US, Turkey, & Syria: The Betrayal
Kurdish fighters and Syrian civilians are left to defend on their own.
A funeral is held for Kurdish political leader Hevrin Khalaf, civilians, and Kurdish fighters, in northeastern Syria. (Delil Souleiman, AFP, October 13, 2019)
Upon the call for departure of US forces, Turkey immediately invaded Syria.
Last week, the Turkish offensive began their onslaught against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the Turkey-Syrian border. The Kurds, one of our closest allies in the region, were left struggling as they felt betrayed by the United States.
Being a key ally in the effort to hinder the growth of Islamic State (IS) forces in the area, Kurdish forces felt stabbed in the back when President Trump agreed with the President of Turkey to pull out of Syria. US troops were left watching their Kurdish allies – bloodied, beaten, and killed.
At least 160,000 civilians have fled from the area, leaving dozens killed in the operation. Facing pressure from every direction, Kurdish-led forces announced on Sunday their request for military support from the Syrian government to help defend against Turkey.
President Donald Trump announced yesterday his plan to impose sanctions against current/former officials of the Government of Turkey and any persons contributing to Turkey’s destabilizing actions in northeast Syria.