nuclear weapons.
Time to leave the presidency and go back to running your crooked Trump enterprise. We will all be better off for it.
11
So when the US cries "wolf", who will come to help us....
3
@FacePalm1959
Don't you get it? -- the U.S. is now the "wolf".
Let's see: the removal of American military personnel from northern Syria was probably not recommended by any Fox celebrity commentators, so who would have wanted our president to make this move? ....
6
Just send Graham and Trump to the Syria-Turkey border.
4
I oppose senseless, incompetent, fake presidents. But that’s just me.
11
Why would anyone expect anything less from the "strategic foreign policy geniuses" that brought us the Iraq War?
Remember how great that war was? How necessary it was? How cheap and cost effective? And let's not forget all the wonderful, long-lasting benefits it brought, not only to us and the soldiers who fought it, but to the entire Middle East.
It was just one massive, unending, win-win for everyone involved!
When I think of the modern GOP, I think of three little words - The Iraq War.
So, don't be surprised when they brings us more and more unmitigated successes like that one.
3
I guess Trump's TV watching includes reruns of "Animaniacs". Anyone who si familiar with the series knows of the short fills called "Good Idea; Bad Idea".
Good Idea - Keep US Troops in Syria to prevent the major enemy of the Kurds, the Turks, from invading and forcefully remove Kurds from Syrian territory. And, have the Kurds guard 10,000 ISIS prisoners.
Bad Idea - Throw the Kurds under the bus.
The End
Let's add Trump does not know anything about the history of the Kurds and the Turks (Ottomans before them). Erdogon may do what the sultans and previous Turkish governments have not done; wipe out the Kurds.
Let's now add the potential of genocide to Trump's long list of crimes.
"Bad Idea" indeed.
5
"a bad idea"
Such bold, decisive leadership.
Republicans can be proud of their unwavering support for America's Churchill
3
How is this possible that we have become so immune to a continual state of chaos that we tolerate the blatent war on our laws, our foreign policy and now on people half a world away?
Where is our Congress?
Where are the checks and balances?
Who is defending, upholding our Constitution?
4
Where are the Republican foreign policy hawks now? Call your senators and congresspeople and let them know how dangerous and unfit Trump is. He’s doing the bidding of Putin, not what is best for the people of the US or our allies.
3
Two phone calls: One perfect and another with Ergodan.
In the perfect phone call, Trump uses coercion to demand that Zelensky submit to Trump’s political will.
How about the call to Ergodan? Did Ergodan tell Trump bad things would happen to his Trump Towers in Turkey if Trump did not let Turkey invade another country?
If so, did the Kurds loyal commitment to the United States suddenly become meaningless, valueless?
If you had another perfect call, release that transcript too.
5
Lindsey Graham is proposing sanctions. I agree completely. But the sanctions should be on our out-of-control White House and the POTUS who resides there instead of a foreign country. It is Trump's actions that's led to this horrible situation and sanctions on HIM are the appropriate response.
Graham looks pretty foolish rattling his saber at this late date, especially when he's rattling it against Turkey instead of the man who creates such chaos in the lives of so many.
How long is this going to go on? The horse is going wild, the carriage is about to topple over. Where's the brave heart who will grab the reins in Washington, right the carriage and get those horses under control? Where oh where?
I actually saw a brave man do this in Central Park on evening when a horse and carriage was doing exactly this. I know for certain it can be done. But apparently not in Washington DC with Trump at the reins.
3
I really, really, really hope that the nuclear codes they've given Trump are phony. In the dark of night, perhaps even soon, he's going to push the button, or phone Putin and give him the codes. Please, please, please, give him phony codes.
4
To those who say the blame for this fiasco belongs to Trump, I would say yes, but it also belongs equally to congressional Republicans who have been and are currently protecting him despite the fact that he is an obvious menace to our national security and the stability of the entire world. May you all choke on your tax cuts for billionaires and your right wing judges.
8
A "bad idea." Such tough language.
His demure statement suggests Trump really doesn't think this is bad. Like joking with Putin about not meddling in our election, he doesn't care what happens to the Kurds, or the Syrians, or immigrants, or residents of Puerto Rico. He has no empathy and his he is squandering our moral authority.
6
What's with this headline? Trump gave the go ahead in a call with Erdogan described as cowardly, and his pretend bluster came only after on suddenly vociferous Republicans spoke out against the move.
3
Why didn’t we just elect McCain? Sarah Palin might be President today. It would frankly be an improvement over what we have.
1
"A bad idea" says Mr. Trump. Oh my Erdogan must be shaking in his boots. What's next? "I'm disappointed; I though Erdogan really liked me. We pinky swore that we'd have each other's back."
4
A bad idea? Maybe opening the door to bombing was a bad idea? Maybe arming Turkey was a bad idea. Maybe Trump is a bad idea?
7
I consider this, as I do all nonsensical decisions by the current POTUS, from the point of view: What would Putin do?
3
Is this just a massive distraction from the impeachment inquiry ?
2
We abandoned the Kurds after our first Iraq invasion and we now repeat that betrayal. There is little we have done well in the Middle East since we walked away from Israel and Palestine resolving their distrust and stopping their acts of desperation and suppression. Trump has no concept of war, poverty, hunger, or feeling hopeless. Wealth and power have immunized him and he acquiesces to any powerful man who leads anywhere except here in the US where he dreams of absolute power, if only for his children. Trump defends no one but humself, his own power, his authority; not the US, not Americans, and clearly not the Constitution. He has been baptized by fame, fortune, and now believes he's immune from any authority whatsoever. Sen Graham and Sen McConnell should consider fewer statements rather taking action to meet the President with anyone else he trusts to intervene now. He is under a great deal of stress and needs your personal support, not your defense or acquiescence. If you're not moved by Kurds being abandoned, what do you say to the Americans that believe Trump is their savior, believing his lies and distrusting anyone who tells the truth?
157
@marksjc
I say that Trump has proven that he is an international hazard, a virulent virus, a living breathing disaster, a danger to humanity.
He should resign.
25
@marksjc What a bunch of nonsense. Graham, Washington, and the corporate press are desperate to take down Assad. Washington has no business interfering in the internal affairs of Syria.
@sashakl For getting the U.S. out of harms way in Syria. What business do we have interfering in the internal affairs of Syria?
1
Yes, Mr. President, nothing protects civilians and religious minorities more than indiscriminate artillery shelling and air strikes followed by tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Erdogan's immediate actions following the US withdrawal shows clearly how seriously he takes Trump's hollow threats. Why would any country work with us after we casually abandon a trusted ally and pave the way for their worst enemy to attack and kill them with not so much as a head's up? It's beyond shameful and our running out on them will haunt our foreign policy in the Middle East forever.
ISIS is already recruiting. "You can't trust them."
Because you can't.
208
@Lou Good
Trump didn't threaten Erdogan; he gave him a wink and a nod (and probably sent Giuliani or Pompeo over there to give him the OK injection person).
Remember, Trump lies like the thief he is and supports virtually every ruthless dictator on the planet (and white supremacists).
Such a fine fake president we have!
21
@Lou Good, "Erdogan's immediate actions following the US withdrawal shows clearly how seriously he takes Trump's hollow threats."
The immediacy of Erdogan's actions is rather telling.
It's almost as if he flattered Donald Trump so much that he knew Trump wouldn't oppose anything he or Turkey might do. Oh, and invite him to the White House, as this would give Trump another opportunity to be flattered.
15
@Karen Lee Any people showing up to protest Erdogan's visit can assume the Turkish security staff will beat them up and then escape home.
After enabling it, he claims it's "a bad idea". How smart is that? And of course the day after threatening to obliterate their economy the attack occurs anyhow but he makes no mention of taking any punitive action. Commentators on MSNBC this evening wondered whether any of this has anything to do with his two towers in downtown Istanbul and the some 179 or so other Turkish businesses in which he has some kind of interest.
182
@Mark "Obliterate their economy" What a joke/lie. DT and his family investments would be on the receiving end of the obliteration.
Another dictator has him in his back pocket like the Saudis, Russians, N Koreans, Chinese, etc. That's our president! His base must be very proud.
37
Three days ago, trump gave Turkey the green light to attack the Kurds, and NOW he says today’s attack is a “bad idea”?
I used to think the English language was rich, but now I realize that it’s poor in words to adequately describe the cataclysm trump.
148
@Drusilla Hawke
You are too kind.
Just quote Rex Tillerson. He told it like it is.
23
@Drusilla Hawke, to be fair, Donald Trump has a very limited vocabulary; "poor in words", if you will. :(
7
Trump says that “Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place.”
Are you kidding? In a war zone? Let’s just call it the Trump Massacre.
210
@Sbar21
I would prefer to reserve that term for 2020...
2
@Sbar21
Trump added that he likes Kurds. He was thinking of cheese curds. Surely he would not say it was both ok to murder, that is what happens in military invasions, and at then observe that it would be a bad idea. If he ever had a good idea he would have know this was bad and not encouraged it.
What says the supreme planetary intelligence if not that of the universe? "We'll see what happens."
15
@uga muga , pure Darwinism, for sure.
Bad idea? trump’s idea. Just like most of his ideas. Impeach and remove. The sooner the better.
38
This is Trump unchained. The people who would have managed the impulsiveness and the terrifyingly misplaced self-confidence and self-deception in this man are manifestly gone.
33
it was a bad idea letting this happen.
11
Can it really be true that Mr. Trump dismissed the concern about escaping ISIS fighters by saying we needn't worry because they will just go to Europe? The sheer incompetence and lack of understanding, the inability to honor our alliances, the reckless conducting of diplomacy--which affects all of us--by impulsive phone calls with fellow anti-democratic egoists and by twitter--gosh, our great, fifty year record of energetic world leadership is now in the hands of a poorly equipped regressive, aging narcissist who is doing long term damage to the country and the Constitution. Shouldn't everyone be in favor of impeachment?
31
While most folks don't think much about it, they are responsible for the people they vote for and then continue to proudly support. Should there be a massacre of the Kurds who have fought with us in Iraq and Syria, the blood will be on those whose willing complicity made it possible.
25
Trump's courage in calling the Turkish attack a "bad idea"leaves me in awe. If there's anyone who ought to know a bad idea, it is Donald Trump.
16
The mother of all bad ideas? Donald Trump as Republican nominee for President of the USA.
21
Why is he still president? He didn't show up for the Vietnam War and got a podiatrist to falsify his disability. He shouldn't be the organ of foreign policy but, who's to blame? Oh, we are. Democracy is just not as guiltless and blameless as we would like it to be, is it? In democracy, there are no innocent by-standers, only accomplices.
18
WWPW. What Would Putin Want.
Precisely this.
36
@John David James Thank you
1
Trump just doesn't have the intelligence to understand this situation. His inability to deal with any foreign complexities makes him totally unfit for his position.
13
These people stood with us and now we have abandoned them. Republicans who continue to support trump have no decency.
25
Instead of abandoning the Kurds, US government should be rewarding them for their anti-ISIS actions by promoting the establishment of an independent Kurdish state that incorporates the Kurdish-majority areas of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Thus, the 'Kurdish problem' would be eliminated.
And you can't say USA doesn't have the power and influence to make it happen. It just takes willpower.
12
The whole Trump experiment has been a bad idea.
17
Of course Trump's tone was "milder." He gave the green light for it. He can't do enough for the autocrat bullies whom he sees as his club, his peers, the guys to impress. The same need to be found rough and strong and dominant was heard in the tapes of his boasts of sexual assault. The payoff is his validation as an alpha male. And tyrants and our enemies know that a buddy-boy call and flattery will bend Trump to whatever harmful or wicked aim they have.
13
Who will ever trust the US military again? This rash decision from the President will make every foreign operation more dangerous for his own troops. It’s criminal irresponsibility.
22
Perhaps Putin told the weakened Trump to do this or else he’d release the kompromat he’s holding over Trumps head?
18
What’s the worst that could happen ???
Think Harder.
Seriously.
10
Vacating the Korean Peninsula is next. As for the anger at the Pentagon, I guess when you dance with the devil you're going to get burned. As always with Trump, the question remains: how would things look different if he was an admitted Russian agent?
18
Then maybe you shouldn’t have stepped aside and let them do it?!
6
There is a paragraph in this story about 2017 sanctions passed by Congress, which Congress says mandates enforcement by Trump, and which Trump has not enforced.
It would seem to me this paragraph could be added whole as one article of impeachment.
29
Citizens of US allies will be disappointed by Trump's decision and will consider the US an untrustworthy nation.
Regardless of the political party supported by US citizens, keeping him in the presidential position is not a US interest.
16
You can be sure there was a quid pro quo here. Beginning with looking out for the Istanbul Trump Towers.
Also note that the Russians were part of forces invading the Kurds from the north...
29
So where is the severe economic “retaliation” Trump promised against Turkey if they attacked our Kurdish allies.
Thanks to Trumps approval, Turkey is in full massacre the Kurds mode today.
The blood of our Kurdish allies is shamefully on President of the United States. After all, what’s most important is for Trump to save his two Trump properties in Istanbul. Who cares about Kurds.
Helloooo!
Where are you Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell?
AWOL again!
So Listen Up RepublicAnts!
America not only demands Trump’s impeachment, but we demand that you in the Senate vote overwhelmingly for his swift conviction and his immediate removal of the world’s most despised man from our White House.
In the meantime, arrest Trump for treason, reverse Trumps decision to slaughter our Kurdish allies, and maybe you can face your family and friends again.
1
Forget sanctions. We have an Air Force, right? And Navy jets? Time to interdict Turkey! And provide air cover and air support for our Kurdish allies. They might have cousins in the PKK but they fought alongside (or in place of) our troops to fight our mortal enemy. Invite Erdogan to the White House to watch what we can do to those who attack our allies.
In theory Turkey is part of NATO. But they’re even less committed to NATO than Trump! That’s why they were buying Soviet missiles! They’re looking for a Kurdish genocide.
Trump doesn’t have the guts of a dead chicken!
14
As the impeachment process gathers pace, no place is safe from the dangers of an unhinged president with no strategy at all, but a series of inconsistent, unpredictable pronouncements and actions.
We're starting to find out what a depraved megalomaniac will do when he's cornered, with violence on his mind. Trump has glad-handed and given cover to many of the most vile people in America and around the world. As he grows more desperate, we must all be on red alert.
31
Oopsy!
Looks like the stable genius - with his great and unmatched wisdom - needs to totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey now.
Or not.
16
A “bad idea” that he gave the green light to. He is unbearably bad.
21
I want a transcript of the call with Erdogan! What did we give up in exchange for our pullout?
21
this was long in the making. see "The Godfather" for interpreting the long game.
4
It’s probably already in the shredder.
2
The babysitters were the GOPs last line of defense. They're gone, look what happens. Let's hope the nuclear codes are out of the toddler's reach. Worryingly, I don't think they are.
39
@Daniel
The so-called babysitters never had any control over the orange infant. If anything, they seemed to have nurtured his worst instincts. Many of them enabled him because they finally found someone to be the agent of their true desires.
1
I oppose endless wars and would like to see not on the US military role in the Middle East eliminated, but the elite US empire dismantled.
That said, Trump made an outrageously bad move and abused his power.
Trump reversed of longstanding US policy that has contributed to stabilizing a region and the direct result was to green light an invasion, war and slaughter. Trump did this without consulting Congress, the American people, his National Security establishment or NATO. Trump did this via phone call.
IMPEACH.
26
General Mattis was right to have resigned his post. This was inevitable. And nobody will trust in America’s promises anymore. Enjoy your republic because, as long as you have Trump as your president, America will be alone in this world.
39
@Robert Richardson
Now would be a good time for Mattis to speak up forcibly and reveal what he REALLY experienced with Trump and how terrible this move is. How about McMaster and Bolton, too? What they know about Trump should be shouted out to the citizens of this country asap. We can't afford to have this dangerous, unhinged narcissist in power much longer.
15
@Robert Richardson
What makes you think the majority of us ever wanted this maniac? You should hope and pray your Southern neighbor gets back to normal fast.
Trump calls it a "bad idea". What part of Erdogan's pre-announced plan to clean out the Kurds did our fearless magnificent genius not understand?
43
If I'd be in his position, of course, I have to protect my investment. Trump has two hotels in Turkey. In what mind would he jeopardize the "dictator" in that country? The orange stable genius has always put his interest before the U.S.
20
For someone who campaigned on putting "America First" and focusing on domestic issues, Mr. Trump sure spends an inordinate amount of time sticking his nose into foreign affairs.
And every time and everywhere he does this, he makes things worse.
20
To all Americans acting surprised:
US has a long tradition of abandoning its allies halfway through a war resulting in disastrous consequences.
1. Vietnam war- result: massacre of South Vietnam
2. Afghan war against Soviets- result: Al-Queda
3. Iraq war-result: ISIS.
Think if non-Trump presidents also did the same thing
6
@thyssenbot
Far be it from me to assert the US loyalty to allies. However, your examples are indefensible.
1 - VietNam War - US entered on the wrong side, fought against a liberation force, propped up a puppet regime in S VietNam that had no chance of success
2 - US was not fighting in the Afghan War against the Soviets. That was a Soviet War. The US gave moral and some undercover support to the mujaheddin, but was not involved.
3 - Iraq War - you can hardly claim the US abandoned its allies in Iraq - US stayed in Iraq for ten years - and continues to advise.
@thyssenbot
1. For many American's, history is something that happen two weeks ago on a reality TV show.
2. In a nation that thinks the world revolves around the US, foreign policy is just that, foreign.
3. Critically thinking or connecting public policies to long term consequences isn't this nation strongest suit.
So let me get this straight, we have to keep our troops in Syria just so Turkey doesn't attack the Kurds, never mind Assad? So far that makes Iraq, Afghanistan and now Syria where Americans are all being held hostage thanks to American policies that go way back long before Trump? Okay, but he’s still definitely the worst and Iran must be laughing their heads off.
2
@John Doe
We kept our troops in Germany for something like 50 years after the end of WWII. Anybody complain about that?
2
@rlschles, no that was great for after my mom retired as a school nurse she got a job as one on an army base school there to get my dad out of the house here in order to stay sober. He really thrived on folksmarching, plus it gave us a great place to stage all our ongoing world’s policeman wars out of. Probably why we’re in this mess we are today.
I'm confused. I guess I don't possess great and unmatched wisdom.
5
If Trump is calling it a bad idea, it must be a really bad idea.
4
If the only the Kurds had promised Mr. Trump dirt on Biden or a Trump Tower, none of this would have happened.
---
Wake up, people! The United States under Trump is now officially a third-rate banana republic.
This must end now.
32
President Erdogan will nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace prize. There is no quid pro quo.
6
United States foreign policy in the Middle East has been terrible for decades. I would argue that we mostly have all the wrong friends and all the wrong enemies.
The Kurds were an exception to that rule. They were our true allies, and they are on the right side of history.
Mr. Trump's latest gaffe is shameful.
13
What is missing here? Our seudo president directly enabled if not endorsed this attack on the Kurds by siding with Turkey without consulting any one, allies or advisors, whilst recognizing the direct conflict of interest he has in Turkey....I mean “stable genius” smartest guy in the room? Or just simply a petty liar and crook that unbelievably wields the baton of POTUS and thus believes he is above the law of our land? It is truly scary.
7
The question surely is when do top figures in the military and Intelligence step forward and announce we've had enough of this clown. This is somewhat reminiscent of OKW in the later stages of WW 2.
6
Some have commented that t his might just be a diversion from his other troubles. I wouldn't surprise me if he changed his mind and decided to sent troops to fight the Turks.
What good do sanctions do to a dead person Mr. Graham. Another too little too late move by our Republican stalwarts.
What a ship of fools with the captain Queeg at the helm.
10
Even a blind pig gets few acorns, and I t’s actually possible that once in a huge while Trump gets something right. When he wants to end USA’s “endless, senseless wars”, we on the left should support him, not criticize.
1
@Earl M but isn’t he sending military support to Saudi Arabia in their involvement in Yemen?
8
Not when the result is a complete massacre.
5
Does Trump even know what he has done? Or has he completely lost it. His behaviour is very bizarre.
3
This is a payment for Russia's Trump campaign support for 2016 and 2020 elections, ignoring the human carnage and suffering.
10
The Trump Doctrine: America Alone
10
@MidtownATL The Trump Doctrine: Trump Alone
3
I can hear Trump now with his big brain and unmatched wisdom admonishing Erdogan "you promised and now I'm going to hold my breath-for a few seconds". The chastising, the threat Trump made the day he made the decision, the wrong decision, that he, Big Brain, would destroy Turkey's economy.
Hmm. Sounds like the real turkey, the wise one from Queens, is nothing but a gas bag. As usual.
4
Lindsey Graham enabled this madman. He need only look in the mirror for what is wrong with American politics today.
22
This man we have for a President now has acted for all to see that he is also a man without a hint of honor. His betrayal of an ally, the Kurds, who has shed blood on our behalf, is a stab in their back and a blatant warning to our other allies anywhere not to trust his seat-of-the-pants leadership. Perhaps sycophant Graham will remember how his old friend John MaCain would view Trump's actions. Too bad Matthis is no longer around but maybe some other high level military types would think of resigning. How about you, former first in class at West Point, Pompeo? Ha, now that is a joke.
12
How about instead of "praying for the Kurds", Senator Graham, you do something real and confront and impeach this President? It would be nice to see you act with courage, instead of like the scared little girl that your voice makes you sound like.
25
But the stable genius thought giving Turkey carte blanche was a good idea. With this one, the bad ideas never stop.
39
@Susan Wladaver-Morgan
Putin thought it was a good idea.
10
The Kurdish folks live in the middle of four Middle Eastern nations. The simplest way to heal the wounds and stop Turkey's carnage of the Kurds is to allow them to form their own sovereign contry. But for that to occur, we would need real leaders in solidarity with a suffering but courageous Kurdish people with the sovereign right for self-governance.
25
This country has abandoned a critical ally because it's enemy spoke to the president about how lovely his hair looked in the moonlight. That's all it took. Conservatives that are complicit in this national fiasco should be shamed into compliance for allowing this national travesty to take hold. IMPEACH. NOW.
84
What leverage does Erdogan possess over Trump ? Nothing else makes sense. This guarantees the re-emergence of ISIS, the strengthening of Russia, Iran and Syria's hands in the middle east, weakens the US position considerably, not to mention another humanitarian catastrophe (which Trump clearly does not care about). Why would anyone ally with the US in the future on the war on terror (or any other war for that reason) ? It is clear the US will abandon them, likely leaving them in a far worse shape. More than anything else, this episode proves that the Republicans only care about being in power, making money for themselves. Not about the country (or our allies).
30
@MS ...For sure,but there is something that makes sense and --at the risk of over-simplifying-- it's that the prez isn't very smart. And this aside from his obvious mental problems. Too many people think if someone makes a lot of money then,well,they must be really smart. But that's not true at all. Not everyone chooses to spend their life chasing the dollar.
1
If Trump wants me to believe he said anything about Turkey invading being a bad idea, then he will have to release the machine made read-out to his call. I certainly don't trust anything he claims to have done unless there are tapes.
17
Much blood, mangled flesh and shattered bones of the Kurds will be the inevitable consequences of this appalling trump impulse (one should not dignify it as a “decision”). The fool may have placed targets of retribution on all his family and properties. The Kurds -both men and women- are impassioned and suicidally fearless fighters. When thousands are slaughtered through treachery it is not difficult to imagine that a certain honour code will compel vengeance against their betrayer. To be clear, I do not advocate such actions, but trump may regret that he didn’t just sign over the Istanbul towers to Erdogan.
8
Well he should know a bad idea when he see's one; as a matter of fact - this was his bad idea!
9
Prayers won’t help anyone with Senator Graham :( To General Mattis - is this the enough for you to speak out? And to Trump and the Republicans- why did you need to increase the defense budget? Those soldiers will be out of a job and on the street. Was the money just for your Wall or just because you could?
10
@Barbara There's the voracious appetite of the Military Industrial Complex to consider.
2
@gschultens Indeed. That same complex that a more learned Republican than today's "posers" and Trump.
Sadly, Ike's warnings were not heeded and the government trough was enlarged.
1
Lest anyone forget, this is not the first time we've hung the Kurds out to dry. At the end of the first Iraq war, rather than march into Baghdad and take out Saddam ourselves, we left it to popular uprisings in various parts of the country (which we promised to support) including the Kurdish region in the north. We failed to provide the promised support, however, and Iraqi Republican Guard forces still loyal to Saddam brutally crushed the Kurdish rebellion, with tens of thousands dead, and over two million displaced.
It turns out there have been half a dozen other instances dating back to 1923 where the US has betrayed the Kurds (see link below). I suppose it's only the fact of their ongoing oppressed status that leads them to continually put their faith in us. Perhaps this time they will learn once and for all that they're nothing but a pawn in our greater game. Shame on us.
https://theintercept.com/2019/10/07/kurds-syria-turkey-trump-betrayal/
10
I suppose trump in his “great and unmatched wisdom” doesn’t not find slaughtering our abandoned allies “off limits”...
My guess is he won’t be “totally destroying and obliterating the Economy of Turkey” like he warned...
He’ll save that for countries he hates... like America.
22
"[A]nd has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea."
Isn't there someone who could rewrite Trump's statements so they at least sound like they came from a person of some substance? He's so pitifully vacuous it's embarrassing.
15
Trump is the bad idea.
47
Lindsey Graham is a hypocrite. He says the Turkish incursion is a "disaster in the making" and that our Kurdish allies have been "shamelessly abandoned by the Trump administration." Lindsey Graham and his fellow Republican senators essentially ARE the Trump administration, enabling, encouraging, obfuscating and apologizing for Trump's inept, illegal, amoral and self-serving actions as President since day One. It is the Republicans who are shameless and who have helped create the monster now thrashing desperately inside the crumbling White House. It's more than a disaster -- it's terrifying.
80
Blood is on Trump and his enablers in Congress’s hands. Let’s be very clear. This is what happens when a conman grifter that doesn’t understand geopolitics or the Separation of Powers, or the sacred duty and obligation of public SERVICE becomes President and is allowed to stay there by his enablers, the Vichy GOP, in Congress. The Trump Presidency is an ongoing criminal conspiracy.
37
What I am wondering about: Doesn’t Turkey as NATO member have certain rules to follow. What is the answer of the European NATO members?
Only “deep concern”? There must be severe sanctions and actually an expel of Turkey out of the alliance. Needless to say that Turkey massively uses French and German (and Russian) arms.
10
What did Erdogan threaten? What did he promise? Was this about information he has on the Trump family's financing in Turkey? His buildings are Trump in name only, and may be a laundering operation. Or maybe he has recordings of their conversations about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, including comments about the Saudis and the American press. One thing we can be sure about: there was nothing from our president's mouth about human rights, freedom or loyalty. Foreign enemies around the world smell blood now, and they know how to play him.
Supposedly, the White House initiated the phone call that led to this debacle because Erdogan felt snubbed at the UN. Trump winged it, and now thousands of our allies will die and ISIS is cheering. But if we had an actual, functioning State Department with experience and finesse, and a president who was literate, prepared and open to guidance instead insisting on toadies , that call might have never been necessary.
19
If it was such a "'bad idea"" why didn't you say that to Turkish President Erdogan? Instead, you gave him the green light to invade northern Syria and attack our most important ally and "boots on the ground" in the fight to defeat ISIS. To follow such a betrayal with such a blatant falsehood is beyond unconscionable. Your abuse of power, your neglect of U.S. security in the region, your ountenancing of what amounts to a campaign of ethnic cleansing are all "high crimes" worthy of impeachment. It's time for Congress to demand the transcript of the conversation you had with Erdogan and determine the extent of your failure to defend our national interest and those allies who gave their lives for it. This is worse than conspiring with a foreign power to dig up "dirt" on the Bidens; it's digging up dirt for the graves of our ally, the Kurds.
20
Trump is responsible for Turkey’s invasion of Syria - he knew it was coming. Not only did Trump have reason to believe Erdoghan would invade but he also invited him to the White House. Today, Trump even joked that the ISIS fighters imprisoned and guarded by the Kurds would flee to Europe, evidently knowing that the ISIS fighters will likely escape once the Kurds focus their attention on fighting the Turks.
Is Trump mad or more likely was he more interested in distracting all of us from his impeachment woes.
Trump needs to be removed.
25
A "bad idea," the US President states. A bad idea that built upon an even worse idea, executed in the absence of discussion or consultation with any entity with even the slightest knowledge of he situation.
The president opened the door to Turkish aggression knowing full well (or at least he should have) that that the void left by his impulsively sudden decision would be filled within minutes by a power that has been itching to whack the Kurds for years.
Now the GOP has the gall to blame Turkey for its Trump-induced "bad idea." Trump himself makes no move to hold Turkey accountable partly because doing so would be absurd in the face of Trumpian enablement.
The whole sorry crowd of Republicans are responsible for this unprecedented foreign policy debacle, impelled by impulse and anchored in arrogant idiocy. The country is being severely damaged, not to mention the rest of the world.
11
Jim Mattis resigning should have been a wakeup call. Republicans have had almost ten months since that day to frame their argument, gather supporters, talk to international partners, come up with a plan of action in the event everything went south by tweet. Wringing their hands now and praying is truly pathetic.
24
This was planned by both Trump and Erdogan, make no mistake. What Trump is getting in return for an impending massacre of Kurds is anyone’s guess. Yet we can be certain that DT will personally profit from such egregiousness. And let us not overlook Mr. Putin’s role, the evil puppeteer.
More and more Americans are learning of Trump’s amorality. But I must say that his GOP Senate is of the same ilk. What say you now, Mitch, Lindsey et al?
15
Yes, Erdogan is a ruthless belligerent and the politics of this region are fraught with complexities going back centuries, but it is at times like this my faith in American foreign policy is sorely tested.
4
Trump doesn't have a clue to economy, environmental, diplomatic, political and especially military ideas and should not be the C&C.
8
Trump apologist and enabler, Lindsey Graham, the apotheosis of cynical, self-serving, shameless politicians, is fully complicit in this humanitarian debacle that further undermines and shreds whatever was left of our nation’s reputation for trustworthiness in the administration of our incessantly-lying and bigoted commander in chief.
30
Putin controlled Trump will continue to tweet mindless gibberish. He will travel to Minneapolis tomorrow night to get his ego stroked by his rabid followers (and those that just are there for the carnival atmosphere). Then no doubt he will travel on to Mar A Lago to have a festive weekend of golf and fine dining. Meanwhile most of us are aghast at the constitutional crisis we are in and the imminent danger to the lives of Kurds, all because of the moronic freak that is Donald Trump. It is a tragedy.
37
@Conner
If ISIS detainees, many from North America, may escape and re-enter their home countries. If so, expect the threat of terror attacks on home soil.
Thank the" Stable Genius" for creating this threat to US (and world) security. You don't just have a Constitutional Crisis...you also have a Probable Security Crisis. Sooooo much "winning", with POTUS DJT!
7
Lindsey Graham has completely sold out his "legacy" and now will only be remembered as being tied to Trump and his idiotic and dangerous mismanagement of our country. Save your thoughts and prayers. We need *Americans* in leadership who will behave as if the fate of our country and maybe the world is at stake. Can't vote these people out fast enough to save the Kurds, but maybe to save our democracy.
20
“A bad idea.” That coming from an expert on bad ideas. I guess it takes one to know one.
10
@CC Seems that he is operating under the illusion that people, countries, trust him and respect his advice and opinion.
2
That's what happens when your country is ruled by a reality TV star with severe mental illness.
35
Erdogan has faith. He is trying to bring Turkey back to pre-Enlightenment days. That is why he doesn't know how bad ISIS is.
4
If this complete betrayal of our Kurdish allies leads to ISIS unleashed, the next terrorist attack is totally and completely on Trump and his GOP.
20
What did Trump think would happen when he gave away the store to Erdogan, who views our (former) allies the Kurds as terrorists? His military advisors, even Pompeo, must have informed him what the fallout would be, but our "very stable genius" did it anyway.
Bad idea? Donald Trump is a walking, talking 'bad idea.'
15
Lindsey Graham acting outraged, at least until tomorrow, when he'll be back before King Donnie I, on his knees pledging fealty.
The people I have sympathy for are the Kurds, who actually believed the pathetically lying United States of Trump and his minions.
18
Trump showed how little he cares what Erdogan does to Kurds when his Turkish guards brutally attacked protesters at the Turkish Embassy in Washington in 2017. Trump never said a word and I don't believe anything was ever done to arrest or charge those involved. Trump's entire presidency has been one horrible, illegal, dishonest, uncivil deed after another. It needs to end now.
24
And what will happen to all the ISIS fighters that the Kurds have been holding back? Will they quietly slip into Europe and the USA?
14
'Althogh this concerns me, I'm hoping we can find common ground.'
- Susan Collins
12
@Blue in Green True to form.
5
@Blue in Green - I wonder how on earth she lives with herself.
2
Let’s see...hmmm...was it the desire to ingratiate himself with a dictator or the need to create a distraction from the impeachment inquiry?
Either way, Trump wins! Did you ever think you’d see so much winning?
Just too bad for the allies, I mean losers, who have believed in us and fought gallantly on our behalf.
9
One has to wonder how the conversation between Trump and the Turkish president unfolded before Trump pulled American troops out of Syria so American allies could be attacked and killed by Turkey. Was Trump duped? Bribed? The possibility of “great and unmatched wisdom” isn’t very likely. Where's the tape?
6
Graham's criticisms of Trump will be short lived. By the weekend, Graham will return to being Trump's most devoted sycophant and toady.
17
Republicans busy castigating Trump for the attacks on the Kurds should look in the mirror, then they will see who is really responsible. They are the great enablers.
25
And now from the GOP: “Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends the Kurdish people.”
Sickening, spineless, power mad, compromised fools. As for the Democrats, quit playing nice. Issue and enforce subpoenas, hold in contempt, move straight ahead with impeachment.
In a perfect democracy, ALL members of Congress would be supporting a 25th amendment removal of a madman from the office of President.
18
I hope our allies correctly place the blame for this squarely on the GOP. Most Americans do Not support this madness.
7
@EW No, but most Americans aren't christian.
2
During their phone call, I wonder upon which political rival Erdogan promised he'd "do a favor" for "Don" Trump.
9
Trump, our stable genius with great and unmatched wisdom, encourages Erdogan to murder the Kurds, our dear friends who sacrificed so much to defeat ISIS.
Once again, to make sense of Trump’s every irrational action, consider his personal finances and his obvious conspiracy with Putin. Today, focus on his towers in Istanbul and Putin’s control of Assad. Russia will soon be in full control of the Middle East, build a powerful naval base in Syria and control the Mediterranean Sea.
Instead of getting out of wars in the Middle East, Trump may well have left us with only one horrible way to save the Kurds - the immediate use military force against Turkey and, perhaps, even Russian jets if they try to assist in the slaughter of our Kurdish allies. Our murderous traitor of a president should be removed from office without further delay. The three Moscow-teers, Trump, Barr, and McConnell, of course, will simply tell Turkey that their actions are “a bad idea”. Erdogan will tremble in fear.
It may be too late for the voters in November, 2020, to save us all from King Trump and his cowardly, corrupt, Republican Party.
12
A "bad idea" which Trump enabled. What government will ever trust the U.S. again?
Abandoning its allies, the brave Kurds, is despicable. As I write 12 innocent Kurd civilians are dead because of Trump. He hasblood on his hands.
9
The only power that we, the little people, have is to call our Republican Senators and representatives. We must remind them that, since they have enabled Trump despite knowing of his obvious unfitness for office, they too own this atrocity and have Kurdish blood on their hands, and that we will vote, register others to vote, and throw them out. Every Republican who has stood by Trump until now has dishonored his/her oath of office by leaving our national security in the hands of an sociopathic, corrupt Russian asset who simply says that Turkey’s assault is a “bad idea.” Despicable.
4
President Trump on Wednesday called a Turkish military operation along the border with Syria “a bad idea”
Trump is crazy Turkey's invasion of Kurdistan is not a bad idea, it is a lot of dead children of of our strongest allies in the Middle East. I for one am ashamed.
I agree with Trumps idea of ending the forever wars. We could have worked up an exit strategy gotten the Kurds some SAMs maybe even some M-1 tanks and Black-hawks etc.
This is just sicking; I mean when I think Liz Cheney is right things are bad.
DUMP_TRUMP Sad
4
What did Erdogan promise Trump in exchange for Trump's green light?
"OK Mr. President, I'll come visit the White house next month. You can show me the Putin Bedroom."
5
Trump ‘s election was the very bad idea from which all bad events flow.
16
The only picture that comes to mind when I think of President Trump making this decision is Pumice Pilate washing his hands and letting the victim go to the wolves.
2
President Trump won't have very much trouble convincing his supporters not to worry too much about the Kurds who have sacrificed thousands of their lives fighting ISIS for us.
8
Everything we hear is a lie:
- Turkey is not interested in the SDF and it doesn't want to resettle refugees. It wants territorial expansion.
- The US is not abandoning the Kurds, it is handing them on a silver plate to the Turks. First it made them dismantle their defenses. And now it is preventing the Syrian government and the Russians from helping them.
5
The only question regarding this is who benefits from trump’s shameful retreat?
7
Tomorrow, all the usual GOP talking heads will be making excuses for Trump.
7
So in his infinite wisdom he has completely destroyed any future alliance we might ever need not only in the Middle East but almost every other part of this planet. So much for the stable genius theory..... but his base is just happy that we don’t have to be in any country that has people who dress differently than they do. Makes perfect sense to me
6
Oh wow. Now he says it's a bad idea. After first giving the green light for this to happen.
5
Yes, abandoning the Kurds is immoral. It is also likely in the long run to blow back on us by creating new enemies and making it harder to find new allies when we need them.
13
Trump made bad, uninformed, and irrational choices once again. Trump is now personally responsible for the green lighting the slaughter of thousands of our own allies. Congress and the Senate are now ALSO culpable because they allowed this to stand. If the legislature had any conscience or decency they would censure the president and start immediately enact shutting off funding for Turkey and Trump's favorite projects. I served and I say for shame to both branches of government.
7
I would agree with Trump for getting out of the Middle East IF HE WOULD get out of Iraq, Saudi Arabia (stop selling munitions and rockets to kill Yemenis), leave Iran alone, get out navy out of the Persian Gulf, and most of all, stop letting Israel doing what they want. If he wants to get out of the Middle East, he should do all of that as well as get out of Afghanistan. Then he means out. Just stabbing the Kurds and saying he wants to get out the "expensive" war which as going on for centuries (2000 B.C.E.) does not saying getting out of the way of the Turks against the Kurds is NOT getting out of the Middle East.
3
Finally, I agree with Trump. Abandoning the Kurds was a very bad idea, but it was Trump's idea, not anyone else's idea.
If Trump didn't provide enough proof he is unfit for duty as Pres, this episode cinches it.
America does NOT abandon allies.
The Kurds fought side by side with our men and women but now that Trump unilaterally decided to cut them loose, they will be slaughtered by Turkey.
Trump is an abomination, an insult to MY country, and the oath we both took.
28
For the past two years Graham has spent his time licking Trumps shoes, and now he's advising him on the treachery of abandoning an ally. Nice try Lindsey but you've squandered any chance of every being considered a man to follow,
11
Mr. Graham, you have correctly stated that the situation unfolding in Syria is a "disaster in the making" and the reemergence of ISIS is eminent. If you and your Republican counterparts in the Senate truly believe these statements, then the path forward is simple: stop brown-nosing to our unhinged President and get him removed from office whether by Senate conviction or the 25th.
The ramifications of this horrendous move in Syria will be felt for decades ahead as many children being displaced and orphaned by the Turkish onslaught will undoubtedly be taught that their lives so abruptly went to shambles because of America. They will grow up to hate Americans. Trump poisons us all.
10
Now is the time for a US commander in the theater to say, “See that Turkish aircraft on the radar screen? Kill it. Now.”
Turkey: “Why do all of aircraft keep disappearing?”
A day of disappearing aircraft might change Turkey’s position on the matter.
It’s time that someone showed some backbone.
2
"Bad Idea?" Who will hold Trump responsible for anything?
11
Trump: 'The Kurds did not help us during WWII'.
Is there absolutely no limits to how low this man can get?
14
Trump did this.
He has been advised (by Lindsey Graham) to pretend he did not just let Turkey massacre the Kurds. He did allow this to happen. Isis militants will run amok. Putin got his wish of a US free Syria.
Trump is dangerous and has proved a better ally to Turkey and Russia than to our Kurdish allies.
6
The blood is every Kurd is on Trump’s hands. There is no disputing this. He alone acted and pulled the rug out from under an allied force. As a veteran of the Gulf War I am appalled at Trump’s actions. His trading of lives for political or economic gain (Trump’s only motivation) is repugnant. He should be impeached on this alone.
9
Following Trump’s announcement that he was withdrawing our troops from Syria, he defended his decision in part by stating, “let them take care of it.” His so-called warning to Erdogan about Turkish aggression against the Kurds has been ignored, meaning Erdogan clearly has no respect for Trump, or, worse, there is a secret deal in play here -probably the most likely scenario.
9
In June 2017 filing, President Trump claims to have made between $1 million to $5 million on Trump Towers Istanbul. No one knows exact figures as the president refuses to release his tax returns.
He can reverse himself in that classic Trump fashion by now saying Turks incursion is a bad idea, but without an open book policy regarding potential personal gains and losses - which may hinge on US diplomacy - no American can fairly evaluate the true nature of diplomatic decisions (which BTW just on the surface looks and feels like us selling out our longtime friends and allies).
Open the books up Mr. Trump, or relinquish the position granted you by public trust, as we cannot trust your hand on the rudder with so much hidden from view.
4
If it wasn't for our brave Kurdish friends, we would still be dealing with a severe ISIS crisis. Trump now throws the Kurds under the bus and takes all of the credit for mostly defeating ISIS. Why would any sane, honest leader do that? One possibility is that Putin is influencing Trump somehow. To what end?
Turkey's military actions in Syria will open up the possibility of Russian conflict with Turkey, perhaps in the defense of the sovereignty of Syria (Russia's ally), or perhaps due to an accidental military incident. If this happens, Russia may be given the pretext to attack Turkey, and finally capture their beloved Tsargrad (Constantinople/Istanbul), the original capital of the eastern orthodox church. Also, if Trump is successful in making Ukraine look like the bad guy in our 2016 elections, Russia may be unhindered in annexing their ancestral home of Kiev, and gain near full control of the Black Sea, the Bosporus and Dardanelles.
6
Astonishing that our leaders have relegated themselves to twitter "influencers." What are Mr. Trump, Senator Graham and Representative Cheney thinking - that it's enough to send thoughts and prayers to our allies?
5
The Turkish attack is but one indication of how a President unshackled from checks and balances can disrupt the security of the US, and for reasons totally unknown to Congress. There is still a question as to whether or not the GOP Senate will convict Trump if he is impeached by the House. Assuming that Trump survives the impeachment process, the Turkish affair must serve as a lesson to Congress as a whole to assert Congressional powers over the office of the President to prevent Trump, and any future president from wielding war powers, trade powers, or any of the many powers exercised by Trump that rightfully need consent of Congress. For example, in theory Congress has control of the budget, but Trump's diversion of funds to the Wall and the freeze of funds to Ukraine proved this to be false. The Constitution provides for cabinet and other appointments to require consent of Senate. Yet Trump sidestepped that by making "acting appointments." The GOP should now see the flaws in its policy to stand by Trump's multiple power grabs. When Trump finally acts in a way that the GOP recognizes as wrong, it is now too late to retrieve Congressional participation in our security and our support for our allies. Turkey attacked. We cannot let Trump or his successors have free reign. This is what happens when the GOP "lets Trump be Trump." Does this bring to mind the words "Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."
4
@Harold
This is what totally puzzles me. How did Trump get such total control that he can appoint anyone in any position he wants, move money from one project to another without oversight.
I mean appointing his son-in-law to deal with the complex problems of the middle east? Where is the backlash to that appointment? It's like he gave his family the freedom to play the big government game and they can play any character they choose.
We've never seen anything like it. He's like a bull in a china shop except our government, our country is the china shop.
We need to push back against all the over-the-top decisions he makes.
I think he should be tried in the world court for aiding and abetting in war crimes against the Kurds. Isn't there any committee in congress to open an investigation to censure Trump for the slaughter of the Kurds?
How long do we have to wait to get some relief? Can't we start the impeachment proceedings yesterday?
Did Erdogan write Trump a beautiful love letter?
It seems Trump loses whatever common sense he had, whenever a world leader gives him praise.
For someone who claims to know more than his generals as he is a stable genius, yet Trump continues to show he has little idea what he is doing, most of the time.
Making mistakes as a reality TV personality may see your ratings drop. Making mistakes as the US President, costs lives and lowers the reputation of the US as a reliable ally,
8
So nice that Republican leadership sends its "thoughts and prayers" to the Kurds whom we have just abandon. They have rehearsed this line in obstructing domestic gun control many times. The Turks know Trump is all bluster and no substance. They will easily get away with it. Republicans know they can posture without worries about being effective since their base (by default Trump's base) can't locate Syria on a map, and will fall for whatever rhetoric the wants to twitter. When Republicans campaign again it will simply become another version of "Oh well, there was nothing we could do."
3
Turkey certainly seemed poised to act so while the last discussion may have been Sunday evening, it seems that Donald had been making commitments to Erdogan all along. What a shock. Honest Donald, the pillar of rectitude and unmatched wisdom.
Trump first, Trump uber alles. What is unclear?
3
@NJlatelifemom Wouldn't be surprising if this is mixed up with Trump, the Saudis and Jamal Khashoggi. Turkey has been a thorn in Don-the-Con's Saudi relationship over this, it has leverage and legs.
1
The real "bad idea" was electing Donald Trump president. How many more bad ideas before the Republicans realize that they must join with Democrats to send Donald packing via impeachment and conviction?
7
Well, you've got to give Graham and his fellow Republicans points for consistency on this one. This bloodshed would not have happened had they not enabled an incompetent fraud to become and remain President, and now they're offering "prayers." One can safely assume that their "thoughts" will be forthcoming as well.
5
Remember, our allies in Afghanistan, the Mujahideen, became Al-Qaeda after we abandoned them...which led directly to 9/11.
What will happen when we abandon the Kurds?
8
Our Commander-in-Chief has no idea what he's doing. He doesn't read, he listens to Erdogan instead of his own military and State Department, and he makes unwise impulsive decisions based on the last person he talked to.
Talk about a constitutional crisis; no one is safe with him at the helm.
7
Two days ago, Trump gave Turkey the green light to attack Northern Syria leaving Kurds are on their own. Today, he proclaims Turkey's attack is a bad idea. There is just one individual that can make the life and death decisions for many Kurds including children out there. I would like to know from my republican friends if this impetuous decision an impeachable crime? If not, please educate me with some examples that constitutes an impeachable offense.
9
I'm sure Mr. Trump will impose severe economic sanctions now to destroy the Turkish economy - or at least that's what I heard him say...
2
So now Turkey's military incursion is a "bad idea"--ooh, that's a serious reprimand if ever I've heard one. Wasn't it yesterday that Trump declared there would be serious consequences for any such action by Turkey. I guess he got another call from Erdogan and this time there was a promise of a Trump hotel in their capital city. This reality TV president is a commander in chief of nothing but his business and his impulses, like a boy playing with his Legos.
3
@TRJ I guess I wasn't just riffing on hot air, there is considerable evidence of Trump's company having numerous business interests in Turkey including the Trump Towers in Istanbul. A very strong investigative report by NBC news today details various ties between the Trump Org and numerous Turkish business deals--something like 119 different business operations in which Trump Org has at least a partial role. To put it bluntly and in the vernacular, Trump is dirty in this current Turkey conflict of interest and so many others.
1
' President Trump on Wednesday called a Turkish military operation along the border with Syria “a bad idea” '
So, 2 days ago he was going to abandon our Syrian allies, until Republicans said NayNay.
It seems like tRump was listening to Erdogan and not considering the damage that would be caused.
2
When will the REPUBLICANS wake up and realize that any given moment he could "push" the button on a whim? His need for attention at any cost did not stop with Syria...
4
About Erdogan slaughtering the Kurds, President Trump says, "I will wipe out his ... economy if that happens. I've already done it once". Again with the enormous threats. Yes, Trump has tried hard to wipe out Iran's economy, because they had the lack of imagination to picture a president coming along after Obama who would be so insecure that he would try to undo every single thing Obama put into place. With nothing prepared as a substitute.
I fear the only economy Trump will wipe out is ours.
10
The Kurds ought to be awarded a prize for their moral courage and bravery in the trenches of Syria, not a death sentence. Trump wipes his hands of them as if he’s swatting flies. What must our other allies think of us?
4
Trump, as usual, wants it both ways. He opens the door to Turkey and then complains when they walk through. The lesson here is that Trump has absolutely no loyalty to anyone. All our allies, especially Israel, should realize that we are not a reliable partner while Trump is in charge. And all those Republicans, many of whom (like Graham, Cruz and Rubio), etc.) who swore they’d never accept him and now adore him should realize that they are as dispensable as the Kurds. I hope they all go down with him.
5
Yesterday there was peace. Today there is war. That is how much power America has over an unsuspecting populace. War and Peace / Life or Death. When will again value how important it is for those who exercise power on our behalf to have only the best judgement and the wisdom of expert advisers?
458
@Brad Burns The most dastardly part of Trump's comment about Normandy and the Kurds is the fact that in the years leading up to World War II, the Kurds were getting slaughtered...by Turkey.
25
@Brad Burns
For Sultan Erdogan, "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength".
7
@Ivan
"The most dastardly part of Trump's comment about Normandy and the Kurds is the fact that in the years leading up to World War II, the Kurds were getting slaughtered...by Turkey."
Not only that, but the Kurds' ancestors have been in the region for over 5,000 years, and the Turks for 750.
Although they were promised autonomy by Woodrow Wilson after brutal repression sometimes amounting to genocide by the Ottoman Empire and its successorr rump state Turkey, they were knifed in the back by France and Britain, doing a deal with the Turkish rump state, and they remain to this day the largest group in the world without self-determination in their ancient ancestral land.
And in their Syrian enclave Rojava, saved at huge cost from Assad and Isis, they have - or had - already established a remarkable model of egalitarian open democracy, with leading roles for women.
Erdogan, meanwhile, was and is enabling dome of the most extreme Islamist groups in the Syrian civil war.
Shame on you, America, a century after your first betrayal of your noble former ally, which did do much for peace and stability in this largely godforsaken region.
14
On Sunday, Trump gave Turkey the green light to launched airstrikes and fired artillery across its border into northeastern Syria.
On Wednesday, Trump stated “The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea”
Even though “a Kurdish-led militia has fought alongside the United States in the campaign against the Islamic State, or ISIS, over the past five years” Erdogan has repeatedly guided Trump toward positions that pit him against his own national security advisers and Republicans allies. Trump supported the action Erdogan laid out. Any attempts by Trump to walk back that conversation or deny he had knowledge or approved the action would be vintage Trump.
In the meantime, this has developed into more than just a “bad idea” but rather a deadly and terribly costly debacle in which untold number of innocent civilians have been and continue to be slaughtered.
There’s no putting that genie back inside the bottle.
This entire situation is on that guy and no one else.
813
@Marge Keller You know that, and I know that, but his base will believe literally everything he says.
150
@CritterDoc - yes they will and do.
53
@Marge Keller I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was all (or mostly) an effort on Trump's part to divert attention from the impeachment proceedings. This is a man who will sacrifice anyone and everyone who threatens his very insecure sense of himself. His personal stage is the only stage he's interested in.
83
Now there’s a phone transcript we should get to see. What did Erdogan promise you in return for abandoning our Kurdish allies to be slaughtered, “President” Trump? Or maybe he threatened you.
196
@Cay -
Why, he promised that Trump would continue to get his royalties from his Trump Towers in Turkey, of course.
The Kurds were just, essentially, contractors. And we all know how Trump treats little-people contractors.
8
When ISIS comes back, as they will, I hope they go to the White House first.
Really, though, what is everybody upset about? Republicans already said they're very, very unsure about this. It'll be fine...
29
Trump is a co-conspirator in every bad idea.
66
Like he had no hand in it. Evangelist Pat Robertson warned that Trump could lose his "heavenly mandate" over this. Please! His mandate comes from more southerly regions and a base that might wake one day to the realization that he has betrayed them from the beginning. And, if he retains power, will come at them all the harder in the future.
61
@vsr Maybe. Just Maybe. This action will speed up the second coming!
1
@vsr I would be happy if Trump merely had a mandate from heaven to stop lying to American citizens.
1
@vsr
Funny, I think Trump's actions are the opposite of heavenly.
1
RE: Trump says: “Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place.”
Turkey has been very clear on this: they are going after Kurds.
54
The White House assures us that Turkey will protect Kurdish civilians, much like Trump protects the rule of law, honors our commitments to allies, and always tells the truth. What could possibly go wrong?
120
If the House cannot remove him through impeachment, some irate Kurd may well succeed in doing so - and Trump will regret the day he obstructed impeachment.
35
donald said “The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea,”
The electoral college made this president a "bad idea".
donald is so for over his head and pay level.
40
The Kurds did more than fight "alongside" the US.
The embedded US troops acted as liaison to use Kurdish intelligence to put our drones up to verify targets, and to provide "stand-off" support to reduce the Kurdish casualties, and soften the ISIS targets.
The Kurds have done the direct combat with ISIS. The Kurds have captured and held territory. The Kurds have cleared buildings and removed mines. The Kurds have, literally, died protecting US troops as our troops manage the indirect fire.
The Kurds have also captured and held over 10000 ISIS members--soon to be turned loose. But Trump says that's OK, because they will go to Europe.
Trump just wrote the Kurds off, stripping their forces of indirect support, and subjecting them to a new army with aircraft, tanks and artillery. The Kurds have nowhere to run. They will be slaughtered and die because we elected abject filth to the presidency.
Trump worships at the feet of ruthless, lawless dictators and does just what they want. (As trump noted, he gets lots of money from Russia, and a lucrative hotel deal in Turkey and others in Saudi Arabia--so this makes it OK--for Trump...)
How long before the US ever finds another friend or ally willing to die supporting us?
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@Mark Johnson
So about the comment 'that's OK because they will go to Europe'- Maybe one of the side effects that he wanted to see was Europe in crisis mode because of the influx of refugees.
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@Mark Johnson
I agree. A case of personal wealth before loyalty to a valiant ally in the fight against ISIS
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@Mark Johnson Trump worshiped Roy Cohn. What more do you need to know? Clearly Trump's financial standing is very important to him, but what's causing him the most distress at his point are his low ratings, probable impeachment, embarrassment and loss of face. He's losing. Being a loser is the most devastating thing Trump could imagine happening.
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At last the American President has conceived of a gesture which can convene everyone around the adjective, "sickening." But it leaves a trace mere Clorox can't erase: a badge of irremediable, unredeemable shame upon the highest office in this land. The only sound we listen for now is, "end."
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Throwing your partners under the bus is always a bad idea.
Will be hard to get any ally to TRUST us in the future and now Trump has to literally live with spilled blood on his hands.
This is not a HOAX.
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@J. R. The US has a long history of throwing 'allies' under the bus. Not too long ago the Mujahideen [of Afghanistan] were allies. Then they morphed into the Taliban. BUT before that the US abandoned the mujahideen as soon as the USSR left. THAT would have been a good time for 'nation-building', and would have prevented the birth of Taliban. Whose start was OK - as law enforcers. Then they started blowing up schools ---
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@J. R.
Blood on his hands? do you think Trump cares one whit about that? all he cares about is himself, no one else. Not if anyone else will view our commitment to allies in the future. He is ignorant, uninformed and does not care to learn. Did he consult the Pentagon or our DoS before doing this? No, He is one of those people who the last person he speaks to is the winner. Speaking of, are we tired of ALL this winning yet. God, i never thought my country would behave like this. He truly is an abomination, and is ruining our standing in the world. It will take years, if not decades to get it back. I am sorry for the Kurds who got caught up in his pathetic presidency.
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Wag the Dog did not work. He is still in trouble at home and it is still #1 in the news.
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Must be very comforting to the Kurds to hear that the president thinks this is a bad idea.
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Must be comforting to know they are just collateral “damage” as he looks for distractions from his impeachment. Folks have and will die all because of his nasty psychopathy.
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There's no mystery here. Trump will benefit financially from whatever deal he made with Erdogan. Trump's primary, perhaps only, concern is his and his family's growing wealth. Whether it's dealing with Russia, Saudi Arabia, or Turkey, Trump is always looking out for himself first and foremost. Once he's out of office, books will be written about the revelations to come, financial and otherwise.
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Bad idea? a lot of people getting killed and Trump calls it a bad idea?
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@dee
A lot of good people being killed by bad people.
As in Afghanistan in the 80s, America is supporting Islamists who hate democracy, women's rights, most else of what America used to stand for - and often hate America itself.
Great.
Once again Reason, Facts, Morality are thrown under the bus in pursuit of short-term, shortsighted selfish ends.
Is this what ' Makes America Great'?
It makes the civilized world utterly sick.
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And just like that, the U.S. is now an unreliable ally selling out the people who have done the most to aid us in the region for decades. People who are our allies will die while Trump wheels and deals in the background for his own benefit.
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@Flaco Trump's not 'wheeling and dealing'. He's flailing. The Republican senators are simply trying to keep up.
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The courageous Republicans are fully willing to call out Trump on anything that doesn't affect the bottom line of their plutocrat masters. On the Democratic side, we have the stooges of the plutocrats that are in favor of any socially liberal policy that doesn't cost them a dime in wages or taxes.
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And does Trump take any responsibility for this? I firmly expect him to blame this fiasco on the Deep State, or maybe Hilary or Joe.
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"Trump said he was holding the country responsible for preventing the release of ISIS fighters ...and for ensuring “that ISIS does not reconstitute in any way, shape, or form.”"
He doesn't get it, he gave away US leadership to Russia, Turkey and Iran way back. He has a say only if they allow him a say, which also gives them leverage. Over five years and thousands of Kurdish deaths to get to a point where ISIS is imprisoned and more or less impotent - and he just blows it up. If ISIS do reconstitute Trump bears enormous responsibility for it, not to mention the deaths and massacres of the Kurds and other people in that area and fanning the flames of violence and war in the region again. Okay, now we know this admin's White House visits have a huge price tag, what is the favor that Turkey doing for Trump?
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@angel98 Not doubling the taxes on his Turkish Tower?
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Donald Trump's unilateral abandoning of the Kurds, the only group in the Middle East that has been helpful to us in fighting ISIS is unconscionable. Turkey will now slaughter these brave people and we will have done irreparable damage to what little is left of our reputation in the world. I'm now convinced that Congress needs to intervene and Vice-President Pence take over. At the very least it will put an adult back into the Oval Office.
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@Marty Goetz And that is truly the least we could do. Pence being the second least-qualified since he supported whatever Trump wanted to do, a co-conspirator, if you will.
Pelosi to replace Trump AND Pence. Trump AND Pence to prison in 2019!
Republicans MUST advance a better candidate for 2020. There's time, but not much time. Do it!
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What financial interests does Trump have in Turkey? I'm sure that's a factor in his restraint against Erdogan.
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Trump will show Erdogon. He will tweet about his "bad idea." No mention though of the thousands of people who are at risk due to Trump's "bad idea."
Putin thought it was a very good idea.
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Mr. Trump. Removing 50 or so Troops from bases near the border to bases further south - for no other reason than to untie Erdogan's hands and free him to invade - in no way shape or form "ends endless wars," and really just allows another war to begin.
On top of that, it sends a message to every ally in the region and the world at large who can actually work with us to end endless wars, that no matter how great their sacrifices, we can cut and run at a moment's notice.
This is not how to do it Mr. President. And you know it, and know that when you made this decision, it had nothing to do with ending wars. Stop lying. And start consulting with your Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the new Chairman you just appointed who happens to be incredibly bright, your State Department, your Department of Defense... consulting with common sense... do it.
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America's future is in grave danger when our regional or traditional allies, have no reason what so ever to trust our government.
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