What in the world is the president thinking? ~ US Throws Kurdish Allies Under the Bus! ~

In a betrayal of staggering magnitude, the White House announced yesterday that the United States has effectively given Turkey a green light to massacre America’s Kurdish allies in northern Syria who fought against ISIS on America’s behalf.
 
US President Trump apparently assured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a phone call on Sunday October 6th that if Turkey invaded the Kurds’ homeland in northern Syria and rescued ISIS fighters captured by the Kurds, US troops would not intervene. According to White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, US troops “will not support or be involved in the operation.”

 
 
Turkey’s duly-elected (Ha!) president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is a tyrannical thug! Three years ago, he ruthlessly put down an attempted coup by a faction of Turks who wanted the country to remain mostly secular, as it had been for decades. The opposition even had the constitution on their side as that document gave the military the specific duty to maintain a secular government. Erdoğan is an Islamist though, and he has other plans, namely to re-constitute the Ottoman Empire, eradicating Christianity along the way.
 

Under this tyrant, Christian persecution has increased significantly ~

By trying to transform Turkey from a secular state into a Sunni Muslim one, Erdogan performs indirect acts of Christian persecution, leaving little space for minorities. As a result, religious nationalism continues to reach new heights. And Christian churches there try to maintain a low profile, especially after the two-year case of U.S. Pastor Andrew Brunson who was unjustly jailed and released in October 2018.

 
It’s been almost exactly a year since Pastor Andrew Brunson arrived safely home to the U.S.; a wonderful outcome, due primarily to Donald Trump’s intervention. The president had pressured Turkey to release Brunson by imposing sanctions and increasing tariffs on steel and aluminum. True to his ruthless nature, Erdoğan reacted by killing more Yazidis ~

(August 2018) ~ Turkish fighter jets launched airstrikes on the Sinjar district on Wednesday (August 15th). The strikes killed a (an alleged) leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK, member of the Yazidi Society Coordination and a commander of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), Ismail Ozden known as Mam Zaki Shingali.

 
So the president well knows what death and destruction Erdoğan is capable of inflicting – and yet he’s willing to look the other way while Turkey invades Syria? Who in the world is he listening to? Certainly not John Bolton. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if former national security advisor’s departure has something to do with disagreements over Turkey. Bolton understood Erdoğan for the tyrant he is, and always took a hard line with the dictator.
 
As the Center for Security Policy pointed out in September, Turkey cannot be trusted in Syria ~

The Turkish government has been complicit in wreaking havoc in northern Syria over the years. Turkish forces have heavily attacked YPG and SDF in what some would term “ethnic cleansing”. The U.S. supported the Syrian Kurds in Northeast Syria partly because of their successful campaign against ISIS and Al-Qaeda-backed Al Nusra Front. The Kurdish forces, mainly the YPG, have been able to successfully imprison about 15,000 people with links to ISIS. These, prisoners are being jointly held with U.S. supervision.
 
In multiple attempts to create legitimacy for an inconspicuous takeover of Kurdish controlled Syria, Turkish intelligence, with the help of Qatari and pro-Assad news outlets, have been caught in the act of egregiously falsifying evidence and reports which claimed the YPG and SDF attacked innocent civilians. This propaganda orchestrated by the Turkish government was a bid to create division between the Kurds and the Arabs in Manbij, Syria, an area of interest to the Turkish government.
 
Data from the Rojava Information Center also shows that there have been more than 30 attacks from Turkish soil aimed towards North East Syria. The most recent attack occurred on August 8th, 2019. These attacks from Turkish areas targeted civilian populations with 27 reported casualties, including children.

 
As further evidence of Ankara’s aggression ~

Turkey has created a springboard for Russian influence in Syria and the surrounding region, against U.S. and NATO interests. Moreover, President Erdogan disregards the principles of democracy and supports radical Islam. It has been reported that the Turkish Intelligence has been responsible for aiding approximately 15,000 jihadist fighters to cross into Syria via its borders since 2014.
 
Turkish Intelligence employees have been caught through wiretaps lecturing jihadists, in Turkey and around the world, on various techniques to elude surveillance by various security forces. Erdogan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, was implicated in released hacked emails which showed his involvement in the Powertrans oil imports from Oilfields under ISIS control.

Johannes de Jong, wonders Will the Democrats’ Impeachment Game Hand Syrian Christians Over to Persecution? I don’t know, but it shouldn’t matter. This should be above politics. I’m not sure Trump even understands the implications of this action.

De Jong has written extensively about this area ~

Since 2014, an island of religious freedom has risen in the Middle East. I mean Northeast Syria. Its Autonomous Administration grew up in the wake of Assad’s forces fleeing in 2013.
 
 
Kurds, Arabs, Syrian Christians, Yazidis and other minorities all worked together for once. They built from the ground up a free and fair government. It embraces multi-ethnic governance, freedom of religion and equality and freedom for women. As North-East Syria faced the threat of ISIS, it had to defend itself against other terrorist gangs. These included al Qaeda jihadists whom some American politicians (see John McCain) had foolishly declared “moderates.”

 
These people were invaluable in helping defeat ISIS in this part of the Middle East. Erdoğan wants them gone – or dead – because they aren’t Muslim. Is the United States now going to be complicit in their slaughter?
 

Last year it was such a welcome change to see this White House stand up to the Turkish bully. Which is exactly why it’s so troubling to see him acquiesce to this evil. Two weeks ago President Trump was speaking out against religious persecution at the U.N.. Today, the same guy is turning his back on Middle Eastern religious minorities who have been the targets of ethnic cleansing for years. Stunning.
 

 
God will not look kindly on this infidelity. Pat Buchanan has it exactly correct ~

Televangelist Pat Robertson said President Trump is at risk of “losing the mandate of heaven” over his decision to draw back troops from northern Syria and allow Turkey to move into the region.
 
The 89-year-old 700 Club host, who is an evangelical ally of the president, joined other prominent conservatives Monday to condemn the move, which will likely result in the deaths of Kurdish forces who helped the United States fight the Islamic State.
 
Robertson said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a “thug” who has become a dictator in Turkey. He said the Turkish strongman is no ally of the U.S.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related:
Erdogan Says Turkey to Launch Military Operation in Northeast Syria; Kurds Pledge ‘All Out War’
Meanwhile, in another part of the world… (11-17-16) ~

While the idea of women in front-line combat positions is less-than-appealing under normal circumstances, current conditions in Syria aren’t exactly normal. The ISIS-created chaos in that country is such that’s it’s difficult to have anything but admiration for the women in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), bravely battling the barbarians.

Failed coup; the end of secular Turkey?
“Turkey has turned into a veritable madhouse”
Don’t buy the spin on Syria