In the end it's about money for US President
Donald J. Trump who counts no one as a friend. But with friends like the Trump administration who needs an enemy? The bonds of such fake friendship are loose.
One ally is led to the edge of danger and is abandoned by the larger power - in this case the United States. The smaller partner is alone and in peril, like the Kurds must be feeling right now. 'Friends can be opportunists too,' should be story of this administration's tryst with war, or whatever it thought it was waging for the sake of humanity and against the nexus of evil. Partners can be dispensed with as Trump and his aides are chary and unsure of completing the mission(s) they have set out to do. Well begun is half done - that's been the story thus far, with little chance of course correction so late into the presidency. In other words - this has been a shady, shameful, and cowardly exit - leaving an ally to fend for itself when the going's good in northeast Syria where the Kurds hold the upper hand. Cutting losses and running is done by even the strongest militaries. What the US is doing here is despicable. Slashing gains and making a run for it is the worst form of treachery.
But that's been a behavioral trait of this presidency that cannot see beyond the immediate domestic crisis - in this case a likely impeachment of the commander-in-chief for his alleged attempts to influence an election with help from another country. In Syria, the Kurds were steadfast and drove Daesh out from their badlands in the north. They were brave in the face of brutality; their heroism at the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces had been an inspiration; they were stubborn and defiant, and succeeded in their mission to oust the bloodthirsty terror organisation. More importantly, they had boots on the ground. They fought with honour to sweep the place clean of Daesh while losing many men and women to enemy fire. It's true that the US supplied them with weapons, and if Trump believes that this is an achievement, it is not. The president now says Turkey, Syria, the Kurds, and Russia should "figure things out." He claims he has had enough of this "endless war". Meanwhile Turkey is set to launch operations into Syria against the Kurds which raises the question: Did Trump strike a deal with Turkey?
Published: Mon 7 Oct 2019, 10:16 PM
Updated: Tue 8 Oct 2019, 12:18 AM