Donald Trump’s Disastrous Betrayal of Syrian Kurds Helps Assad, Iran, Russia and Islamist Terrorists

           Donald Trump, who won the United States presidential election through fraud, including interference from Russian Federation tyrant Vladimir Putin, withdrew American military forces from the Kurdish-held parts of Syria, abandoning the U.S. allies in the fight against the “Islamic State” and other Islamist terrorists, to the advantage of the terrorists and Syria’s Assad regime, Russia and Iran, to permit Islamist Turkey to invade northern Syria to slaughter the Kurds.

Some Kurds in Turkey are Marxist terrorists, but not the ones in Syria who are part of an American-backed coalition of non-Islamic forces, including Christians, opposed to Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad, who is backed by Iran and Russia.  The U.S. leads an international coalition of mostly Western and Arab states against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda Islamist terrorists.  Turkey wants to destroy the Kurds.  Iran, the world’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism, uses Syria as a conduit to terrorists it sponsors.  Russia maintains a Mediterranean base in Syria and wants to counter American influence.

Only fifty American troops had advised the Kurdish forces and deterred Syria and Turkey, as part of a force of only 1,000 U.S. servicemen.  Trump’s excuses for doing Putin’s bidding about the sacrifice of American blood and treasure are not credible, as the U.S. was taking few casualties and spending little money, and his declaration that the war was “senseless” is false, as the Americans had, with their Syrian and international coalition allies, destroyed the physical “caliphate” declared by the Islamic State, formerly “Al-Qaeda in Iraq.”  The IS had kidnapped and killed Americans and threatened to conquer many lands, including Rome and Washington.  It has affiliates around the world.  The American withdrawal encourages enemies to continue to fight until Americans become weary, even if few casualties are inflicted.  Contrary to Trump’s boast of “ending” the war, his needless withdrawal only shifts the battlefield elsewhere as the IS rises again.

The Kurds had lost over 10,000 fighters against the IS and were responsible for holding thousands of IS fighters and detaining their families.  The Trump Administration had even convinced the Kurds to let their guard down along the border with Turkey before allowing the Turkish invasion.  The Islamist dictator of Turkey, where Trump has business interests, convinced Trump to withdraw.

Turkey is expanding its invasion beyond where it had promised.  Turkish-backed Syrian Arab forces have begun committing atrocities against Kurds and assassinating Kurdish politicians, and Russia, as it had targeted in areas controlled by other non-Islamist Syrian rebels during the Syrian Civil War, bombed a hospital.  Some of the IS fighters have escaped.  The betrayal of the loyal Kurdish allies of the U.S. destroys American credibility.  The Kurds had to surrender to Assad and Russia to save themselves from Turkey.  

There have been bipartisan expressions of disapproval among members of the U.S. Congress, where a plan for sanctions on Turkey is developing, among other legislation being considered to blunt the effect of Trump’s disastrous decision.  Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and thus a U.S. ally, but the relationship has been strained by the Islamist authoritarian Turkish President and his purchase of Russian missiles.  Several European States, including several members of NATO, have imposed sanctions on Turkey.  Some of them who are members of the European Union have called for the EU to impose its own sanctions.  Despite these worthy efforts that must be pursued, Trump’s withdrawal is even more disastrous and far-reaching than his predecessor, Barack Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq or unfreezing of funds to Iran.