Trump is fickle. His reputation as a womanizer is being played out on the international front. He has abandoned his partner against ISIS, the Kurds in Syria, for a better-looking alternative. That more attractive trophy is, in Trump’s words, an end to the “endless wars” of the Middle East.
What has been the result? Turkey has attacked the Kurds on Syrian land, using airstrikes that have killed Kurdish forces and civilians. In one strike against a convoy of civilians, a Kurdish journalist was killed and other reporters injured.
This is nothing new for the Kurds in their endless war to secure freedom of speech. Turkey has outlawed Kurds from speaking their own language and does not allow Kurds to publish stories against the government of Turkey, imprisoning journalists who do so.
In an effort to gain autonomy, thousands of Kurds have been killed in the conflict.
But now the Kurds have been forced for protection into the arms of our foe Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia. And then you read that on Monday (10-14-19) the U.S. intervened to stop some Syrian and Russian forces advancing into the region to support the Kurds.
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Trump’s so-called end to endless wars appears to be headed for a catastrophe.
There is a bottom line to all this: do not abandon your allies. Do not kick them under the bus in the name of your supposed gain, for how can you be trusted? What does this tell our other allies? Nothing other than America will not stand by you when the going gets tough and that we honor our own selfish desires first.
But what will happen if a renewed conflict with ISIS breaks out and we need the help of the Kurds again? With our now faithless reputation, what will happen down the road if we need the help of another country against an enemy? Do not be surprised if we get a cold shoulder.
