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Betraying the Kurds is Trump’s most ‘presidential’ move yet
In a rare moment of bipartisan consensus, Republicans and Democrats have come together to condemn Donald Trump for his withdrawal from Syria, which set the stage Turkey to crush America’s Kurdish allies. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who introduced a resolution calling for sanctions against Turkey for bombing the majority-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, reprimanded the president for “shamelessly abandon[ing]” US partners in the fight against the Islamic State group.
The decision has even sown discord among the Trump loyalists at Fox and Friends. Brian Kilmeade broke ranks with his co-hosts on Monday, calling it “disastrous.”
Noting that the Kurds did the heavy lifting in the fight against IS, Kilmeade said:
“The reason why our casualties were so low is because the Kurds did all the fighting. Now we’re saying, ‘OK Turks, go wipe them out or force them out.’ What kind of message is that to the next ally who wants to side with us?”
Almost identical sentiment could be heard from members of the liberal press. Young Turks contributor John Iadarola tweeted: “Imagine if you told Kurdish fighters a decade ago that some day the US would give the green light to Turkey massacring them so that Donald Trump could make a little more cash off his shitty Istanbul real estate.”
