Has the UN addressed this current mess?
This will give Putin Syria, then he can build the pipeline of oil from Iran and he has his good friend Trump to thank, I wonder if Trump will be a share holder in this enterprise?
3
With a click of His Magnificent Fingers on the keyboard leading to a tweet to His followers, the President unilaterally changed Middle East policy. No warning was needed to any of those who might have an interest, especially the Kurds, who were to be hung out to dry. Poof, He decided and then Poof all troops, their supplies, their bases etc. should have instantly vanished from the area. Unfortunately, that's not how things work and a tweet is not how major foreign policy changes should be announced. The results of His action are going to be horrendous, and already folks who supported and helped us have died. But, the key issue, especially for all those who believe the US Constitution should be read as the Founding Fathers wrote it: where does it say that when a certain type of person is President, He is above the law, He needs to give no advance warning to anyone who might need to do something to implement what the policy, or to allies who depend on a policy being one way, especially if it changes.
Funny, I can't find that wording. I hope someone favoring the fast tracking of carefully vetted individuals into judicial positions can.
In the meantime, however, our former allies, the Kurds, may be exterminated. I pray that a miracle happens and they will all be saved.
5
This is not the behaviour I had ever expected of Americans, such a disappointment as an Australian and a friend of the the American people I sure hope you wouldnt do it to us. Putin of course would like a foothold in the Middle East and Syria might be its prize and will surely receive it thanks to his great friend President Trump of the United Stated of America.
2
We obviously have learned nothing from history. The Viet Minh became the Viet Cong. The Mujahedeen became the Taliban and now who knows what the Kurds will become. This is the problem of picking allies in a fight you are not willing to see thru the end. I am sure there are "big" reasons to justify these travesties. I just find it hard to believe they are honorable.
This is how you manufacture another 9/11 scenario organically. While we blame Trump for this, the suicide bombers who will avenge their expunged bloodline won't tell the difference between the "democratically elected leader" and the people who facilitated the process. Consequences matter. We need to stop pushing blame.
1
Lots of warhawk interventionists now amongst NYT readers. The anti-war left is dead and now wants us to send our children to fight and die to establish a Kurdish Homeland...Send your own children to fight send your own money to pay....Advisors say it won't take long to win. Your kids will be home soon!
1
You're confusing war making and peace keeping. Nobody is clammering for war, we're just trying to prevent ethnic cleansing like the one we saw in Srebrenica, Bosnia and many other places in the world.
9
Erdogan is playing Trump and threatening NATO. Remove Erdogan & Assad and Putin will shrink back into his hole.
1
Indeed, Trump has blood on his hands for his betrayal of the Kurds! In an unstable Middle East, he has further destabilized the situation and invited ethnic cleansing and potential genocide. After his removal from office in January 2021, he will probably stand trial for crimes committed in the U.S. He should then stand trial at the The Hague in the International Criminal Court (ICC), for crimes against humanity!
1
@Vetpolpundit I am not a Trump fan, but this is actually an Obama problem. The YPG/PKK Kurds have committed serious ethnic cleansing and drove millions of Arabs/Kurds/other minorities into Turkey - to open up space for their "state" in Syria. Where do you think 3.6 million refugees in Turkey come from? All the towns you hear on the news today are Arab towns, which makes me wonder how the YPG/PKK Kurds were able to occupy and fortify them.
2
Hope that detailed documentaries and records are made of the Turkish assault on the Kurds. After the Turks slaughtered the Armenians in genocide, they spent the next century denying it. Made it treason to mention the Armenian genocide.
1
Donald Trump has been engaged in "ethics" cleansing since January 2017.
3
@Doug Paterson:
I'd agree with you wholly, but I doubt he has a clue as to what ethics are . . .
1
I have changed my mind about Trump. It's not incompetence (he's a pretty competent crook), and greed is only part of it. But what really drives Donald Trump is cruelty. He revels in being cruel. Cruelty drives him, whether it is betraying the loyal Kurds, the parents of a slain soldier, or more recently having the alleged American killer of a British couple's son, behind a curtain at the White House so they could meet in a terribly cruel and inhumane photo-op. Trump is one of the most cruel and nasty people I have ever known about. And he loves being cruel. This is why he must be gone as soon as possible.
3
@Voter: Trump revels in masochism as much as he does in cruelty. He bleeds for his followers as if from stigmata.
1
Last month, Turkish President Erdogan welocmed Iranian President Rouhani and Russian President Putin to Ankara, Turkey.
Our foes - Syria's Assad, Putin and Rouhani - and Erdogan all stand to gain from Trump's US troop withdrawal in Syria.
The US is the biggest loser in all this. And it signaled to Russia and Iran - and to the wider world - that, when push comes to shove, Trump once again has no appetite for confrontation and will back down rather than use all of our available resources.
Our standing in the world has diminished. And Trump is to blame and bears sole responsibility.
3
The Middle East is mired in tribal customs and culture. When they can kill their fellow Muslims because they belong to a 'different sect' there will NEVER be peace. The West has never understood, so any action causes an unanticipated reaction.
We live in a Global world right now, not such a positive as so many elites would have us believe. I don't want to be at war for eternity, but leaving the Kurds to Turkey is a disgrace. I know many think this is Trump's 'fault' and I see it the same. But, on a daily basis Progressives scream for leaving the middle east and cutting the military. While world peace is a lofty and admirable goal, it will not happen. We can only maintain a presence, as we've done since WWII, to discourage those countries that seek 'new borders' by taking, and to defend our allies.
Trump was and is wrong, and those that agree with this pull out are equally naive. Obama was wrong when he pulled out of Iraq and touted it as an achievement in 2012. We know what the results were - a strengthening of Sunni power and a spread of ISIS. Hard to be President and make these decisions, I suppose, but it seems pretty straightforward to me - keep a military presence in regions that have no desire or intent for peace or humanitarian actions. We knew this after WWII, what has happened?
Kudos to Ben Hubbard. Exceptionally brave person to be on the ground in such a perilous situation. Long live the first amendment!
This is Trump at his worst. The disruption of the tentative equilibrium in Northeast Syria is causing lives to be lost and hundreds of thousands of people to flee. The Kurds have been instrumental in rolling up the Islamic State in this region and do not deserve to be abandoned. Now Erdogan, yet another member of Trump’s authoritarian clique, is talking about Turkey acquiring nuclear weapons. Just what we need in the Middle East, another nuclear power!
2
Trump's Kurdish Allies are as disposable as his GOP allies.
2
Conducting Foreign Policy is like 3 Dimensional Chess, requiring complex strategic and tactical action. President Trump is playing Checkers. Erdogan jumped Trump's pieces and is now declaring "King Me".
Cancelling the Iran Peace Deal, backing out of The Paris Climate Accord, Disparaging NATO, and helping to weaken the EU, Trump has now successfully destroyed 70 years of economic stability and peace. A peace 420,000 Americans died to achieve in WW2.
It spells the end of American greatness.
2
__ "But if he felt any bitterness that the Americans his fighters had battled alongside for years were now running for the exits, he did not show it, instead expressing hope that the partnership could live on.__"
The press needs to cut this nonsense out. The Kurds lost 11,600, while the Americans lost 3. No, the zero on my keyboard hasn't gone dead.
'battled alongside' is a trumpish scrap of offal, unrelated to reality.
2
After the impeachment then we begin on the crimes against humanity proceedings.
After that we liquidate assets of the persons in this administration and their ill gotten gains and use that money for reparations for those we have harmed. From children caged and separated from their families to the Kurds.
Beyond that I am open to suggestions.
6
All Trump had to simply state on his call with Erdogan was "No, I will not let you do that. Our troops will remain in their positions, not withdraw and they will engage if you do act."
Doesn't Trump participate in DoD war game scenarios as other presidents have engaged in, or has he blown them off to golf, watch Fox News and tweet instead?
5
I am incensed by our withdrawal, leaving the Kurds, our allies, to fend for themselves. That this president has decided to align with Turkey is an abomination. Turkey, that has never even acknowledged their slaughter of the Armenians-- the first Genocide of the 20th century. My grandparents were survivors of that Genocide, their horrific experiences haunting me even a century later. That our president has chosen to side with Erdogan and Turkey is a hard slap in the face of every Armenian, Assyrian, Kurd, and other ethnic group massacred by the Turks.
My grandparents are all gone now, but I will never forget their chilling stories of survival against the odds. I am ashamed to be an American now.
4
When a Democrat tries to pull us out of war they are attacked by the Republicans. When a Republican tries to pull us out of war they are attacked by Democrats.
Where is the anti-war left? Gone- their convictions are empty. They would sacrifice any number of US kids to hurt Trump. Not their kids, of course, because they are anti-war.
2
What I find interesting is, I hear so much wailing and moaning about the US leaving the Kurds behind yet I see no other country stepping in to say, ‘Kurds, don’t worry about it, we’ve got your back.’
Where are all of the other Kurdish allies worldwide? Is the US the only Kurdish ally in the world?
Have any Muslim countries stepped in? Have any Asian? European? South American? Canada? Australia?
For the record I agree with Trump on this, although I strongly disagree with him on everything else. The US needs to bring our troops home. The US needs to assume a defensive posture.
Yes, in the short term there will be chaos as everything gets sorted out but everything will sort itself out eventually to this particular future state of affairs regardless of whether US troops are in harms way or not.
Let China, the European Union, Russia, or some other country become the World’s Policemen. It’s an expensive proposition, very expensive, with little or nothing to show for it.
At least by pulling our troops back, we’ve save a few thousand. And yes, a select few countries will test our resolve and try to get us to commit to intervention or regime change, but the US must stand fast.
1
"We have no vital interests there..." You've got to be kidding. Doesn't it bother you that Russia is gaining presence in the Middle East? How about if they help Turkey become a nuclear power? What's going on with Trump and Saudi Arabia? Does Trump have a Middle East policy? What is that policy? What about Iran? Isn't our biggest embassy located in Iraq? ad nauseum...
Because we do have "a lot to lose" means that we, indeed, have vital interests there.
That "Trump’s right on this one [pulling out of Syria]" is clearly wrong in so many ways: Trump's action allowed Turkey to start another war in the Middle East; civilian Kurds have been left at the hands of the Turkey and Syrian fighters; our reputation as a reliable ally has been damaged; etc...
Please reflect on what you have written.
6
You should reflect. Russia had an interest in Syria before the war- this is a return to the status quo ante. There is no new war there- just the same war minus US troops. Trump policy regarding Saudi Arabia is the same policy our country has had for forty years- turn a blind eye to the terrorism they finance. Iraq, if it is free and Democratic, will align with Iran. Don't like that? Then we need to support a Sunni dictator there. Reliable Ally? We never promised the Kurds a Homeland. We certainly didn't support one in Iraq.
Everything you write is wrong. Trump is a bad president- but he was right on this. Congress can declare war if they want. I bet no one from your family is going to have to go.
You neocon war mongers are all the same. Peace through war. Life through death. Other families kids can go fight, kill, and die. Your kids get to sit at home and complain.
1
Trump and his followers are now moving on to blame the victim. Very predictable. And NATO needs to take action on Turkey. Why tolerate a viper in the nest.
6
I thought Jared was going to take care of all this.
6
Erdogan has nuclear ambitions and has expressed them in no uncertain terms. There are at least 50 nuclear warheads at our US base in Incirlik, Turkey. After trump allowed himself to be played by Erdogan and green lighting what is essentially genocide, followed up by his ridiculously childish, threatening letter to Erdogan (who reportedly threw in the trash), I wouldn't bet on our easily getting those warheads out of Turkey.
Erdogan is a ruthless dictator, is not our friend and should be expelled from NATO. To think that he could possibly seize those weapons should scare the bejeebers out of everybody.
10
Trump's claim to be pro-life is one of the biggest lies in his entire presidency.
9
Adventures in Betrayal. In Paris this morning, watching CNN International broadcast video of U.S. military trucks skulking out of Syria on the road to Iraq - many in the dead of night. Daytime, enraged Kurds pelting our trucks with potatoes and rocks.
10
We should never have gotten involved in the Middle East to begin with. We need to leave Afghanistan too. We are not the world's policeman and have spent too much money on our military who thinks we are. We should spend that money at home not on foreign soil!
6
Sounds a lot like Chalabi at the time of Iraq. There is no objective and non political telling of this story. Trump is making , for good or ill, a real policy decision about the parameters of US involvement in regional issues.
At the moment, many areas of the world are in turmoil and some in our own Hemisphere.
I see no hue and cry that we are not forceful in Hong Kong where the moral picture is more clear. Talk about defending allied concepts of governance.
Of all the places to put US forces at risk , this border is one of the most volatile. Syria is , itself, a bad actor with key relationships with Russia, given the origin of the Russian Church and the port at Latakia. Iraq is a mess, Lebanon is a mess, Gaza is a mess, ....
We need to articulate a foreign policy and in some ways, clearly unorthodox ones, he and the Secretary of State have done just that. The papers today would sing a different story if US forces were mutilated and killed. Some would argue we should not have put them at risk and others would want a major conflict , again.
Trump has kept either bad outcome from happening. Hobson's choice, best of bad options.
1
The fiasco in Seria is an excellent example of the consequences of leaving Trump in a decision making position. Trump is committed to one person, himself.
It's painful to watch so many fellow Americans support Trump and his atrocities; their support for Trump makes them equally depraved.
8
During World War Two, we depended on newspapers, such as the Times to keep us up to date on how battles were being conducted. On Saturdays, our local movie theater ran Movietone News with highlights of the battles. Ernie Pyle reported on the average doughboy.
It used to be a twenty-four-hour news cycle, but with President Trump, we lurch from story to story and it is reported almost instantly.
I served 39 years in the US Navy Reserve, and you never leave your comrades in arms behind. This time we have a president who faces impeachment, and although former SECDEF Mattis warned him, gave the go-ahead to the Turkish president to march into Syria, knowing that our allies, the Kurds would be slaughtered. American troops were withdrawn. ISIS prisoners have escaped, most likely headed north into Europe. President Trump has the blood on his hands of every Kurd "cleansed" killed.
And you can be sure that our allies in Europe are watching.
8
As I watched the video of Kurds pummeling convoys of withdrawing US vehicles, adorned with the Stars and Stripes, with potatoes: all I felt was shame. I can't imagine how the occupants of the vehicles feel.
Well, Trump supporters, what about a favorite saying: "These Colors don't run."
What a disaster.
8
If they were using potatoes, at least we know they have plenty of food!
It scares me to death that this do-called president would consider pulling out based on “gut instincts.” Obviously, he doesn’t give a darn about the lives of the Kurds, American soldiers, and others.
6
@AACNY
Pulling out without discussing with top advisors is not a good decision. He is not concerned with the lives of US soldiers. And he's not bringing them home, they are going elsewhere in the Middle East.
He is the one who looks foolish after flip-flopping on many decision he makes.
2
@Claire:
Trump cares about Trump, 24x7, period.
Turkey and Iran are the modern names of two regions that have competed for control of the Arabian Peninsula for millennia. Trumpism will make them both go nuclear.
6
The oil industry will die when cars are electric. The Middle East's life, as a significant region, has exactly that long That's when this geopolitical intrigue will end also.
2
I wonder why Trump tweeted " "We've taken control of the oil in the Middle East ... the oil that everybody was worried about."
Who has taken control? Can't be the US since Trump said he wants to bring the troops back home ( another lie).
When Erdogan meets Putin next week, will announce that Turkey will withdraw from NATO and force the closure of the US Incirlik airbase.
Turkey will continue it's drive into Syria where the small, Syrian oil fields are located and the Russian's will repair the oil field and control them.
Hmm, wonder what Trump and Putin talked about.
8
And yet we are not moving troops home but to another country in the Middle East. I read that troops are being moved to Iraq? That's not home.
And in another headline, the issue of Erdogan and his desire for nuclear weapons. Which America has at our base in Turkey according to reports. What if Erdogan just wants to take ours? Under Trump these days, the previously frivolous is possible.
Sorry, I just do not think Trump is a genius.
So what say the so called experts in America. Not the pundits but the Pentagon and our national security people. Or are they following orders because they must.
6
If the Kurds fleeing Turkish indiscriminate shelling and the hostile Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, as well as the brutal Assad regime forces, have nowhere else to go, the US must consider giving them shelter at al-Tanf, a US military base in southern Syria, close to the Jordanian border.
Nancy Pelosi has met Jordan's King Abdullah over the weekend, perhaps a safe zone could be created for the Kurds, driven out of northeastern Syria. Even if they lose their ancestral homes, at least they will be safe from Turkish “ethnic cleansing.”
There are around 150 troops at al-Tanf, which serves as a camp for training local forces and an observation hub, keeping an eye on the movement and actions of other forces in Syria.
Republicans would most likely be outraged if Trump decided to leave this base too.
5
@J. von Hettlingen
al-Tanf is NOT US territory, it belongs to Syria and the Americans have absolutely no right to be there so I suggest something much more humane:
Why doesn't the US give 'shelter' (permanent residence, maybe even citizenship) to ALL the Kurds who have become victims and pawns in a disgusting geopolitical struggle?
After all, wasn't the US who talked them into believing that after ISIS' defeat, they will have a country (carved out of Syria, Iraq,Iran and Turkey)?
5
There are 35 million Kurds without a homeland in the Middle East. Not sure that will work.
The US is not the world’s policeman. Only Trump seems to understand that and he is right. 
5
@Labete
‘The US is not the world’s policeman.’
Hmm. That’s exactly what Russia, China, North Korea, Syria, Turkey, Iran, etc would say. Do you trust them to keep the peace?
Peace, stability, and the rule of law are to everyone’s advantage. Stable borders and human rights are to the advantage of the vast majority of peoples.
120 million people died from conflicts in the 20th century, most in 2 world wars that required substantial US blood and treasure to clean up.
When we live in a perfect world with stable and sustainable populations, when human rights are universally respected, when oligarchs, kleptocrats, and autocrats are consistently well behaved, when religious fanatics give up murderous ideologies, then the world won’t need policing with the power to back it up.
Let me know when that dream world arrives.
3
trump has a debt to putin
Leaving the middle east to Russia was part
of the deal.
2
If this was only 20 mile safe zone why not negotiate it and peaceful move. No this is the end. Turkey for the north, Syria and Russia from the south.
2
This time again, we saw the might of the US military, but in a negative way. If the 50 US soldiers had not been removed, the Turkish would not have dared to launch this invasion.
Liked or not, the US forces inspired respect. Until now. This respect has been seriously diminished, and the aftershock in a few months/years may prove to be even more serious and costly.
That’s the US version of the Munich Agreement.
6
@Gvaltat
Just because the US maintains a military presence in 70 countries, it doesn't deserve 'respect'.
1
If we get a new President the trust could be rebuilt. With Trump in the Oval Office, forget about it. I could understand why Trump wanted to pull out our troops. However, the situation is complicated and anything detailed is beyond his power of reasoning. He has demonstrated that he has little understanding of the World and no interest in learning.
8
Don't think that Trump is doing good by pooling troop out of Syria. He is just moving them from Syria to Soudi Arabia. He is just fulfilling his promise to Putin given in Helsinki. Don't be fooled.
3
Oh, my good Lord. These folks fought for five years beside us and largely dismantled ISIS on their own.
The troops are not coming home, but going to Iraq.
Some victory, with ISIS prisoners escaping now to Europe. And to our shores, eventually.
7
Trump claims to know more than the generals. He said the Kurds are happy. And everyone is happy. It's clear that Trump, without a doubt, is delusional, and must be removed from office before he destroys this nation and leave us without any allies in the Arab world!
5
I do agree the US spends a huge amount of money on troops based world wide. We have over 60,000 troops just in Europe, Japan and South Korea. So the miniscule troops being removed from Kurdish held areas is not going to reduce our costs. But what this did is to betray our allies and allow a dictator who buys missile defense from Russia to attack our Kurdish allies. Trump calls Turkey a Nato ally. Yes, a Nato ally that is more closer to Russia than Europe. An ally that threatens Europe to flood Syrian refugees unless they keep paying billions to Turkey. More journalists have been killed in Turkey than any other Nato country. How long will Turkey be kept as a Nato member? We do have nuclear missiles in Turkey but that itself should not be cause enough for us to be blackmailed by Turkey.
8
Cry not for the Kurdish citizens of northern Syria. Lest we forget that Baghdad originally supplied them weapons and money to fight off ISIL/ISIS and Al Queda. Then when the US entered the fray, and given common enemies often create common enemies, America offered them a devil's bargain: for in exchange for money and guns, the Kurds had to turn on Assad. They accepted that bargain and in exchange for the prospect of a future independent nation state in the northeast of Syria, they turned on their own fellow countrymen, acquiesced to an ISIL/ISIS-Al Queda quasi-terrorist state in the northwest of Syria, and harbored YPG terrorists. No surprise that what goes round, comes round, only to find themselves sold out for another's greater good.
5
@AACNY
Hundreds of millions? Try billions, if not trillions (which would be quite realistic after 18 years of waste there)
2
The problem that Korbani does not seem to see is that he thinks he's dealing with a man of honor and integrity, and is waiting for him to admit this is a terrible mistake. He does not realize that he's dealing with a moral monster who does not care what happens to the Kurds, or if ISIS reemerges, as long as it plays well to his base, and he can get an applause line at a rally.
5
I was a teenager when just left South Veitnam to fight North Veitnam, and now we have done the same in Syria by abandoning the Kurds. I don't fault or soldiers in either case, as i do understand who makes those decisions, it was a Republican then and a Republican this time. I guess the arguement can be made on whether we should be involved in these fights, but once we decide to go, to just walk away, surely sends the wrong message. Trump deserves all the blame for his actions to include his false attempt on repairs.
1
Certainly no country has a responsibility to go around the world saving people endangered by enemies from defeat. But once you have taken a position supporting an ally and have benefited greatly therefrom you do have an obligation to save your allies from disaster, a disaster they encounter partly thanks to you. Trump is right about our having too many wars, but he doesn't have the courage or good sense to judge what we can and cannot do. Everything for him is a matter of prestige and money. Monetary success sometimes makes people more introspective and even humane; in Trump's case there is no evidence that it has done anything save to reinforce his worst traits and tendencies. His success is America's failure.
4
Thank you for this great reporting.
1
Many of us in the US assumes that ISIS is exclusively our problem, thus we are responsible for everyone who fights ISIS and all the cost associated with it. These two premises are false. ISIS is a more serious problem for EU, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Turkey as well as the Kurds. They have the power and resources to fight ISIS. We are not responsible for the ISIS problem, thus we are not responsible for the Kurds' nation building project which they piggyback to the ISIS fight.
4
Our influence in the Near East has been damaged considerably for the foreseeable future.
2
Without that influence how will we be able to casually throw away the lives of our children, for no reason? The Statue of Liberty is weeping.
While the Kurds were allies, Turkey is also an ally through the NATO treaty. That is the problem of having too many allies on too many fronts. Sometimes your allies for different purposes are at each other's throats.
The Kurds were let down 15 years ago when the second Bush administration, after having destroyed Iraq as a sovereign nation, never provided for a Kurdish homeland where they would have total sovereignty over their own territory.
Foreign policy gets messy when your NATO ally believes your other ally (the Kurds) are terrorists. Any kind of Realpolitik requires you to choose one or the other, making the best decision based on one's own self interest.
Fifty years ago, I protested that we needed to get out of Vietnam, immediately. Had we done so, many of our Allies in the puppet South Vietnam government would be abandoned. And now the communist united Vietnam is a top trading partner.
5
I wonder how many Americans commentators here, will feel about a minority group inside the USA, attempting by all means to create an independent nation? Simply don’t understand why we have to be around the world destroying, and dividing countries?
4
Its past treatment of Armenians and Kurds shows how inhumane Turkey can be in dealing with its minorities. Let's just say compassion and tolerance aren't areas where they excel. The outcome of this withdrawal cones as no surprise. We will now see how easy trust is to lose, and how hard it is to gain back.
5
Another anemic accounting of the American pull out.
Rather than focusing on the Kurdish commanders weight loss, how about an estimated costs of abandoned US equipment.
I saw an abandoned caterpillar loader that cost close to a quarter of a million dollars.
4
What did Pelosi expect from talks with Jordan?
Jordan does have influence in southern Syria, not northern Syria. Jordan worked hand-in-hand with the Obama administration in abetting the rebels in an attempt to overthrow Asad.
Jordan is not the country that can effect the Turkish invasion. As with his father Hussein, Abdullah II can offer clandestine aid to the Islamic Brotherhood, but unable to to influence Ankara nor the Kurds.
As a dependent of US largesse, Amman may be welcoming to Pelosi, but what advice it may proffer will be in strict accordance with its reliance upon Washington.
The Congressional visit may receive plaudits from the proponents of regime change. But effectively, it will achieve nothing. Jordan will follow DC’s lead. Amman may even begin to consider trying to improve relations with the Syrian government.
Hussein admitted to Hafiz Asad Jordan’s support of the Brotherhood during the 1980s. Relations between Damascus and Amman improved.
Jordan’s independence not only depends upon foreign benefactors, but on good relations with its neighbors. Recognizing the importance to themselves, Abdullah may reconsider his involvement in interfering with his northern neighbor.
2
the point isn't whether or not we should have been in Syria, it is that we ran away allowing turkey to engage in ethnic cleansing . Turkey threaten an invasion - and in response our coward in chief instead of standing ground (perhaps he could have said nuts) - dishonored our troops and commitment. If there was no troop evacuation there would have been no invasion - period.
the irony is that our troops are being evacuated to northern Iraq(sic) - I mean Kurdistan. go figure
16
How is the United States allowing Donald Trump to lead its destruction? What’s next?
Trump will only have to live with this horrible decision he made the years left in his life. Our younger generation is left with what he has done for decades in their future. This will be their reputation without having anything to do with this monster president’s decisions and irresponsibility.
What a legacy Donald Trump leaves! Horror.
26
Dear Congressional Republicans and GOP Voters,
Remember when America backed the Kurds to fight ISIS and it worked. That was a great strategy. Shame Trump messed that up due to a phone conversation with Ergogen and/or Putin. Maybe now it's time to question Trump's decision-making? Additionally revisit these questionable concerns:
* asking Ukraine to investigate a political rival,
* Trump proposing the G-7 at his Doral resort vs. Camp David to avoid Emoluments Clause conflict,
* Building his wall with military funds, not Mexican funds,
* failing to create any Infrastructure plan
* failing to create a new "tremendous" healthcare plan providing coverage for everyone at lower cost,
* not winning a trade war or negotiating better trade deals,
* raised the deficit by $2 Trillion (and counting),
* failed to create any gun safety legislation,
* ignoring his own "lobbying" ban,
* voiding environmental regulations for clean water & air,
This list is longer but this comment space is limited.
Signed,
We The People favoring America over party politics
26
Why hasn't the US press made more of a big deal of the US having to order and airstrike on its own base in Syria as part of its hasty retreat? It got plenty of coverage elsewhere. Too embarrassing?
15
@SbW
Jimmy Kimmel covered that in his monologue as Trump now has "America is now bombing it's own bases"
I am not saying this to insult anyone or put anyone's freedom to vote down. When I see and hear those die hard Trump fans screaming as if he's a rock star I think to myself that they cannot possibly know in any way, shape or form what this man has done or what he is doing. There is just no way possible they know the "true" facts. American's are good people, generous and kind people. We help not hurt people. We don't insult each other and we loathe bullies. I really hope people will research this man and his policies themselves. They just can't know how bad thing's really are!!! No way.
11
Karen, I used to feel the exact same way. Now I’m not so sure. People I know that I thought were smarter, kinder, just more “American” are not....
2
If not now, when do we let this little war go? Every Democrat for decades has publicly anquished over our having so many troops dodging bullets overseas.
The funniest part of this latest story is all the supposed experienced Democrat supporters begging for more soldiers to be in danger overseas.
Of course, the probability of a progressive commenter KNOWING anyone in the military are as thin as Hillary deciding her next political enemy is NOT working for Vladimir Putin.
3
it was a peace keeping mission. Anerica is humiliated by Purin who immediately moved into the US base and planted his flag. The US abandoned allies who were helping to contain terrorists. Free now. I'd avoid planes and large public gathering places from now on.
8
@L osservatore
Quick question - so you're okay with Trump sending American troops into Saudi Arabia, a country that bought hundreds of billions in weapons and supposedly has it's own military?
Follow up question - so how was Trump's decision to send American troops into Iraq helping to end that "little war"?
Last question - Do you think Trump's phone call with Erdogen and/or Putin a few days before he rushed to remove Americans from Syria, without talking to allies or his own advisors, have anything to do with his decision? P.S. - Americans left so fast we had to bomb our own ammunition arsenals left behind at U.S. Bases.
Please ask yourself questions like these before proclaiming Trump's foreign policy is bigly tremendous.
Signed,
a third party American voter
8
@L osservatore there's nothing funny about any of this.
The Kurds are the greatest victims of Imperialism and Nationalism in the world.
They have been thrashed, unmercifully, but every degenerate government, but every leader in their region.
We are talking about 35 million people without a homeland, who have been variously bombed, gassed, killed and 'cleansed' by Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria since before any of the living population's birth.
35 million people.
12
Israel, and its most ardent supporters in the US, love the Kurds because they are a continuous irritant and threat to Turkey and Iran.
The Kurds would like a country of their own utilizing some of the real estate of Syria, Turkey and Iran. So far, nobody seems keen to volunteer land for the Kurdish State.
My guess is that Israel will not volunteer the Golan Heights to get the land donation to the Kurds movement going.
2
If ISIS has a man of the year award, Trump will surely get it.
I can just imagine the Republican claims if a Democrat had done this. They would claim it is a surrender to ISIS.
15
There is nothing that spreads the guilt and betrayal beyond the Commander in Chief who has shown a complete and reprehensible motive for using this black moment as a reason to make money for his own coffers. Any soldiers eligible for retirement have good cause to file their papers, and any who might have wanted to re-up should re-think.
6
Turkey already has one genocide on its ledger: the Armenians. It seems Erdogan aims to make Turkey great again by engineering another.
10
I am impressed with the people outside of America voicing their opinion. While I may not agree with all of the comments made so far, I very much appreciate that they are involved in seeking information about what is happening to our allies as a result of Trump's misinformed actions. Sorry to say, half of my country is not interested in seeking the truth and rely solely on what they get from conservative media and Trump himself via his fake protest rallies.
7
One of the most despicable acts of this President. At least the fallout from his enrichment of himself, and even his involvement with Putin did not lead to the deaths of long standing allies. A man with no moral stature sits in the White House leading based on association with people who serve themselves (as he does), like Pompeo (he does not tell the truth) and Giuliani (far more to the Ukraine for him than we yet know, enriching himself like Paul Manafort did). Lawsuits are the name of the game as well, truth long forgotten.
11
It is upsetting that the Russians are having such a propaganda bonanza, bragging in some Russian TV language news videos posted in Youtube, that the US army cut and run "like cockroaches", and left valuable equipment that is still operational. "Out of 5,000 Isis prisoners assumed to have been in that particular section, the Russian military police has only taken control of 1,000 Isis fighters", hinting that the remaining 4,000 have "departed", implying that they may have left to another world. What a mess.
7
Nero fiddled, while Rome burned.
Trump schemed to hold the G-7 at Doral, while Erdogan moved to destroy the Kurds.
The world watched, as America betrayed a friend.
13
The last time an ethnic majority was driven into the Syrian desert to die was in the Armenian massacres of 1915 (1-1.5 million). Who did that? The same folks Prime Minister Gladstone called the "Terrible Turks."
Practice makes perfect.
10
This president will be the downfall of this country because of this betrayal and many others with our allies across the globe. Get ready America you’ve allowed this to happen and you will pay a dear dear Price for decades to come. Good luck. We will need our allies one day and they will rightly turn their backs on us. We have a trader in the White House plain and simple
6
Is there a link to the Kurdish Red Crescent Society that is safe and can be shared? It's the least we can do to help with the mess we created.
3
Did anyone else find it surprising that two of the Turkish backed Syrian fighters were barefoot? It does seem to say something about their professionalism. Who are these proxy forces? Just poor Sunni kids Turkey has scooped up from its refugee camps?
4
See, now, what it means to be an ally of the USA.
7
Where is code pink on this issue? They miraculously showed up at congressional hearings advocating no interference in the ME. Pelosi has voted against all actions in the ME. Remember the red line when Obama failed to take action in Syria after the use of chemical weapons? Democrats wouldn’t vote to go into Syria but now somehow they are against leaving. Trump is actually doing what the left initially wanted. Just because it’s Trump the so called resistance now has to be the opposite side even if it’s wrong. Amazing flip flop.
1
First of all, you are completely mixing up the fight against Isis and the fight to punish Assad for his actions against Syrian rebels and civilians. I don’t recall hearing Republicans advocating an invasion of Syria when poison gas was used. Second, regardless of any long term desire to extricate ourselves from the region, nobody in either party would have advocated the kind of sudden, impulsive withdrawal that Trump just ordered. It’s stupidity of the lowest order and defending it with the usual “whatabout ism” doesn’t cut it.
15
Today Turkey’s President announced that he needs nuclear weapons. Great Was there ANY aspect of this mess that was considered by Trump in his “infinite wisdom” when he surprised us (and the rest of the planet) with this decision? And Turkey’s president meets next week with Putin. I’m sure that protecting US interests will be high on their not to-do list. So he’s basically made us less safe, made us a laughingstock, gotten Kurds killed or expelled, and transferred our troops to another area without sending them home as he stated. How do we say fiasco in his fave language, Russian?
10
Putin's US puppet not only betrayed & abandoned the Kurds, angelic heroes, the crucial factor in defeating ISIS sacrificing 11,000 of their own, and in saving 40,000 Yazidis from getting captured, tortured, & massacred by ISIS, he also blindsided 73 of the 74 member nations of the Defeat ISIS Coalition (he took the US by total backstabbing surprise too, on the eve leading into Putin's October Seven no less) and the entirety of NATO except Turkey, basically upending them. Ukraine feels left alone with Russia. Europe feels almost like facing three enemies preying on it from all sides, two of which are crucial NATO members and one of which has covertly but distinctly catered to ISIS, instead of being embedded in and protected by NATO.
Is Trump also going to join BDS and desert the single other women-friendly ally in the ME?
Drumpf is systematically dismantling and destroying the civilization experiment of the Free West grounded in constitutional democracy and treaty reliability in alliance building and maintenance, throwing years of prudent and meticulous hard work and allied military resources expenditure and sacrifice and trust and stability building and joint international diplomatic effort out the window on a whim, replacing it with greedy and cruel and moronic authoritarian impulses (to for example steal judges, elections, tax cuts, treasury revenue, market distortion and extortion power, environmental and consumer protections, healthcare, social security, and the truth).
8
@Pro(at)Aging
Correction: by now the Defeat ISIS Coalition, officially the Global Coalition against Daesh, consists of 80 member states plus the Kurds (I took the 74 number from Mattis' resignation letter which, however correctly prophetic it has been, is already dated), of which of course only two, Turkey and Russia, and a liddle' shady insider group of the gang higher ups loyal to the strongman leading a third member state as if he is doing it from the impulses of a behind, were not blindsided.
1
@Pro(at)Aging
Correction: by now the Global Coalition against Daesh consists 80 or 81 members (I took the 74 number from Mattis' resignation letter which is already dated however correctly prophetic), of which of course only two, Turkey and Russia, and the insider crowd of the White Spite and Sputnik House leading the third member State from the impulses of a behind, were not blindsided.
Two words .... Endless Wars.
Resulting in continual societal upheavals due to oil production and poppy plants and corporations producing the war machines and leaving the detritus of our offensive wars and defense of the indefensible.
I lost 6 relatives in two WWars.
My cousins son .., Military Lt. Colonel had a gun pointed at his head while sleeping by one of his soldiers who had a nervous breakdown while he was deployed in Afghanistan. He was a West Point Grad. Excellent caliber of young man. Home now but it tore his life apart being in constant wars. How bout our maimed for life military class. They get their orders and follow them and find no leadership in the field just chaos after a war longer than any we have undertaken. All started with lies and propagated thru both parties leadership of men mostly that never served.
The history of Europe , the British Isles and the Middle East colonialism and spoils of war systems must end now. And our leaders in the Senate must show the voters they are not Putin puppets like the very flawed president they weaseled into office. We all heard their admissions that Putin controls Trump in 2017 closed door meetings.
McCarthy we are talkin to you.
5
Your article mention that these kurds who fight with Turkey are as if freedom warriors. It is completly false.
I live in Turkey and I'm a Turk. We live with many of Kurds people in our country.. Most of them really good persons. But you should realize diffirence of kurds people. Kurds who live in North Syria, are terrorist. They have fought (Terrorist attacks like suicide bombs, kill innocent people. ) with Turkey since decades.
And their main purpose is establish their own countries with take some Turkey's soil.
We'll never permit for their purpose.
2
Trump and his merry band of traitors, Barr, Leo, is a tool for Putin, Big Oil Interests (think Exxon, the Kochs, etc.) and the new Oligarchic class born out of the new world of pro-monopoly Republicans and their a handful of the most ruthless old school views and the real world existence of organizations like those outlined in the fictional movie, "The Da Vinci Code", in the form of the Five Federalist Society members on the Supreme Court and their ring leader, Leonard Leo, a member of the Sovereign nation of the Knights of Malta.
These Men seek to return us to the dark ages of kings and lords with all others as slaves including women.
Our nation is under direct attack by Putin and Trump is his nation and Barr and those of his nature are administrators in Putin's and the Oligarch's plans.
It is time for patriots and brave Americans to step forward. The Republicans have been in the pockets of the Kochs and big oil and clearly many by association, with Putin and Russia.
It is time to defend our nation, support our allies and realize we are at war right now.
3
A good example of the consequences of a hasty, ill informed decision about a highly complex matter that the President doesn’t know much about. Rather than widely consulting within the national security council along with deliberations with our allies and even adversaries to reach a solution he just follows his gut!
The President detests knowledge, learning doesn’t recognize experts and therefore incapable of anticipating consequences of a one line zinger, like, ‘get our troops out’! Even though, the invasion of Iraq caused multiple upheavals in this perennially tumultuous part of the world, including the eight year Syrian quagmire. This conflict has caused a major suffering & humanitarian disaster in the history of modern world and we’re still major players that can bring peaceful resolution to this imbroglio. An unconditional withdrawal of our troops can’t be a solution even for us cause we can the ugly consequences unfolding instantly!
The ONLY reason for us to be in Syria was to fight ISIS. Not that that is finished it is time to leave. The US needs to stop being a permanent occupying force. Time to get out of Afghanistan next.
1
It has been obvious from the start that certain parties have kompromat on Trump. He is a security risk. He does not know what he is doing; he is open to blackmail; he does not take advice; he is loose with Intelligence data and is not up to the job.
He believes foreign manipulators before US Intelligence; he has a weird affinity for autocrats and he is no more a genuine Christian than Darth Vader. If you want the truth you can get it easily by simply believing the opposite of his every utterance.
He abandoned American allies and has been easily played by America's adversaries.
Apart from that what's not to like?
11
Trump tweet he should write "Don't listen at what I say, look at what I do." His words are meaningless.
However, while Trump spins his tales, McConnell is weaving his own web of history.
2
I lived in the Yemen as a child and have visited Egypt many times, and Trump is absolutely right about one, and only one, thing in the middle east; they do have a lot of sand. It's actually tremendous sand, lots of it, all over the place, hard to believe I know. One thing Trump can now add to his extensive knowledge of the middle east is that the tremendous sand is now further stained with blood because of his impetuous action. To add insult to injury, he is now telling a blatant lie to the US and the world that he is bringing troops home.
11
@Garry Taylor
Did you know that all the sand in Saudi Arabia is worthless as construction (to mix with concrete) because it has too much salt in it.
They import sand for construction.
2
Once a world power, the US is now a rogue state that can be bought and manipulated by the highest bidder. The consequences are going to be catastrophic.
5
Don't be fooled!
Trump is not dove and definitely does not intend to get the U.S. out of the middle east. He has ensured our continued presence. He pulled out of the Iran deal and continues to rattle those sabers when he needs another controversy. He has merely moved our troops to Iraq, and endless war and presence, and has made not progress getting us out of Afghanistan. He has increased the pentagon budget so the war profiteers get their socialized War machine. And he will continue to sell weapons to anyone who will buy, ensuring the dollars keep rolling in. And of course, these policies will keep the flames hot in that region for years to come. There is plenty of time for a war to help with the election, or maybe he is saving it for his second term, when he feels more emboldened to remake the world with his unique taint upon it, like he has already done here in the U.S.
6
Congress needs to do something. They are, our allies, the Kurds' only hope.
1
Trump is incredibly tough on faithful allies. Not so much on strong enemies. That’s what is called “showing strength” in the White House.
4
Sorry to spoil the day dream but, General Mazlum is no general to begin with. He is a wanted PKK terrorist using an alias "Sahin Cilo", with his name on the red bulletin most wanted list.
I understand that it is difficult for some to admit and accept the fact that Kurdish militia was cheap labor and paid mercenaries for the US, to deal with ISIS.
I would like to reiterate again, Turkish Republic population contains at least 20-25% share of Kurdish citizens, and nobody is killing the other. They are citizens of this sovereign nation.
What is happening south of the border is solely "the let down of the separatist Kurdish mercenaries by the US tactics" Sorry to say but despite being let down several times in the past (again by the US) in Iraq (encouraged against Saddam and then left alone to be slaughtered several times over), it only takes money and promise of an independent state for the separatists Kurds to take up arms and start chaos. All this of course is provided that US will be there to back them. When US is gone (be it internal politics, treasury issues, or change or regional policy) the Syrian/ Iraqi Kurds immediately start crying foul.
Finally, Turkey is party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC) since 1997 and any claims of such chemical warfare is unfounded, made up and funny if you ask me. This has never been Turkish Army's MO. We are not Syria/ Iraq.
This is utter nonsense. The Kurdish population in Turkey has been oppressed forever. We don’t need anymore Turkish State propaganda here.
5
@NW I would like you to elaborate on the nonsense part, really... Which of the below is (are) nonsense:
i. that there is no General Mazlum, and he is a wanted PKK member (remember PKK= Terrorist, also accepted by the US)
ii. That Kurds have been subcontracted to figh ISIS (because they are cheaper and a Kurdish rebel casualty is less of a concern to ordinary US public)
iii. Kurds have been let down several times by the US (but that doesnt keep Kurds start dreaming when shown money and state as carrot on stick(
iv. That there is no record (and nor there will ever be) any record of Turkish chemical warfare?
I am dying to hear from you. I am a firm opposition to the ruling party in my own country, but I owe these explanations and information to my home country not the government. I am also glad that NY Times editing staff decides what to publish and what not, as opposed to "democratic" readers with very little tolerance of any opinion that goes against the crowd.
1
It sounds like US soldiers are being setup for an ambush if they remain in Syria. We certainly don't want that at any cost. We don't want to spend valuable lives of soldiers and tax payer money.
US must facilitate peace talks and withdraw anyway. Kurds and Bashar can compromise and join together to defend border with Turkey. If needed, UN & NATO must step in to stop combat.
US can participate in peace keeping as part of NATO / UN troops.
2
Trump supposedly worried about harming or killing 150 Iranian personnel if he went ahead with destruction of the missile site that shot down an expensive American drone over international waters. Iran is the sworn enemy of the United States and all Muslim nations who are not ruled by Shiites. Now, he is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 civilians and American allies with unknown thousands to come. There are a thousand expletives that come to mind regarding such absurd decisions but I will say only, these actions are intolerable. He should build another Trump hotel in the subject buffer zone and move there.
6
I find it questionable to see such a "commander" find the New York Times platform to reach out to the world. The said commander has direct ties to terrorist groups in Syria and Turkey and has been financed; trained and led by the US for many years now. They have been "used" in NOT against the fight with ISIS but for the long term agenda of the US in the region. Just as it happened in the Iraqi invasion and Afghanistan before that. Using the word "fight against ISIS" repeatedly is merely an attention drawing game. Kurdish have been a tool for anyone that holds the cash, in this case the US. Erdogan's motives and agenda is unclear to me as a Turksih citizen but the current incursion aims to mute these terrorists that have been piling up in and around Turkey for so long. Please check where these Kurdish people lived 10 years ago. Then go back another 10 years. You will see the strategic "placement" of ethnic groups for future battles. As for the withdrawal decision of the US; it is just leaving a hot coal fork back onto the counter after finishing playing with the barbeque. Does not necessarily mean that they will not be used again. Also, the Kurdish are such a proud people that the first thing they did was to cut a deal with their "nemesis" Assad regime. As Erdogan does not represent my own opinions; this "commander" does not represent the Kurdish as a people.
@Serhan there is no such General Mazlum. He can't even be a liutenant. He was in charge of PKK's administractive business and he is in Ministry of Internal Affairs' Red Bulletin (Most Wanted List)
He wanted a piece of the action and now left out in the dark after the pull out. He is, under no circumstance, a party that a sovereign nation will communicate, let alone reaching a deal.
1
In light of the Turkish version of Donald Trump now publicly hungering for nuclear weapon while expressing contempt and disdain for the world's anger at his Syrian incursion, it grows increasingly clear how reckless it was for our version of Der Trumpf to give the green light to his fellow demagogue. Accordingly, steps should be quickly taken to reverse our abandonment of the Kurds.
1
The Kurdish people don't reside in 1/3rd of Syria - the amount of land they had occupied with United States help. They are mercenaries defending the northern border of Syria. It is about time that the United States withdrew. This is not our war.
2
This is the equivalent of nuclear war. This is as close as you can get. We are all responsible - checks and balances did not work - for the slaughter of the Kurds, our allies who put theimselves on the line for American interests. As a human I am apalled - people have died and their families are suffering their loss as we quibble on social media. Deep deep regret.
1
If the Kurds are really committed to the cause of self autonomy, they have to fight for the cause themselves rather than looking for the US support that can never come without a cost as to be seen now after Trump's betrayal of the Kurds.
The United States should not be the police to the world. Untangling these relationships will be difficult but these people and others similarly situated need to stand on their own, get along with each other, or, not. These troops were initially to be there for ONE Month; it’s been 18 years. These people have been fighting each other for generations, we cannot solve their historic problems, obviously.
4
If the USA had not invaded Iraq on false pretense, the situation would be totally different. I was living in the States at that time, I experienced firsthand the “patriotic” crazyness which engulfed your country. You can’t go in a region, break “things”, then leave under the excuse that this is not your problem.
8
@Truthbeknown Can you spend all that Defense budget on healthcare now? Why do you keep voting in Republicans who are in love with the military? What do you pay them for?
Confused from Europe.
4
It will be interesting to see how American military - from the Special forces seething at having to betray their comrades, to the commanders who know in first hand detail what this withdrawal is going to cost going forward - consider their commander in chief. This is not a simple tactical error, or even a strategic blunder. It's a surrender - of hard won territory, security, and peace in the region, as well as American prestige and honor - for zero gain.
Even the promise of 'bringing the troops home' is a lie - they're on their way to a better paying client, Saudi Arabia.
Worst of all, everyone outside of the Trump bubble knows, this was Trump posturing for political theater, and a capitulation to Russia and Turkey.
Future men and women in America's armed services will, inevitably, be called on to pay the price.
10
In so many ways, American ideals do not belong to Americans alone. They belong to the world. Freedom, and the freedom to live without fear; freedom to speak your mind, to make a life for yourself and your family, these ideals are universal.
Trump does not seem to hold a scintilla of understanding of our role - and responsibility - on the world stage beyond a simple concept of military power and bullying. What does he understand regarding how the world has always looked to the United States?
To taint this by abandoning our allies, who shed blood on our behalf in their fight against ISIS, strikes into the heart of the world. And how to hold fast to these ideals? We the citizens must. Our president does not seem to understand this most basic idea: America must be true to her ideals. The world is counting on us. And always has. Are we, as Americans, abandoning the world?
12
It does not end with the Turkish obsession over the Kurds. In news elsewhere in NYT, Turkey is announcing their plans or ambitions for nuclear capabilities. Turkey's argument is - if Iran can have it, they too should have it.
We will soon see where the Turkish - Kurds problem leads to.
3
Two words.
Russian stooge.
50
Once again Failure Trump proves to us that he is a total fraud. He grandstands that he is bringing the troops home from a war that the US shouldn’t be involved in.(paraphrasing here), then he redirects those retreating US troops to Iraq....does that make any sense? Of course it does, he takes the troops out of Syria ,to allow Turkey & the Russians to march in unchallenged, and it didn’t take long for that to happen, almost like it was a preplanned event involving our failed President, Russia and Turkey!
39
A logical pullout from Syria where all sides benefitted would have been the best. Because Erdogan would not go into Syria without Trump’s approval tells me we had some leverage in the region and could have worked with all stakeholders to find a region for Kurdish resettlement, keep imprisoned ISIS fighters neutralized in some way and satisfy Turkish and Syrian demands. That could have been our mission, and that of NATO, which Turkey belongs to. That should have been how this was done, and I’m sure it is terribly difficult because Obama could not accomplish it. At the same time, Trump just left whatever leverage he had to establish a peaceful end to a knotty problem and withdrew. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t have a clue. If the inane letter he sent Erdogan is anything like his correspondence with North Korea or Russia, we’re in a few indefensible positions and Trump has shown he’s got nothing.
40
@Barbara Snider this is one of the very few and rare comments I have ever come across in here.
1
How will our nation live down this shame?
37
Funny how the left suddenly wants a military presence in the Middle East.
The Kurds were nothing more than a convenient tool for the US. Pull out all the troops now. Let these people deal with their ancient tribal conflicts themselves.
8
@EuroAmerican
Funny how Individual 1’s supporters suddenly want to leave US military allies to die on the battlefield. No, not really that funny.
8
@EuroAmerican Funny how the military supporting Right machine, have now decided 'no more wars'!
Seems like America is finally deciding to become a less violent country.
Maybe you will spend some Defense money on healthcare, like civilised countries?
Or, you can carry on shooting each other at home, but 'believe me', America needs to understand and debate it's love of killing people.
4
People forget that according to international law and UN charters US troops are illegally present in Syria because the internationally recognized Syrian govt headed by an evil man Assad did not give permission to have our troops there. Secondly US cannot afford to have troops in Syria for eternity and some day the Kurds would have had to reconcile with Assad and everyone in Syria is aware of it. Trump's decision to pull out troops was right, but what he did was despicable, he literally made the Kurds drop their defense and sold them out to Turkey by giving them the positions a week in advance.
6
@V We could easily afford to keep those troops in Syria. They weren't taking casualties and the monetary cost was a teeny tiny drop in the vast bucket of our defense budget.
I didn't forget about international law. In this context I chose to ignore it. Our entire Vietnam disaster may well have been in accord with international law.
Given that this part of Syria had been overrun by ISIS, to be so scrupulous about international law is utterly absurd. You think ISIS gives a fig about international law? The official Syrian government had long since lost all control in this part of Syria.
3
Blood. That is what on the hands of the GOP and all MAGA followers of thrice betrayed allies of the US in the fight against ISIS. You all have blood on your hands in your support of Trump. That tax cuts is your 30 pieces of silver.
44
@Darsan54
Blood, victims of torture and white phosphorus, mass displacement, the progress of the democratic experiment of the Free West, the deterioration of human rights all over the globe, and a new normal of destructive chaos as world 'order' of Predatory Oligarchic Strongmen preying on any loot they can grab by the privy parts.
This is not going to work to reach the goal to keep America, self-bereft of allies, safe and it not only shows in the broken NATO, the broken Defeat ISIS Coalition, the broken social contract at home, the humiliatingly hectic and harrowed retreat of the American troops, the Turks doing their pretend 'peace' operation that really constitutes a Sudetes episode revisited in our times, a land grab with an ethnic decimation bonus, roflolling over the Drumpf letter, but also in the latest move by China to start arresting Americans.
4
This is shameful. I don’t know what else to say. The world is complex, but it seems some good was coming from our alliance with the Kurds, including the defeat of ISIS fanatics and the protection of religious minorities. We allowed the Turks to massacre Armenians not long ago. Now we are allowing the same travesty. This is what comes of a president ignorant of history and indifferent to good counsel.
Write your Senators and tell them!
14
As painful as it is to admit, Trump’s right on this one. Long past time for the US to leave Syria and disengage from the whole Middle East and Afghanistan. We have no vital interests there and a lot to lose.
53
@Truth Teller
The issue is not whether we leave, but how we leave.
207
@Truth Teller We do have vital interests there when terrorist groups like ISIS develop and organize attacks on the US and Europe from there. The idea was to fight them over there instead of here.
211
Are you defending how he did this, killing hundreds and making our teammates from 3 weeks ago refugees?
184
Just collateral damage Donald. Nothing to see here. Move along.
11
In the 20th century, Europe and the US were firmly in charge using trade opening/sanctions to keep autocrats like Erdogan in line.
We, the West, keep shooting ourselves in the foot wheeling and dealing with rogue regimes for short term profit or shady deals (EU immigration) but we seem incapable of learning.
5
It's time for the US to advocate for Kurds to be given true territory of their own -- nationhood. To be negotiated by the Kurds, the countries they currently share, and under UN supervision/negotiation. In some way to mitigate our shameful behavior.
17
If you approve of this article, please give generously to the DNC.
Thank you for your consideration.
6
– How was that, Vladimir?! Was that good enough, that what you wanted? Anything I can do for you, Vladimir? Just don't release those tapes, please, I beg you, Vladimir.
38
Some disaffected Kurds might make common cause with ISSIS and who do you think will be in their cross hairs? This was a very stupid move and one that was so easily avoided.
12
Putin just cracked NATO wide open: inducing a NATO member to just redraw borders by military force. An indirect OK to Crimea. A prelude to a stronger push in Ukraine.
The casualties are a formerly working world order, American credibility and honor, the moral of our military, and possibly and in a horrific way, the Kurdish people of northern Syria. And what is to come when people learn that the US will not "police the world". I am not sure people knows what is to come.
This is important and needs to be repeated: damage made by Trump and his Republican enablers. Remember when President Clinton avoided further ethnic cleansing in the Balkans? When Obama managed a coalition to deal with Iran? Times are a changing.
31
@Ard I remember too when Obama drew a red line after Syrians bombing civilians but then sat on his hands.
3
Then you also recall Congress voting against a military response.
1
That’s weird; I have trouble remembering stuff that didn’t happen. Your results clearly differ.
2
I find it inconceivable that any American president would even entertain the thought of abandoning a people who sacrificed thousands fighting ISIS. But I've come to expect the worst from Donald Trump. He has made it clear to all of us that his impulsiveness and utter antipathy toward our allies while embracing dictatorships has marginalized our status as a nation that fights for democracy throughout the world. While I understand the belief that we cannot be a global police force, turning over the Kurds to be slaughtered is horrific and reprehensible.
289
@nzierler I find it inconceivable that America betrayed its NATO partner--Turkey-- in favor os a marginal terrorist group of Kurds. Said Turks have sacrificed thousands in order to maintain the dignity of its own borders. But given the history of American geo-political blunders, this betrayal is expected. Their policy-makers have made it clear that loyalty to signed pacts means nothing. Morally speaking, they have marginalized themselves to the extent that even an imbecille such as Donald Trump knows better. One needs t understand that the Turks will not be policed; Turning over the Kurds to be slaughtered is therefore honorable and just.
2
@nzierler Thousands of Afghan mujahideen fighters, and hundreds of thousands of civilian, died in Afghanistan in expunging the USSR. Their support was then withdrawn, and the mujahideen morphed into Taliban to counter the law and order situation. This is NOT the first time the US has left behind a vacuum.
11
@bill harris Our NATO partner Turkey? With partners like Turkey who needs enemies?
2
If the Kurds declared a terrorist war on the US similar to ISIS and Al Qaeda, I would strongly disapprove, but would on an intellectual level understand.
Do people really reap what they sow? Is there Karma?
Maybe...because the CIA overthrew a democracy in Iran in the 1950s and we see the result. Our regime change interventions in the three Central American countries are other examples where adverse consequences resulted.
I am afraid we will dearly pay for our abandonment of the Kurds.
14
There's no doubt that both Syrian Kurds and U.S. mutually benefited being opportunistically associated in the fight against ISIS. U.S. could strictly entering illegally in a foreign country such as Syria and the Kurds recognized that with the U.S. military power including kind of unlimited resources, it was good for their aspirations of gaining and asserting territory for themselves inside Syria. Well, soon or later things had to go back to some degree of 'normality'. The U.S. withdrawal was for sure a brutal wake up. Nevertheless the Kurds have now the possibility to go back to new and perhaps more elaborated negotiations with the authorities in Syria that at the end could be beneficial this time to both of them. Instead of a U.S potentially rather troublesome meddling they might have the Russian arbitrage possibly more effective in their side.
3
We must acknowledge that we are not in Syria for Bashar Al Assad. We went in to avoid ISIS from playing a role in the Syrian debacle recruiting and sustaining the operations. Now that ISIS has been neutralized, it's time to come back. It's up to Kurds, Bashar and Turkey to decide how to move ahead. If they want war, world must prevent it.
US has already played its role and diplomatically we have stopped Turkey from launching another offensive at least for now. Even if US soldiers remain there, we cannot prevent the inevitable. If people living there aren't ready for compromises and hell bent on war, we cannot baby sit them forever.
What is happening in UN ? What is their role in maintaining peace ? What is the role of Europe, Asia and Middle eastern countries ?
4
This situation shows how ridiculous these unending Middle East wars have become. The fight in Syria started off for regime change, morphed into a war on ISIS and is now taking on a neighboring state that is also a member of NATO hosting it’s nuclear weapons.
Didn’t the geniuses in the State Department work out that taking the help of the Kurds would inevitably lead to inviting the wrath of the Turks?
6
When will we ever learn? 22 of the 28 groups that make up the "Arab militias" that we see on video murdering Kurds in cold blood were armed and trained by the CIA.
Most were members of the "Free Syrian Army" made of of some of the most vicious jihadists elements in the region.
The beheadings and other atrocities that they previously committed against the regular Syrian army have now been turned against the Kurds.
These forces were armed and supported by the Pentagon under Obama and have now been unleashed by Turkey against the Kurds.
Now our Kurdish allies are being attacked by Turkish air and artillery forces while the jihadists slaughter innocent civilians who actually thought that their sacrifice in pursuit of US objectives would be rewarded.
Meanwhile, Turkey remains in NATO and suffers no sanctions or UN resolutions calling for an end to their invasion.
It is correct to condemn Trump for this, but equally accurate to condemn Obama and Clinton for unleashing these murderous jihadist forces and selling them as a home grown insurrection against Assad.
Of course the Democrats have been silent about their own complicity in this mess. Everything we do seems designed to cover up and obscure the disaster that preceded it.
This is what happens when we begin an illegal war, have no clear objectives, lie to the American people and then don't know how to get out of the mess we've created.
And the suffering is always born by others. Enough is enough!
8
This post doesn’t belong here.
It should instead be on the op ed page of the New York Times where countless thousands more readers will be exposed.
Yes, Trump bears responsibility but at the same time in a way he is being scapegoated. Others bear responsibility as you outlined including President Obama and Secretary Clinton.
Bush senior also abandoned the Kurds during the Hussein years.
I think Tulsi Gabbard would agree with this.
Much thanks for this post.
5
I will mail your post to Tulsi along with a contribution. Maybe she can write the op ed in order to prevent the next travesty.
4
If I were President....I would flood the area where our allies, the Kurds, have been abandoned by Trump. I would send in a force of regular Army and 2500 Special Forces. I would tell Erdogan of Turkey to stand down and to recall his military forces. In addition, I would tell him to call off the Arab militia comprised of isis and Taliban remnants who are killing and terrorizing our friends and allies, the Kurds. Fully aware that Turkey is an "ally" and fellow NATO member, I would say that the sacred promise of our military to never abandon our friends and allies who have shed their blood and lost their lives in service to our mutual purposes will not be broken. Certainly not by one so unfit and venal and unpatriotic as Trump.
19
I see your point. But I do not regard Turkey as an ally, though they are in NATO. As I have stated on numerous occasions Turkey is our mortal enemy.
And there are 50 nuke in their country.
They are infinitely more dangerous to our country than North Korea or Iran.
6
People here were brainwashed into believing that the entire anti-ISIS struggle took place entirely in the Kurdish-dominated part of Syria. Not even close.
As for the Kurds, they were led to believe that after ISIS they will get a country, for which their brethren in the PKK were fighting in Turkey.
That would have been possible, after Syria is dismantled and divvied up, Iraq too and Turkey would also relent.
Seriously, people?
7
Yes, Iraq, but not Turkey or Iran where Kurds also reside. Seriously.
1
Trump is sending 1,800 troops to Saudi Arabia.
The troops who were in Syria are going to Iraq.
Trump has sent 14,000 troops to the Middle East since the spring.
This is the opposite of "bringing the troops home".
33
@Barbara T Last I checked soldiers aren't playing any role in combat operations in any of the countries you mentioned. We still need to have some strategic presence in the region. Eventually, soldiers are out of combat. That is all that matters. Please correct me if I am wrong.
1
@Raj
Trump is saying that he wants to "bring the troops home". Sending thousands of them to the Middle East is not "bringing them home".
A more accurate statement might be that he wants to rearrange where the troops are deployed in the Middle East and increase troop levels overall.
12
@Raj
The president also said that the United States was “bringing soldiers home,” which is also not correct, at least not in the short term: Mr. Esper has confirmed that the troops leaving Syria are heading to Iraq, to continue operations against the Islamic State. NYT today
Sounds like combat to me
5
Nobody likes abandoning anyone but we may console ourselves that we are withdrawing troops from a sovereign country, there in violation of international law.
3
A year ago you and Trump would have called this pro ISIS...
11
Hang your head in utter shame, America.
35
@Martin Oh...well , please advocate dutch to send some troops. There is no need to be ashamed of.
4
@Martin
It's hanging. We are absolutely devastated.
6
we need a leader to lead us in MASSIVE protests over trump's betrayal of a valuable ally. trump and his enablers have blood on their hands.
16
Saw a news item where the faithful at one of the rally's Trump races to when things are not going too well for him. The person said it is good the boys are coming home well they are not they are going to Iraq and of course no mention of the couple of thousand troops Trump sent to Saudi Arabia. Not one word about the Kurds left behind and how that will sit with the American soldiers who were ordered out and left their friends behind. People believe what suits them to fit their own politics which is sad as the real truth is often missed out.
18
In comparing the Saudi and Syria situations, it seems Trump is having our military fight for money rather than principles. Is this what we’ve become? Mercenaries for hire?
5
Where is Europe? They seem to be a lot closer to this conflict.
8
Recently, I visited some cities in America, and I was shocked by the huge amount of homeless people & poverty. I also see that there is a lot of chaos & suffering throughout the world. Trump really needs to step up to the plate & solve these challenges, especially the homelessness & poverty in America. He should not be wasting all his time chasing his unfounded conspiracies, nor should he be spending so much of his time lounging at his resorts at taxpayers’ expense in the hundreds of millions.
5
Trump claims he's bringing the troops home. I never realized before how many lived in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
27
Excellent point.
8
Trump and his GOP minions, have slaughtered these people and there is no way the blood will ever be erased from his hands or from American history.
No one will ever believe the words of this president.
21
We have a mad king in the white house. He has to go.
25
Why is the NYT crying for war? America doesn’t belong in Syria, I thought leftists were supposed to be anti-war.
8
@Daniel
Kurds are being slaughtered. Death and betrayal of allies are war crimes.
26
Obama arming “moderate” rebels there for years wasn’t though right? I don’t think we should be fighting there. We’ve been at war in the Middle East since the 90s like what are we even doing at this point. Weren’t the Kurds backed by Iran initially? You know their Shiite allies?
4
Obama placed troops in Syria.
"All roads lead to Putin." Trump, an asset to Putin gives him access to the area without Putin raising a finger. A gift. In return for what?
53
While it’s good that the Kurdish people have an eloquent spokesperson, they shouldn’t need one. The facts here are so over abundantly clear that we need to unwind, as fast and as far as possible, the President’s unadvised unilateral action to leave the Kurds fleeing a genocidal pursuer, or to die fighting a fight that blindsided them.
Whatever can be done, including air power and special forces deployment, should be planned and executed now. Leaving this responsibility to a clearly comprised president is an abdication of our duty to the rule of law, the constitution, and our honor.
Of course, our national security interests are on the line as well.
14
We should care a lot because we made a commitment to the Kurds who did the heavy lifting for us against ISIS, just as they were instrumental in opposing Saddam decades before.
We may not see the bad effects of this immediately, other than the evil slaughter of innocents at the hands of Erdogan. The long-term effects of betraying our allies and breaking our promises will be profound, however. Wait 'til the next time we need to form a coalition against an enemy of the United States.
282
Our invasion of Iraq has so far been one of the biggest crimes of the 21st century on the world stage. And by the way, why does the US belong in Syria? Are we defending our rights over there?
14
Daniel
Your surface assessment is the problem;
In this world, coalitions are needed. So we just announced we can no longer be trusted as a partner, so when there is an issue that you do feel is important for the US to be involved, we will have problems.
In addition, the Kurds did our dirty work which we asked them to do. They did it and now we repay them by leaving them to be destroyed.
Finally, the goal to remove troops we can discuss, but acting without any plan or strategy wouldn’t happen even in the lowest level of decision making, let alone the highest gravest level of the Oval Office.
40
@RickK It would appear that America has had difficulty finding "responsible" allies for a significant time. Case in point: Western Europe. A region with 500M+ population, and a GDP equivalent to the US. Western Europe is deeply indebted to America, but at almost every instance shirks equitable participation in coalition. And adding to this problem, Western Europe is in proximity to the Middle East region (Syria), and will sustain almost immediate difficulty if the situation of the article implodes.
5
What does anyone sane think Turkey carving out a 20 mile swath in a different country would result in?
6
Will we grant asylum to fleeing Kurds? Not under this administration, despite the fact that it is exactly and directly our fault that they are now homeless and in real danger.
Trump is despicable - he does a photo op about his grief over the death of American soldiers, but revels in tearing children from their parents' arms and dismisses the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent bystanders in Yemen, and now in Syria, as their problem, not ours, even though we are supplying the bombs and planes in Yemen, and even though we enabled, and thus caused, the attacks on the Kurds, our allies. This is not America, impeach him now.
28
Just remember, the Kurds are no angels folks and this is really nothing more than kids fighting in a schoolyard.
6
We are just telling the world, what type of a partner we are for those who consider teaming with us in the future.
10
Not to worry. US troops won't leave Syria altogether. trump ordered them to flee to clear the way for Turkish invaders to massacre our allies the Kurds, but he's sending US soldiers back in to "protect" oilfields in eastern Syria.
13
Infuriatingly, Trump is too ignorant to comprehend the magnitude of his betrayal of the Kurds.
America throwing its allies to the wolves will have significant consequences, both strategic and on account of the distrust it will engender.
The sad reality is that America, at least under Trump, cannot he trusted.
21
All of Trump’s roads lead to Putin.
21
The NYTs should start a crowdfund for Kobani.
1
Sometimes I wish that comments here weren’t monitored for civility. I can no longer remain civil in my comments when it comes to Trump.
27
Shame on us. To the Kurds, please know we honor and respect your bravery, integrity and sacrifice... and please know the vast majority of Americans do not support the actions of our ignorant and duplicitous president.
30
Kurds are no boy scouts. For some they are freedom fighters, for others they are terrorists.
They are old enough. They don't need us to deal with their problems on their own.
Mr. President,
Don't feed the war machine.
Get our troops home.
Period.
Thank you.
34
@Bhaskar He fed the war machine by withdrawing our troops. Haven't you read the news this past week?
122
@Erik Frederiksen
War is good. Peace is bad.
Sure, I get it.
Because Trump.
15
@Bhaskar - So why did he just send 2500 troops to Saudi Arabia and he also just loves to threaten Iran with catastrophic violence?
Hmmm? I guess abandoning our allies against ISIS and Saddam is OK and supporting a dictatorship of Princes and Kings who kill and imprison journalists who live in America is also ok.
Funny president you support there. Or do you just dislike people who call him on his ineptness?
283
The Kurds are left to fight for survival as their enemies close in for the kill. Trump says he may leave 200 troops but it is too little too late. The Russians the Asad regime, the Turks and ISIS which is now free to roam the countryside freely will not forget their alliance with the US which thwarted their purposes. The Kurds are brave fighters, but they needed our support not only materially, but as a symbol that they were not alone. Mr. Kobani and his troops were always in the middle of the fight to control ISIS. It is hard not to feel for his people and his plight, but it is not only the Kurds at risk, but Israel who is watching this US caused chaos and wonder whether they will be deserted in the lurch by their 'friend' Trump.
118
@just Robert
Right: will Trump also desert our single other women-friendly ally in the ME.
Putin's puppet not only betrayed and abandoned the Kurds, angelic heroes, crucial factor in defeating ISIS, sacrificing 11,000 of their own, and in saving 40,000 Yazidis from getting captured, tortured, and massacred by ISIS, he also blindsided 73 of the 74 member nations of the Defeat ISIS Coalition (he took the US by total backstabbing surprise too on the eve leading into Putin's October Seven no less) and the entirety of NATO except Turkey, basically upending them. Ukraine feels left alone with Russia. Europe feels almost like facing three enemies preying on it from all sides, two of which are crucial NATO members and one of which has covertly but distinctly catered to ISIS, instead of being embedded in and protected by NATO.
The GOP is systematically dismantling and destroying the civilization experiment of the Free West grounded in constitutional democracy and treaty reliability in alliance building and maintenance, throwing years of prudent and meticulous hard work and allied military resources expenditure and sacrifice and trust and stability building and joint international diplomatic effort out the window on a whim, replacing it with greedy and cruel and moronic authoritarian impulses (to for example steal judges, elections, tax cuts, treasury revenue, market distortion and extortion power, environmental and consumer protections, healthcare, social security, and the truth).
4
@Pro(at)Aging
Correction: 72. Russia and Turkey weren't blindsided.
1
Trump has reneged on a promise to an ally, and strengthened ISIS, Syria, Turkey and Russia. All in one fell swoop.
As Pelosi said to Trump, all roads lead to Putin . . .
Whatever happened to the checks and balances in our government? Why is this Russian asset masquerading as our president not in jail?
452
@Erik Frederiksen
"Whatever happened to the checks and balances in our government?" Citizens United and political calculations by the house upon receiving Mueller's report instead of starting the formal impeachment process to uphold and protect our constitution.
18
@Gem
Thanks to Newt in 1998 and his FAKE impeachment of President Clinton Speaker Pelosi has to be very careful how the House of Representatives proceeds with the REAL Impeachment of Individual 1.
8
@Erik Frederiksen
Putin bailed out Donald Trump when he was completely bankrupt. Putin got Trump elected. Trump does what Putin tells him to do. Period.
2
Once again a terrible outcome from a Trump decision a decision spontaneously made or the outcome of a few phone calls with Turkey and Russia. It appears war crimes are already being committed against the Kurds.
Trump will face this someday when he is charged with causing this ethnic cleansing.
This is not America, it’s Trump.
189
@Dave
It may not be America, but Trump is doing all of this horror in our name. He has forever tainted our country. Not only has Trump made Nixon look like a boy scout, but Trump's almost constant betrayal of friends, family members, colleagues, and now American allies makes Judas look almost innocent and Benedict Arnold look like a patriot. Trump has made America into an untrustworthy nation that should probably be regarded as dangerous until proved otherwise.
19
@Dave regretfully, Trump, like Kissinger, will not have to answer for his crimes because the U.S. refuses to subject itself to the jurisdiction of the international criminal court in The Hague Note that this is not the first time. Within the first month of his presidency he ordered a bombing in Yemen which resulted in the deaths of numerous children, the youngest 4 months old.
10
@Dave - George H.W. Bush abandoned the Kurds of Iraq after Desert Storm. This IS america.
2
And now the Turks are saying they want nuclear weapons,
They smell the weakness in the morally bankrupt conman trump.
And believe me they are going to take full advantage of it.
367
Thank you, Mr. Trump.
8
@Steven I would not put it past Trump to sell nuclear weapons if he thought he could make a buck off of it.
28
@Steven If saying so worries you, why don't we talk about North Korea who has been consistently testing missiles ? Nobody even bothers to complain about that.
5
This President cares for nothing...absolutely nothing but himself.
18
Trump has truly made me ashamed to be an American. Everything he has done with foreign policy has served the interests of Putin, Erogan and other foreign leaders. He has abandoned the US and Europe.
37
@DSD Why should our boys die when Europe is totally capable to send it's children to protect them
1
Trying to find a platform. Who will stand with me in horror and outrage and complete powerlessness that trump is sending our troops to Saudi Arabia as MERCENARIES. American service paid for by the Saudis.
20
The Kurds need to remember that they are Muslim, meaning that as far a Trump is concerned they are a lower form of life, as was proven when he tried to keep any of them from coming into the country. He could care less if they were all slaughtered, it would be good riddance as far as he is concerned.
2
This is not just hyperbole. From 1986-1989 the Iraqis waged a campaign against their own Kurdish citizens, which included chemical attacks and which resulted in 90.000-100,00 deaths and thousands more blinded, maimed . The Kurds are an endangered minority in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. What is the world waiting for? Another Anfal?
11
Dear New York Times,
Why do you care?
Why should we care?
There is no national security justification for the United States to remain in Syria.
Bring out troops home.
Leave Russia to clean up the mess.
If ISIS ever rears it's head again we will hit them again.
Harder.
2
@norcalguy101 "There is no national security justification for the United States to remain in Syria."
Wrong by 4 letters. ISIS is strengthened by Trump's ill thought policy.
23
@Erik Frederiksen I hate to break it to you Erik, but ISIS has been rendered essentially extinct in Syria. And even if they still exist, the problem becomes Russia's and Assad's.
We should care because we made a commitment to the Kurds when did the heavy lifting for us against ISIS, just as they were instrumental in opposing Saddam decades before. You are naive to think there aren't any national security implications to our cutting and running from an ally. Our standing in the world has need significantly diminished under this President. You will see how it matters the next time we really need our allies to go to bat for us.
12
This fantastic reporting. A great on-the-ground account that puts a human face on this Trump treachery. Thank you.
55
Reality: the WSJ is reporting that the Kurds have left the border area
2
UN peacekeepers or nothing.
The US is not the world's policemen.
The suffering of the Kurds should not be privileged over other conflicts in the world.
5
A horror. Our cut and run president.
But step back and realize he is immensely popular with GOP voters.
It isn’t just Trump. It is us.
14
@Blue
I wonder if they would stick with trump if the GOP had any alternative to offer. It looks like the republican party elders would rather give up than fight, would rather just horde money than help the country.
3
Few will weep for America.
13
What a total mess; one that will reverberate thought the middle east and eventually cost us more lives. Please keep Trump's finger off the button before he can do even more damage.
42
there is now officially blood on the president's hands.
88
@Angela
And Pelosi and the house of representatives for not starting a formal impeachment proceedings after the Mueller report.
1
Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Jordan is being “Presidential” in the way that Trump isn’t.
83
Nobody wants endless war unless it serves to undermine and discredit Trump for political purposes. So much for keeping priorities straight. Give Trump a chance to work with Erdogan on settling Kurdish/Turkish differences without turning American soldiers into captive hostages over there. It might be useful too if other NATO members leant a hand as well or like Democrats they’re just happy to jeer Trump while pretending to love Kurds.
6
@John Doe Trump discredits himself daily. Hourly and minutely in fact. He don't need our help.
36
@John Doe "Endless War" is a key Russian propaganda talking point they've been pushing into the West since forever. Like all their nonsense, it's a disingenuous lie to support THEIR foreign policy goals. Americans keeping what amounts to a police force in Syria to prevent whole scale genocide is not war. And Russia, which moved right into Syria in our absence, doesn't seem scared of Endless War at all, now, do they?
55
@Cyntha, look, if you and this paper can keep throwing the talking point “abandonment” all the time, I think I’m entitled to one myself.
2
Don't expect any humanitarian help from our president. He is a typical sociopath not interested in others fate as a result of his actions.
148
Total chaos created by the chaos president .he has togo . This is so so awful .
34
Bibi should be on notice. This is what happens when you make a deal with the devil.
87
Bibi was one of many who thought he could fly by Trump's orbit without getting burned. So much for that.
28
@George O
Read the Israeli papers. They realize what Trump has done but more, they have enormous respect and admiration for the Kurds and they are horrified.
3
@George O
No worries for Israel. The Israel Lobby has controlled the US's Near East policies for decades. Eg. Did you vote to donate $133 billion of US taxpayer money (+ $35B more to committed) to the brutal occupiers of Palestine and to buy off Egypt & Jordan for Israel`s benefit at an additional cost of $2.5 billion/yr ? Or to use the USA`s UN Security Council veto dozens of times to prevent the rest of the world from sanctioning the occupiers for their ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people of Palestine ?
1
This fear is far from far-fetched... if anyone has any doubts, check Turkey’s long history of perpetrating genocide, for which the government has not only failed to atone, but in fact has gone to great lengths to suppress.
Maybe someday historians will get to the bottom of what transpired between Trump and Erdogan and led to our withdrawal. Until then we’ll be left to wonder why we gave a nation with 1/52 of our military budget carte blanche to invade and kill.
45
ISIS was created the Bush Administration as a result of the Iraq War and their disastrous decision to disband without pay the Sunni military and police forces. As a result of the US trying to overthrow Assad ( Timber Sycamore) starting in 2013 ( ending in 2017) with the CIA’s second largest operation costing over $1 billion and over 400,000 lives lost. The CIA armed rebels which turned out to be just affiliates of Al Qaeda and ISIS. Saudi Arabia our ally also financed ISIS and Al Qaeda. Turkey provided a pathway for the jihadists to enter Syria.
The US is in Syria illegally. The US financed the Kurds in taking over Northern Syria from ISIS as well as other Syrians. This is an area of the oil wells and agriculture, meant to take out a way for Assad to run his country. The US does not have a right to carve up Syria to provide a country for the Kurds. The Kurds have long lived in Syria peacefully before the US intervention, and they can again under Assad.
The US needs to get out of Syria and our wars for oil. The US it seems is still going to have troops controll the oil and for oil more of our troops will die.
5
@steve The Kurds protected us from ISIS. We made a promise to them that if they protected us from ISIS we would protect them from Turkey and Assad. Our president lied to the Kurds and put their lives in danger. He also released over 700 ISIS prisoners.
End of story.
64
@Dolly Patterson I don't remember a treaty that was ratified to protect them
1
Ethnic cleansing is a "crime against humanity." Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was captured, tried and convicted by the World Court in The Hague. The same fate should await another dictator, Turkey's President Racep Tayyip Erdogan, and perhaps even Donald Trump. Trump has already unleashed a wave of "domestic terrorism" here with his hate speech inspired gun massacres in Pittsburgh and El Paso, his incarceration of immigrant children leading to their deaths in concentration camp-like U.S. detention facilities, and now his support for Erdogan to invade Syria and to conduct what he blithely called a "schoolyard fight" that has already led to dozens of Kurds being killed and now facing extermination. These are all "high crimes" and should be added to the articles under consideration by the House from the Ukraine criminal conspiracy.
28
Trump must be impeached this week to stop this genocide of our Kurdish allies, which will cement Russia's control of strategic Mideast nations.
Europe will be under imminent attack next.
Trump cares only for the power of reelection and more feeding from the trough of the US Treasury by his family.
The Trumps care nothing about national security, as they have aligned themselves with despots like Putin, Kim Jong-un, al-Assad and Erdogan.
Listen to all American and other democratic intelligence agencies, the military generals and admirals, the special ops commanders and a majority of the American people - Impeach Trump Now.
127
@David Parsons So if Europe is going to be under imminent attach, our children should die and let Europe sit back and do nothing? Where are they?
The Kurds get no respect. They are a homeless people. When they can establish a homeland acceptable to their neighbors, they will have a chance at acceptance. Is it possible, this homeland? Probably not.
7
@NOTATE REDMOND You don't know what you are talking about! The Kurds have saved thousands of American's lives.
19
Any chance our species will resume evolving soon? This planet should be a bastion of peace and cooperation, but we remain plagued by malevolent animals who revel in hatred and prejudice.
13
An ethnic cleansing of the Kurdish people by Turkish Army is out of question; you will see.
I would love to leave the wreck the US has become.
60
But to our so-called President, they have “a lot of sand that they can play with “.
43
This is the ninth time that Kurds have been betrayed by the United States and west.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1511716/the-ninth-betrayal
27
@Freesoul yes could you please repeat that couple of times over for the people in the comments section chanting (but never knowing) "US does not abandon an ally US does not abandon an ally US does not abandon an ally" because like it or not, it does...