The Trump Admin’s Syria “Ceasefire” Deal Is Surrender
Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo participate in a news conference Thursday, October 17, 2019, in Turkey. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen)
President Trump has singlehandedly undone years of progress in Syria, enabled atrocities against our allies, and eroded America’s credibility in a matter of days. The situation in Syria was relatively stable until the self-proclaimed stable genius decided to launch a betrayal of historic proportions and throw the region into chaos.
On October 6, Trump announced the spontaneous withdrawal of 50-100 troops from Northern Syria and the abandonment of Kurdish forces who helped us diminish ISIS. The announcement came after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who wasted no time commencing his slaughter of the Kurds.
Since last week, the Kurds have reported at least 218 civilians killed, including 18 children, and 650 injured. More than 160,000 people have been displaced. Over 700 ISIS supporters have fled prisons the Kurds were guarding. There have been reports of white phosphorous used against Kurdish civilians, which would constitute a war crime on the part of Turkey. After all of that, the Trump Administration then cut a deal with Turkey that puts a rubber stamp on all of their goals.
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On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the United States and Turkey agreed to a ceasefire in Syria and promised that Turkey would pause their onslaught for 120 hours. The ceasefire was said to be contingent on the Kurds leaving 20 miles of territory in Northern Syria. This was after the U.S. had already begun the process of withdrawing the remaining 1,000 troops from Northern Syria, destroying our own bases in some cases as we left them in the hands of Russian troops.
Turkey’s objective is to push the Kurds out of Northern Syria. What Pence announced was actually that the US is now backing Turkey’s objective and that the Kurds must leave their homeland or be slaughtered. Meanwhile, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Russia are able to move into newly ceded land. The move was surrender. And before the day was complete, the idea that it was a “ceasefire” at all quickly unraveled when reports of gunfire and shelling began to pour in.
This withdrawal has been blasted by both Democrats and Republicans alike, including by Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) in a Senate floor speech and in an op-ed from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in The Washington Post.
Looking to make a difference? Consider signing one of these sponsored petitions:After the announcement, President Trump claimed this surrender was a victory.
This is a great day for civilization. I am proud of the United States for sticking by me in following a necessary, but somewhat unconventional, path. People have been trying to make this “Deal” for many years. Millions of lives will be saved. Congratulations to ALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
Trump then wasted no time adding insult to casualties for the Kurds that he just sentenced to US-approved ethnic cleansing.
Referring to Kurds living along Turkish border in Syria, Trump says of Turkey, “they had to have it cleaned out.” pic.twitter.com/W8J7IFctO3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2019
At his rally in Dallas, Texas on Thursday evening, President Trump referred to his green-lighting of Turkey’s slaughter of our allies, including civilians and actual children, as “two kids” fighting.
The President of the United States, on Turkey’s ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kurds: “Sometimes you have to let ’em fight, like two kids in a lot.” pic.twitter.com/pm6fqyYmgw
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 18, 2019
President Trump has said that this is about bringing the troops home but don’t buy that for a second. The Trump Administration is sending thousands of troops to Saudi Arabia.
The stakes are incredibly high but Trump appears incapable of grasping the gravity of the decision he made. One thing is for sure: we’ll be discussing the ramifications of this decision for years to come.
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