As Turkey’s military actions intensify in northern Syria, Trump is defending his decision to abandon Kurdish allies by claiming he wants to focus his attention on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Some people want the United States to protect the 7,000 mile away Border of Syria, presided over by Bashar al-Assad, our enemy,” Trump wrote on Monday. “At the same time, Syria and whoever they chose to help, wants naturally to protect the Kurds. I would much rather focus on our Southern Border which abuts and is part of the United States of America. And by the way, numbers are way down and the WALL is being built!”
After an Oct. 6 phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump announced U.S. troops would withdraw from northern Syria, giving tacit permission for Turkey to begin military action in the area. Trump abandoned Kurdish allies in the region who had been pivotal to America’s fight against ISIS, knowing Turkey would attack the Kurds.
View the complete October 14 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.