As Turkish troops roll into Northern Syria, attacking the Kurds, erstwhile U.S. alllies in the fight against ISIS, did President Trump’s chaotic approach to the growing conflict invite Turk aggression? Can you support President Trump, but oppose his approach to this conflict?
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As Troops Roll: Did Trump Invite Turkey’s Attack Against U.S. Kurdish Allies?
As Turkish troops roll into Northern Syria, attacking the Kurds, erstwhile U.S. alllies in the fight against ISIS, did President Trump’s chaotic approach to the growing conflict invite Turk aggression? Can you support President Trump, but oppose his approach to this conflict?
15 replies on “As Troops Roll: Did Trump Invite Turkey’s Attack Against U.S. Kurdish Allies?”
While the enemy of my enemy is my friend, once our mutual enemy is defeated, can I not reconsider who my friends are?
Thanks for your honesty Scott. I wondered because of some of your comments while playing “devil’s advocate” if you really didn’t think that well of Donald Trump before he was elected. Clearly the intensity and tenor of your voice signal (to me) that you may still feel angry that he won. Okay— we all have tells. Still, it is good and reasonable to have the three of you bounce off of each other in discussions. You are allowed to be who you are.
We are better off protecting our turf here at home when demographics and leftist ideologues threaten to overwhelm and negatively change the USA forever. I support the president on this Syria issue. Know when to hold’em and know when to fold’em. We shall see.
Did you hear the president talk about waiting with the loved ones for the coffins to be delivered at Dover? If not, you all should hear what he said. It was sorrowful and sincerely touching.
If you look at a map you notice something interesting Turkey has attacked a location within short range of Kurdish airbases and between two major Kurdish armies. By “pulling” the US troops out of the place he did, Trump chose the battlefield.
Scott is asking Churchill to tell Hitler which beach he’s planning to land on. “In war truth needs a body guard of lies.” Trump is manipulating his enemies after telling his friends, behind closed doors, what the plan is.
Its not a conspiracy theory its the Presidents MO modus operandi. When you’ve seen it work 50 times you can’t miss it.
We were told 18 months ago Turkey was on the list of dictators to be taken out.
If Trump said he’s pulling people out and if it came as a surprise to the military then they aren’t pulled out are they? He has baited Turkey into showing its hand and negating its NATO membership. Turkey is the last Sunni islamist entity in the northern middle east. Its the only one making its own tanks, etc. Its a threat not just to the Kurd’s in Iraq & Syria. I doubt anyone is really surprised. This has been wargamed out for years.
There may be one or two clueless Republican congressmen that are genuinely surprised. Everyone else including Bolton is thinking “they took the bait!”
We could end this war in a couple days. We just have to commit to killing millions.
We cannot save every puppy in the pound. Where should America invest? I don’t think Syria, the Kurds, or Turkey offer us anything–ideologically or materially–to stay in the region. If so few actual troops are there, what effective presence does the US have? Do the Kurds share the US ideology? Lots of questions still here.
I just hate this.
As signatories to the NATO treaty, Turkey is also an ally. If Turkey requested it, we’re probably obligated by law to provide military assistance against the Kurds instead of simply getting out of the way. Foreign entanglements are a bitch aren’t they?
Well, that is a sobering and disturbing data point to bring to the table.
Turkey’s NATO status has been negated for years since the shot down a Russian plane from Turkish airspace. It has not shared NATO code books, etc for 2 years. They are on their own. The NATO ACTS include a clause the neutralises any obligation if a member is the aggressor and then asks for help when it goes wrong.
The Russian plane that the State Department confirmed had entered Turkish airspace after repeatedly being warned off?
Well, said, Scott.
Clear about the what, not the why and how. He does need to explain the why sometimes. And the out of the blue look to this is disconcerting, especially to those who have family in harms way. 10,000+ prisoners back on the street is bad no matter how you slice it.
If we go to battle, our reason to do so should be clear. The outcome of the battle should also be clear from the get go. If we don’t have a clear reason, we should not go into battle.
If a line is drawn beyond which our opponent shall not go, we should make clear that he will not go past that line. The outcome should be clear from the get go.
Should we be in Syria? Should we have pulled out already? Should we stay and fight? The answers to these questions are not clear. Partly because we don’t have enough data to be clear and partly because of the abysmal way the whole situation has been handled by at least five administrations.
Perhaps the best we can do is try something and react to what happens. Maybe the current situation is exactly that or maybe it is a huge mistake. I suggest a better than the worst thing to do is: hang on, sit down, speak up, hope for the best, and be prepared for the worst. Which is what we have mostly done for several centuries. It is simply a same old same old event with new places and names.