Tag: Trump abandoned Kurdish allies

Military Officials Say Trump’s Betrayal Is ‘Really Not Good For Us’

Trump’s chaotic and reckless decision to abandon Syria’s Kurds has endangered U.S. troops, pushed Kurdish forces into an alliance with Syria and Russia, and endangered our national security. And now, our own military, defense officials, and even Trump’s own administration are speaking out against his impulsive decision.

US troops, defense officials, and even Trump’s own administration are speaking out against Trump. They say his decision is “really not good for us” and that “it’s pretty messed up.”

“It’s pretty messed up what’s happening out here.” – US special forces soldier “This is really not good for us.” – US defense official

“How do we expect anyone to partner with us now?” – US defense official Continue reading “Military Officials Say Trump’s Betrayal Is ‘Really Not Good For Us’”

Trump’s Retreat

Trump’s actions in Syria mean Russia is in control – and it’s unclear what comes next.

President Donald Trump’s surprise withdrawal from Syria – ordered with no forewarning at a time when he faces ever-intensifying political pressure at home – represents a remarkable American retreat from a relatively stable situation it did not have to abandon. Whatever clout the U.S. may have earned in the region, and subsequent ability to create further stability that would benefit Americans, is now gone.

“The U.S. has blown it. Trump has successfully blown it to the benefit of all the others,” says Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at The Atlantic Council.

The question is what comes next.

Kurdish forces who fought alongside the U.S. against the Islamic State group served as an essential bulwark protecting the Washington’s goal of negotiating a peace that would secure its political interests in Syria’s future and in the wider region. But any sense of cooperation the Kurds felt with the U.S. is now dashed. And questions remain about whether the Trump administration can deliver on the terms of a dubious cease-fire agreement with Turkey that Vice President Mike Pence announced Thursday in Ankara.

View the complete Paul D. Shinkman on The U.S. News and World Report website here.

Syria cease-fire agreement lifts threat of U.S. sanctions while letting Turkey keep buffer zone

Washington Post logoISTANBUL — Turkey agreed Thursday to a cease-fire that would suspend its march into Syria and temporarily halt a week of vicious fighting with Kurdish forces, while allowing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government to carve out a long-coveted buffer zone far beyond its borders.

The agreement, announced by Vice President Pence after hours of negotiations, appeared to hand Turkey’s leader most of what he sought when his military launched an assault on northeastern Syria just over a week ago: the expulsion of Syrian Kurdish militias from the border and the removal of a U.S. threat to impose sanctions on Turkey’s vulnerable economy.

Pence said Turkey had agreed to pause its offensive for five days while the United States helped facilitate the withdrawal of ­Kurdish-led forces, called the ­Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), from a large swath of territory stretching from Turkey’s border nearly 20 miles south into Syria. After the completion of the Kurdish withdrawal, Turkey’s military operation, which began Oct. 9, would be “halted entirely,” Pence said.

View the complete October 17 article by Kareem Fahim, Karen DeYoung and Seung Min Kim on The Washington Post website here.

Erdogan says Turkey will ‘never declare a ceasefire’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed US calls for a ceasefire in northern Syria and said that he’s not worried about American-imposed sanctions, or the advancement of Russian-backed Syrian forces toward the Turkish border.

Speaking to journalists traveling on his presidential plane following a visit to Azerbaijan Tuesday, Erdogan said a ceasefire was off the table. “Declare a ceasefire, they say. We will never declare a ceasefire,” Erdogan said. “We do not sit at the table with terrorist organizations.”

Erdogan’s comments come as Russian-backed Syrian regime troops on Tuesday gained control of the town of Manbij and surrounding areas, until recently an active US military outpost.

View the complete October 16 article by Helen Regan and Taylor Barnes on the CNN website here.

Trump’s sanctions won’t bite a vulnerable Turkish economy

FRANKFURT, Germany — The sanctions the U.S. announced against Turkey this week over its offensive in Syria fall well short of doing serious damage to an economy still healing from a recession and currency collapse.

President Donald Trump could take far tougher action that would deter foreign investment and credit that Turkey badly needs. But doing so could backfire in a number of ways, and it’s not clear he really wants to.

Trump has said he could “destroy and obliterate” the economy of Turkey and called on the country to rein in its Syria offensive.

View the complete October 15 article by David McHugh from the Associated Press on The Star Tribune website here.

Furious Republicans prepare to rebuke Trump on Syria

The Hill logoCongressional Republicans appear poised to hand President Trump a stinging rebuke of his Turkey and Syria policy when lawmakers return to Washington this week.

GOP lawmakers, furious over Trump’s decision to withdraw troops to make way for a Turkish offensive against Kurdish allies, are preparing legislation that would force the administration to impose sanctions on Turkey.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday that Trump would sign an executive order giving the Treasury Department “very significant” new sanctions authorities against Turkey, but it’s unclear whether the move will be enough to placate Republicans on Capitol Hill.

View the complete October 13 article by Rebecca Kheel on The Hill website here.

Trump faces bipartisan criticism for Syria withdrawal

Washington Post logoPresident Trump faced bipartisan criticism Sunday for his decision to order a withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria, with one congressional Republican denouncing the move as “weak” and a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman warning that it will “diminish the character of our great nation.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, announced that both chambers are readying a joint resolution urging Trump to reverse his decision.

The developments came on the same day that Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced the planned withdrawal of virtually all U.S. forces from northern Syria in the face of a Turkish military offensive targeting Kurdish fighters in the region.

View the complete October 13 article by Felicia Sonmez on The Washington Post website here.

As Trump withdraws U.S. forces from northern Syria, his administration scrambles to respond

Washington Post logoPresident Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria, where they had long kept an uneasy peace among competing forces, left the region in upheaval Sunday and the administration scrambling to respond to fast-moving events.

In urgent meetings and telephone conferences, top national security officials studied often-conflicting accounts of what was happening on the ground. In public appearances, Cabinet secretaries denied that the United States had “abandoned” its Syrian Kurdish allies to invading Turkish ­forces and threatened severe sanctions against Ankara.

“This is total chaos,” a senior administration official said at midday, speaking on the condition of anonymity about the confusing situation in Syria.

View the complete October 13 article by Karen DeYoung, Don Lamothe, Missy Ryan and Kareem Fahim on The Washington Post website here.