Trump's collusion with Turkey is more than a distraction from Ukraine woes
Excellent William Saletan article in Slate reminding us how much Turkey is part of Trump’s corruption going back to Mike Flynn. It’s made worse as Turkey begins its new attacks on the Kurds.
It’s hard to keep track of President Donald Trump’s betrayals of his country.
- First he solicited Vladimir Putin’s help in the 2016 election.
- Then he teamed up with Kim Jong-un to lie about North Korea’s arsenal.
- Then he covered up intelligence about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the murder of a U.S. resident.
- Then he pressed Israel to deny entry to members of Congress.
- Then he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democrats.
In the midst of all this madness—most recently, the administration’s stonewalling of a congressional inquiry into Trump’s coercion of Ukraine—the president has ordered American forces to get out of the way of a Turkish invasion in Syria. The troop withdrawal looks like a distraction, but it isn’t. Trump is colluding with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, just as he has colluded with other authoritarians against the United States. The timeline of their relationship tells a story of disloyalty to America and its allies.
The troop withdrawal looks like a distraction, but it isn’t. https://t.co/mFnarws5ul
— Slate (@Slate) October 8, 2019
Turkey infiltrates the Trump campaign. Flynn spikes a plan to arm the Kurds. Flynn is exposed—and Trump defends him. Trump congratulates Erdogan on rolling back democracy. Trump accepts Turkish political violence in the United States. Trump presses the U.S. government to expel Gülen. Trump sides with Erdogan against American generals Trump denounces U.S. officials for contradicting him.Trump sells out the Kurds again. After Trump’s December 2018 call with Erdogan, hawks in Congress and the administration persuaded Trump to keep some troops in Syria. But Turkish officials were confident that they could pry Trump away from his American advisers. And they did: On Sunday, in another phone call, Erdogan told Trump that he wanted to send Turkish forces into Syria. Without consulting allies or the Pentagon, Trump agreed to get out of the way. Within hours, on Trump’s instructions, American troops abandoned the area. On Monday, Trump tweeted farewell to the Kurds.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181172459325800448?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181172459325800448?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181172465772482563?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181172465772482563?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181172467676565505?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181172467676565505?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181553636444426240?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181553636444426240?
How does this end? The Kurds, whatever their political panjandrums, have been reliable allies. I note we come to the 100th anniversary of the Sevres treaty next year, in which the Kurds were promised a plebiscite.
— Gray Connolly (@GrayConnolly) October 7, 2019
How does this end? The Kurds, whatever their political panjandrums, have been reliable allies. I note we come to the 100th anniversary of the Sevres treaty next year, in which the Kurds were promised a plebiscite.
— Gray Connolly (@GrayConnolly) October 7, 2019
US troops have already begun withdrawing from important areas on the border. https://t.co/qYBh8lAsJb
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) October 7, 2019
The Kurds in northern #Syria now say defending themselves against a Turkish attack will be their top priority—not securing the detention camps that hold #ISIS fighters. @RichardEngel for @NBCNightlyNews pic.twitter.com/3J4AiOKR9o
— On Assignment with Richard Engel (@OARichardEngel) October 8, 2019
This is a risky time to be a US friend. @realDonaldTrump threw the Kurds under the bus, negotiates US troop exit w the Taliban behind the back of the Afghan govt, ignores N Korean tests of missiles that can reach Japan, is unwilling to stand up to Iran, and picks fights w NATO.
— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) October 8, 2019
