The whole point of an ally is that you don’t abandon them the moment that they are not useful. If you do that, then you don’t get allies in the future, and you cannot trust allies not to stab you in the back the moment it becomes in their interest.
The same analysis can be said for any other country that is threatened. If Lithuania cannot be supported without antagonizing Russia, do we abandon them unless they can come up with something that would balance it out?
Trump got played. He is extremely weak at negotiation, and folds at the slightest bit of push back. We really do have the upper hand in such negotiations. Turkey really does need us more than we need them. It is not an equal situation at all, and we come to the bargaining table with pretty much all the chips, and we yet managed to walk away busted out. Turkey has always had as its analysis: “Can we commit genocide against the Kurds without antagonizing the US?”, and there was no reason for any follow up to that if the answer was no, and until Trump’s betrayal, that has been a firm “Hell No!”
Best case scenario is that he betrayed our allies because he was feckless at standing up to a dictator, but it is likely that his personal financial stake in Turkey also played a significant role in his decision to allow the slaughter of those who stood beside us up until just a few days ago.
Now that Trump has answered the question as to whether or not we approve of genocide from “Hell No!” to “Sure, as long as we get a cut of the proceeds.”, obviously Turkey’s analysis of the situation has changed, and they will proceed with the extermination of those that risked their lives for us.
And we stopped ISIS with the extensive help of the Kurds. We did not interfere with Turkey’s barbaric treatment of the Kurds within its own borders, but our presence did prevent Turkey from invading and killing the Kurds in Syria. That was interfering with their plans for genocide.
Turkey complained to Trump that we interfering with their plans for ethnic cleansing, and Trump got out of the way.
Are you saying that a nation’s actions must be strictly transactional? That there can be no quid without the quo*?
Is there no role for supporting a ‘cause’ (including military support) if the cause is entirely consistent with basic ideas of self-determination and with, you know, ‘liberty’?
Are you advocating that US no longer champion freedom beyond its borders? Or are you saying it’s only to be done when it seems to be in the US’s own direct interests?
Some disparage the notion of the US being the “world’s policeman” and although I think I understand where that sentiment comes from, it’s not as if the US only gets the ‘moral high ground’ as its reward. There’s also economic, military, and strategic advantages (e.g. the rise of a generally peaceful, unified Europe since WWII), not to mention the benefit there must be to any nation that is a role model for the world.
NBC is reporting that the Kurds have invited Syrian forces to come into the disputed territory. This lines up Russia against Turkey. Neat-o. This is going smashingly.
Anyway, in the real world, the ISIS camps the Kurds maintained (which, as well as preventing Turkey in genociding our allies, required our continued presence), are now falling. I am framing this as the “GOP’s Pro-ISIS Genocide of Kurdish Christians” when I call my Senators and Reps.
“An SDF commander has confirmed to me that the Ain Issa camp has fallen and all the detainees (a population of thousands that includes ISIS supporters, ISIS relatives and civilians) have fled. “An unbelievable mess,” the commander said.”
That’s not exactly new. Turkey and Russia have been working at cross-purposes in Syria for years. You may recall that Turkey shot down a Russian jet four years ago. That was a whole lot more serious than Kurds inviting some Syrians into some of the territory they control.
Turn the prisoners over to Turkey or Syria. The Kurds in Syria are not an independent nation and should not be responsible for this. We’ve created a prison state within a country instead of completing yet another World Police action.
What is the purpose of a United Nations group if they can’t be brought in to deal with ISIS.