Trump Betrayed the Kurds. He Couldn’t Help Himself.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Betrayal is a leitmotif for this president’s entire life. Think of how he cheated on his wives .
Think of the infant child of a nephew who had crucial medical benefits withdrawn by
Trump because of Trump’s retaliation against his nephew over an inheritance dispute . Think
of those who enrolled at Trump University and were defrauded . Think about the contractors
whom Trump has stiffed. Think of Jeff Sessions, the first prominent Republican to endorse
Trump, whom Trump viciously turned against because Sessions had properly recused himself
from overseeing the investigation into whether Russia had intervened in the 2016 election.
Think about those who served in Trump’s administration—Rex Tillerson, John Bolton, Don
McGahn, Reince Priebus, Gary Cohn, James Mattis, and many more—who were
unceremoniously dumped and, in some cases, mocked on their way out the door.
Trump Betrayed the Kurds. He Couldn’t Help Himself.
PETER WEHNER OCTOBER 15, 2019
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
President Donald Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds stung deeply. “They trusted us and we broke that trust. It’s a stain on the American conscience.” These, according to The New York Times , are the searing words of an Army officer who has worked alongside the Kurds in northern Syria.
Kurdish forces played a central role in aiding the United States in fighting the Islamic State. But in a phone call a week ago Sunday, Trump gave the green light to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to invade northern Syria—and, in the process, to engage in what even one of Trump’s most loyal supporters, Senator Lindsey Graham, describes as the “ ethnic cleansing ” of the Kurds.
According to Jennifer Griffin and Melissa Leon of Fox News, Trump was supposed to tell Erdoğan to stay north of the border, but instead “went off script.” By Wednesday, the Turkish offensive began, with Erdoğan ’s aim to push back the Syrian Kurds from the border region. The results have been swift and brutal : the displacement of more than 100,000 people , executions and war crimes, the escape of hundreds of Islamic State prisoners. (If Islamic State fighters escape, they’ll “be escaping to Europe,” Trump said last week—as if Europe’s problems don’t affect the United States.) For the Kurds, the consequences of America’s policy change will only get worse. “I don’t know how many people will die. A lot of people will die,” a senior military source told Fox News . Yesterday the Trump administration tried frantically to make Turkey stand down, but enormous damage has already been done.
For once, Republicans have forcefully spoken out against Mr. Trump. Graham said our Kurdish allies had been “shamelessly abandoned by the Trump administration.” Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said Trump’s decision is having “sickening and predictable” consequences. Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, said on Face the Nation that “leaving an ally behind … is disheartening, depressing.” He added , “The Kurds found out on Twitter, for goodness’ sake. We have left them to the wolves. And the message this is sending to our allies around the world, I think, is really going to be bad.” Senator Mitt Romney, the Republican lawmaker who has been the most willing to speak the truth about Trump, declared on Twitter , “The President’s decision to abandon our Kurd allies in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal.”
Indeed it is. But betrayal is hardly new to Trump, who routinely abandons people who trust in him or the nation he leads. By now, this behavior should come as a surprise to exactly no one.
Betrayal is a leitmotif for this president’s entire life. Think of how he cheated on his wives . Think of the infant child of a nephew who had crucial medical benefits withdrawn by Trump because of Trump’s retaliation against his nephew over an inheritance dispute . Think of those who enrolled at Trump University and were defrauded . Think about the contractors whom Trump has stiffed. Think of Jeff Sessions, the first prominent Republican to endorse Trump, whom Trump viciously turned against because Sessions had properly recused himself from overseeing the investigation into whether Russia had intervened in the 2016 election. Think about those who served in Trump’s administration—Rex Tillerson, John Bolton, Don McGahn, Reince Priebus, Gary Cohn, James Mattis, and many more—who were unceremoniously dumped and, in some cases, mocked on their way out the door.
Also think of how Trump has disparaged his own country while making excuses for strongmen. When MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said Vladimir Putin “kills journalists, political opponents, and invades countries,” Trump replied that “at least he’s a leader.” Besides, Trump asserted, “I think our country does plenty of killing also.” And when asked whether Erdoğan was exploiting the coup attempt to purge his political enemies, Trump did not call for the Turkish leader to observe the rule of law, or Western standards of justice. “When the world sees how bad the United States is and we start talking about civil liberties, I don’t think we are a very good messenger,” he said .
As McKay Coppins put it in The Atlantic shortly after the president was sworn in, “Trump built his success on his willingness to toss aside mentors, friends, and family members during moments of frustration and chaos.” Serial betrayal is a central trait of Trump’s character, and his critics warned from the start against elevating such a person to the nation’s highest position of public trust. When the consequences are the serial humiliation of Cabinet secretaries and White House aides, they are easier for Trump’s political supporters to rationalize or overlook. But as the professor Robert King once declared, “Betrayal is a garment without seams.” The danger is far plainer when the victims of Trump’s betrayal are longtime American allies facing deadly force.
Individuals like Donald Trump, who chronically betray others, are incapable of authentic relationships or genuine human connections. They view other people solely in transactional terms. For malignant narcissists, they themselves are the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Other human beings don’t have inherent dignity; their worth is determined solely in terms of what they can do for the person who is the betrayer. If the answer is nothing, then others are dismissed, discarded, and abandoned. There is no empathy, no sympathy, no guilt or shame.
The Kurds were a mere afterthought to Donald Trump. Turkey’s Erdoğan is the type of authoritarian leader who can easily manipulate the president. Erdoğan wanted something done, and Trump was willing to do it.
A year ago, President Trump was praising the Kurds as “great” allies, vowing to protect them. “They fought with us. They died with us,” Trump said . “We have not forgotten.” But just a few days ago, he dismissed the Kurds this way : “They didn’t help us in the Second World War. They didn’t help us with Normandy, as an example.”
President Trump doesn’t interpret his abandonment of America’s faithful and intrepid Kurdish ally as betrayal because he can’t even understand why betrayal is a vice. It’s like trying to explain color to a person born with no eyesight. He doesn’t appear to comprehend that a relationship without trust is not a true relationship; it’s merely an exchange of needs—and President Trump will betray anyone who no longer serves his needs.
“We should expect our current president to betray anyone or any principle or any norm or any ally whenever he has the impulse to do so,” a friend of mine who is a psychologist told me. (To make sense of the Trump years, an understanding of psychology is at least as helpful as an understanding of politics.) “This should scare us all, and there’s no evidence he is capable of deferring to someone else when his relationship indifference could (again) cost lives.”
My friend went on to say, “Expect betrayal, because [Trump] does not know what that even means.”
The betrayal won’t stop with the Kurds. Every individual, every institution, every government agency, and every American ally could meet a similar fate. Donald Trump’s loyalty runs exactly as deep to his fellow citizens, the rule of law, the Constitution, America’s best traditions, and traditional codes of honor and decency as it does to his previous wives, to his former aides, and to those he has done business with. “A stain on the American conscience” isn’t just a characterization of what Trump did to the Kurds in northern Syria. It may also prove to be a fitting epitaph for the Trump presidency as a whole.
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NATO betrayed the Kurds. NATO is allowing another NATO nation to do what they are doing right now.
Funny ….. I didn't know the U.S.A. was the ONLY real member in NATO.
Who knew ?
Comments like that, coming from you, should come as no surprise to us.
That's the best rebuttal you have ?
What about those other members of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)anyway. Are they totally exempt from EVERYTHING that needs to be accomplished in this world ?
NONE of this situation with the Kurds/Syria would be happening if your Messiah Trump hadn't made a call to Erdogan giving him the green light to go butcher people.
Trump is 100% responsible, for changing the status quo. You want to blame everyone else but the person who gave the order.
It's not NATO that gave the order, it's your Messiah Trump that gave the order to pullback.
It's not the man in the moon who gave the order, it's your Messiah Trump that gave the order to pullback
It's not the MSM that gave the order, it's your Messiah Trump that gave the order to pullback.
It's wasn't Perrie, or John, or me, or even you that gave the order, it's your Messiah Trump that gave the order to pullback.
Thank Goodness !
Trump didn't start the Syria mess....(Dems don't care)
Trump has been telling NATO Nations to get more involved since his election....(Dems hated it)
NATO Nations aren't getting any more involved than "Word Salad" …… (Dems Luv it)
Someone has to finish it for a change...…
Trump is FINISHING IT …… (Dems Hate that)
He sure the hell did. Everything was stable there until Trump told the troops to pull back after a convo with Erdogan the Islamist. Funny how easily you can call Obama that, yet you are OK to our president kowtowing to one.
There you go!
I said so !
"Everything was stable there"
You're kidding.....right ?
"Erdogan the Islamist"
This so-called "Islamists", is part of NATO !
Speak to NATO....like Trump has done (Dems hated what he told NATO members though) !
They are part of NATO since there is no way to kick them out. Did you know that? They also do business with Russia. How cozy.
Yes I did. I also remember when people complained that Obama drew redlines that he didn't follow through with. Even I was not happy with that since I thought it made us look weak. Either do something or don't, but don't make a threat that you will not follow through with.
As for putting them there, he did so to keep detention camps there and not here and to keep ISIS at bay, which was no easy task, and one that the Kurds did for us. We did not do the fighting. We were only there to advise and that is why those on the ground there are against what just happened.
Actually....they can ….if anyone had some guts to get them out !
The Good Guys in the G8 (Now G7) kicked Russia out, why can't the good guys in NATO kick Turkey out ?
"They also do business with Russia.".....
Before they didn't ?
Which country doesn't do business with Russia….. really ?
Is Germany (A NATO NATION) the only country that still "NEEDS" natural gas from Russia ?
Deflect.... Obama! Deflect...… NATO Deflect..... Democrats!
You missed one of your standard lines...… But Hillary!
Trump is FINISHING IT
Yep... By throwing an ally that bled for us, their wives, and children to the wolves.
Sorry that morality and character aren't things you equate with America.
Whataboutisms are all fine and dandy XD, and sure decisions in the past led to this situation sucked, but this sure as hell isn't a competition to see who can make the worst decision.
This is about character, morality and leadership in the here and now.
Trump gave the order that started this chain reaction. Till then, the status quo was keeping Turkey on their side of the border, ISIS on the run, and the Kurds safe as our allies.
Really ?
Seems "Morality" in this country is subjective …. depending on the political subject of the time !
Trump doesn't worry about politics ….which just "Burns" the "Left" to no end !
"Deflect.... Obama! Deflect...… NATO Deflect..... Democrats!"
"Ignorance" really is "Bliss" ?
I'm guessing by your the sophistication of your responses, you're too young to have taken Oath of Enlistment, thus you've never been exposed to the POW Code of Conduct and the articles contained therein.
I can only suggest that you challenge yourself to grasp the morality that is uniquely American that both the oath and the code contain. It is with hope that you can then communicate on this very serious topic with a greater degree of respect for the gravity of the matter.
Good luck.
Weak response.
I guess in your mind….if no one actually "Served" (you don't know me anyway
), they should NEVER have an opinion, and should NEVER run for political office either ?
What is really "Moral" when it comes to Wars anyway ? One bullet strategically placed, for a "Sensitive" kill ?
Maybe "Safer Bullets" are warranted, like Joycelyn Elders advocated for, so WAR wouldn't be HELL ?
No... That's what I get for trying to engage a child like response with an adult approach.
Just another example that it is impossible to shame a Trump supporter. The concept of character and morality just isn't going to register with him or them.
It's going to be difficult for you to grasp what America use to represent to world until you put the needs of that which is America ahead of yourself. And you're not likely to ever do that. I'll leave you to yourself to sit in judgement of your actions, comments, and lack of empathy.
Like the above comment ….
or.....
using comments like this:
"you're too young to have taken Oath of Enlistment, thus you've never been exposed to the POW Code of Conduct and the articles contained therein. "
Good try at being an adult though !
Maybe go for that …..'Did you enlist" or "have you been in battle" thingy again. That worked great !
Just as hard as it is to try and talk sense to a Trump supporter. Both are impossible. As it takes sense to feel shame.
Stable in a country that has been been fighting a proxy civil war for 8 years?
A place where US forces are operating in close proximity to Syrian government forces, Russian mercenaries, and Iranian militias.
Where US air force and Navy ships trade close proximity fly byes with Russian air craft.
The US is in Syria illegally. The War on Terror is recognized by no one outside of the US. Obama never went to the UN or received permission from the Syrian government. Syria has requested US, French, and Turkish troops depart Syria.
Oh, and this isn't some spure of the moment decision. Trump has been talking about it for two damn years.
So where are supposed great allies the French and British; well they beat the US out the door! No US to do the heavy lifting and they wimp out. Despite promises.
Yet no one is blasting Britain or France for failing to live up to their commitment. Nor are they blasting NATO, who by all rights should be running this operation. Again, no US, and NATO wimps out.
The Kurds have now joined Syrian government forces- which is what I called for long ago; but the US presence in Syria gave them the false hope that Assad would be removed. Now maybe the damn civil war will finally start to wind down!
Not every world situation needs the US special touch. Sometimes we should just stay the damn hell out!
There is no way now; but NATO can amend that. Also, that doesn't prevent any NATO member from putting sanctions on Turkey, or NATO excluding Turkey from all operations.
meh, the poor guy has a life long history of pulling out early
Jesus someone is going into emoji overload. Make it stop!
Trump betrayed the Kurds and is personally responsible for the consequences, from escaping members of ISIS to lost respect and trust in the world. Our military are ashamed. For shame on republicans who support this treason. The one who wins? Putin. And you can look up why if you want to know the truth.
Obama betrayed the "Kurds". Obama drew the "Redline", probably 3 or 6 times before he skulked away in disgrace, and turned it over to the "Geo-political inept" RUSSIANS !
Again, more candyazz deflection..... Obama....Bengazhi….her emails.
Trump gave the order in the here and now that set the current day events in motion.
TRUMP GAVE THE ORDER that is the cause of the Kurds being slaughtered as we speak.
Must have been Trump that left Syria and handed it over to the Russians.
Yep.
So who opened the door and let Russia into Syria? It damn sure wasn't Trump he wasn't in office yet.
That would leave......
'Yep.
Reading is your friend, read the article.
A retired United States Marine Corps general, Mattis served in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
Fox news reports that Former Secretary of Defense General James Mattis criticized President Trump’s decision to remove American troops from Syria, saying in his first public comments on the matter that the Islamic State now “will resurge” in the region.
"I think Secretary of State Pompeo, the intelligence services, the foreign countries that are working with us have it about right that ISIS is not defeated,” Mattis said. during an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”
“We have got to keep the pressure on ISIS so they don't recover."
Mattis’ comments come after Trump announced that he was pulling troops from Syria, greenlighting an invasion by Turkey of the war-torn region and stirring up strong bipartisan criticism from lawmakers in Washington that he was endangering regional stability and risking the lives of Syrian Kurdish allies who brought down the Islamic State group in Syria.
"You can pull your troops out, as President Obama learned the hard way, out of Iraq, but the 'enemy gets the vote' as we say in the military,”
Mattis said. “And in this case, if we don't keep the pressure on then ISIS will resurge. It's, it's absolutely a given that they will come back.”
Here we go again. We've danced this dance too many times. The dance has ended the same, without exception. This is just another celebration of gun culture. Guns kill and soldiers carry guns. Why? Thank a gun for making us free. Without guns, soldiers cannot spread democracy around the world.
Look, we all know Joe Biden wanted to partition Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Biden wants a Palestinian state, too. But the only war wound Biden has to worry about are callouses on his backside while he butt dimples fine leather upholstery. Biden depends upon guns to 'liberate' people and spread democracy. Biden is a poster boy for gun culture.
Don't thank a veteran; thank a gun. The Kurds don't care about American values; the Kurds only want American guns. And the Kurds will remain our allies as long as American soldiers kill their enemies. So, grab a gun and make the Kurds free. The Kurds will be grateful until the United States tries to tell them how to govern themselves.
Trump didn't abandon the Kurds or anyone else. The military mission in Syria was to destroy ISIS as an army. There isn't an ISIS army or a caliphate any longer. The military mission was accomplished; the mission is over. The United States can't partition Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Turkey alone. Europe, NATO, and the United Nations must be involved. The United States military cannot establish civilian government. The military can only establish a military government of occupation maintained by force of arms. Guns won't bring democracy to the Middle East.
Yes, here you go again, justifying injustice, rationalizing abandoning our allies, shirking off responsibility all because you have to find a way to spin this Presidents careless actions. I've no doubt how you would have viewed this if it had been Obama abandoning our allies who helped us fight ISIS while also creating a vacuum that the remnants of ISIS will no doubt fill. The conservative outrage would have exploded and you know it. No way any tepid defense of how "guns won't bring democracy to the Middle East" would have been coming from the right and they know it. But now that its their guy who did it they've got to manufacture a rationale that they know doesn't hold water, but what else do they have? They've tied themselves to this millstone so they're all in and will do any amount of mental contortions necessary to continue supporting this monumental disaster in the white house.
If this had been Obama's decision, you would be wanting to give him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Total nonsense. I was disappointed with many of the actions taken by the Obama administration. I disagreed with their increased use of drone strikes and their decision to back off the warning of a red line (though a military response was taken to congress as it should have been and rejected by Republicans so that's not all on Obama) and I disagreed with how they handled Libya. No human is perfect, which of course includes all Presidents, but the distance from the relatively high bar that we usually have demanded from our highest elected leaders in the nation is so far off with Trump it's almost as if there's simply no bar at all anymore, at least not for his sycophants. Anything he does is immediately justified and defended regardless of the human casualties his decisions cause. With this numbskull move he has condemned tens of thousands of our allies to death and his supporters are washing his hands of it saying "So what?" "Are we supposed to save everyone?" "The Kurds are us! It's not as if it's happening here! So who cares about some Muslims caught in the middle?". It's shameful, and the fact that so many of Trump supporters seem impervious to such shame is very sad and just more evidence they have lost their American ideals, values and morality in favor of corruption, a dictator and white nationalism all because they've been promised a special place in Trumps vision of a revitalized white Christian patriarchy here at home.
Yes, the slobbering is always present. The never ending excuses for Obama.
No Human is perfect ?
"I was disappointed with many of the actions taken by the Obama administration. I disagreed with their increased use of drone strikes and their decision to back off the warning of a red line (though a military response was taken to congress as it should have been and rejected by Republicans so that's not all on Obama) and I disagreed with how they handled Libya."
How many lives were lost during those ….. lack of perfections by Obma ?
It was Obama. That's why US troops are in Syria. Obama drew a red line in the sand which was a mistake. So, Obama put the military in Syria to cover his careless empty threats.
And don't forget that Obama pulled the military out of Iraq, abandoned our Kurdish allies in Iraq, and allowed ISIS to create an army and a caliphate. Where was Europe, NATO, and the United Nations when Obama removed the military from Iraq?
The only way the United States can get out of the Middle East is to get out. Otherwise the United States is stuck in perpetual war. And perpetual war requires a gun culture; bouquets of daisies won't do much. The United States must commit itself to killing the enemies of feckless allies.
I guess we can't question why we are in the middle of these continuing conflicts in the ME. Seems most people here are happy and content with the status quo of nothing ever being accomplished for the blood of our soldiers. I guess we also forgot or learned nothing from Vietnam.
Every time we go one step forward in the ME, we end up going five steps back.
No, Obama put the US military in Syria under the guise of the "War on Terror" to remove Assad. He didn't count on Assad brokering a deal with Russia, China, and Iran to bail him out.
Yes, Obama did; but that was not his fault. Blame that on the SOFA agreement by Bush Jr, and the Iraqi government- who were taking their marching orders from Iran. Obama offered to keep "as many troops in Iraq as the government wanted"; but the Iraqis wanted US troops to be pulled out, and if they stayed any crimes they committed would be tried in Iraqi courts. Obama had no choice but to pull them out.
I do blame for Obama for putting US forces back into Iraq. For retraining and reequipping the destroyed Iraqi military, and using US forces to give them backbone in the field. For using the US Air Force for providing cover not just for government forces; but also Iranian militia. We had no business propping up a government loyal to Iran. The Iranians must be laughing their asses off over our stupidity.
Iraq was never a NATO operation. It was a "Coalition of the willing". Our coalition allies left Iraq long before we did. Once we left NATO and the UN wanted nothing to do with Iraq. Just like they didn't want anything to do with Iraq when Obama sent US forces back in to save the Iraqi government. Without the US NATO and the UN are just a collection of useless talking heads.
Dead on. Our "allies" are completely worthless. Unless we act and do the majority of the lifting they won't even bother to show up. But they damn well are first in line with their hands out when it comes to economic and military aide.
Except for some, I think the Vietnam War has been forgotten already and that is a shame. I also believe that many people feel America's involvement in the ME just started with the Iraq War.
I just want to say that Obama was consistent. Trump doesn 't look consistent. And thus, he brings additional chaos to this whole difficult situation.
Exactly!
Would you stop an aggressor before or after they became an immediate threat?
The aggressor has been stopped as a viable military force in Syria. ISIS/ISIL has moved on to greener pastures in Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Afghanistan, and Africa. Pretty much anywhere Sunni Islam is a major religion, and there is a weak government.
But ISIS/ISIL as a military is not the problem. Their terrorism is; but how do you stop the internet? The ISIS/ISIL attacks in the US have been by US citizens recruited to their cause. Even if you manage to kill every last ISIS/ISIL fighter; the terrorism will persist. How do you kill an ideology?
Europe has more to fear from ISIS/ISIL foreign terrorists; but you don't see them in Syria. France and Britain beat us to the exit. If they were so concerned about the thousands of ISIS/ISIL prisoners they would have taken back those from their countries; and requested the parent countries of the others take them back for trial and sentencing. Instead there they sit unguarded if overflowing cramped conditions- along with their families in the thousands more surrounding them. Oh well they are Syria's problem now. Wonder how they will handle it?
The mid-east has been unstable and chaotic for hundreds of years. Calling it a "difficult situation" is putting it mildly. There will never be stability in the region. Kin, Klan, religion is more important to many middle easterners than peace.
I agree with you. But let me ask you. The middle ages in Europe were not like chaos? Humanity is developing unevenly?
odd
Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years.
Excellent book. Did you read?
To do what, exactly? Create a country for them? Help them become independent from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq? All at once, or one at a time?
We armed them and trained them. In return, they killed ISIS forces, which is good for us but also good for pretty much everyone. Now ISIS is mostly dead and they remain armed and trained.
Which is great for the Kurds. ISIS/ISIL tried to destroy the Kurds in Iraq and Syria. This was an alliance of mutual convenience, nothing more. The Kurds took the assistance that was beneficial to them, period.
Notice how quickly they made peace with Assad once we left? That should have happened a long time ago; but Obama gave them false hope that we would get Assad removed for them.