Donald Trump ordered U.S. troops away from the border between Syria and Turkey late Sunday, setting up the Kurdish fighters that have been U.S. allies against ISIS there to be overrun by Turkish forces. This move gives Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—exactly the kind of authoritarian leader Trump adores—a longtime wish. Syrian Kurds had established control over part of northern Syria, control that is now threatened by Turkish plans to move into the area and resettle hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees there, displacing the Kurds.
The reviews have been harsh. “Allowing Turkey to move into Northern Syria is one of the most destabilizing moves we can do in the Middle East,” Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego tweeted. “The Kurds will never trust America again. They will look for new alliances or Independence to protect themselves. Pompeo has failed again.”
Trump’s former special envoy on the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, said, “This appears to be another decision without any consultation, deliberation or process,” one that “will significantly increase the risk for our personnel who depend on the SDF for sustainment.” An International Crisis Group analyst said, ”For the U.S.’s regional allies, the lesson should be clear: This is a president and an administration that, in the breach, is not interested in fighting their battles for them.”
Even Sen. Lindsey Graham couldn’t immediately pivot to his usual fierce support of anything Trump does. In December, in response to Turkish preparations for just such a moment, Graham had tweeted, “America’s worst nightmare is to have reliable allies—like the Kurds who have fought so bravely against ISIS—abandoned and destroyed.” On this issue, his usually reliable ideological contortionist abilities failed him, and he told Fox News, “This is a big win for Iran and Assad. A big win for ISIS.”