Last night, the White House announced that the U.S. would pull out of northern Syria, allow Turkey to invade, and make Turkey responsible for the nearly 60,000 ISIS imprisoned there.
The move immediately sparked outcry over the U.S. abandoning its Kurdish allies, who have been a key in the fight against ISIS. A Kurdish representative called the decision a “stab in the back” and vowed to fight a Turkish invasion
(Turkey considers the Kurds to be terrorists.)
Turkey cast the move as a means of resettling up to two million refugees who fled there to escape the Syrian civil war. The Kurdish believe that this is a ruse for an invasion.
The announcement also resurfaced criticisms of Trump Towers Istanbul. Many believe Trump’s interest in the towers violates the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which prohibits elected leaders from receiving economic benefits from foreign governments.
Ivanka Trump’s 2012 tweet thanking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for attending the opening of towers began making the rounds soon after the announcement.
Thank you Prime Minister Erdogan for joining us yesterday to celebrate the launch of #TrumpTowers Istanbul!
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) April 20, 2012
(Erdogan was prime minister from 2003-2014.)
today’s #WhiteHouse statement is crystal clear! #TrumpTowers Vs ethnic cleansing https://t.co/aOTl2hBryo
— Hawre Ahmed (@hawreah) October 7, 2019
This April 2012 Ivanka tweet may get a lot of new traction in the coming days, as this information becomes newly relevant. https://t.co/5ckJDdzRtQ
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 7, 2019
THIS… Is why he’s doing it – #Trumptowers of course. pic.twitter.com/pttFpej5KK
— Houndmom 🌻on the side of science-fully vaccinated (@houndmom) October 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/TopherSpiro/status/1181197308207210496
https://twitter.com/asiegel66/status/1181050931967860736?s=20
Trump sacrifices Kurds to protect Trump Tower Istanbul. https://t.co/F61eRybYck
— Facts Do Matter (@WilDonnelly) October 7, 2019
Among those joining the outcry were Nikki Haley, formerly Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
Trump’s previous plan to withdraw from Syria led then-Defense Secretary James Mattis to resign.
On Twitter, Graham lambasted the withdrawal as outsourcing the fight against ISIS to Russia, Iran, and Turkey, which he believes will lead to the resurgence of ISIS, allow Iran to exercise unfettered control over Syria, and eventually create a “nightmare” for Israel.
He also said that abandoning the Kurds sends “the most dangerous signal possible — America is an unreliable ally and it’s just a matter of time before China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea act out in dangerous ways.”
Finally, this decision makes it difficult for the U.S. to recruit allies against radical Islam.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 7, 2019
Graham later announced that he was introducing sanctions against Turkey if it invades Syria and attacks America’s Kurdish allies.
Hope and expect sanctions against Turkey – if necessary – would be veto-proof.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 7, 2019
This decision to abandon our Kurdish allies and turn Syria over to Russia, Iran, & Turkey will put every radical Islamist on steroids. Shot in the arm to the bad guys. Devastating for the good guys.
Trump, for his part, took the uproar with his usual aplomb.
“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!” he said in a pair of tweets.
This morning, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights warned that a Turkish invasion could create “millions” more refugees.
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