Oct 22, 2019
From Matt Bors.
seen from Japan
seen from Japan
seen from Australia
seen from Germany
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Ukraine
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from Armenia
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Australia
seen from Germany
seen from South Africa
seen from Ukraine
From Matt Bors.
Costumes Kurden
Photograph taken taken 1868-1890 from the Pierre de Gigord Collection of Photographs. A visual record of the late years of the Ottoman Empire and the formation and early years of the Republic of Turkey.
Getty Digital Collections
[E]ven as Trump abandoned the Kurds and unleashed this disaster, he was actually increasing the number of American soldiers in the Middle East — sending some 3,000 additional troops to Saudi Arabia. So we’re sending more troops to Saudi Arabia to help a misogynist dictatorship that kills a journalist for an American newspaper, even as we betray the Kurds who have been trying to build a democratic enclave that empowers women; we’re sending troops to Saudi Arabia to confront Iran, even as we give Iran a helping hand in Syria. This is where incoherence and inhumanity converge.
Columnist Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times on Trump's betrayal of the Kurds.
Yep, Trump is more interested in helping bloodthirsty dictators than in protecting democratic allies. He can’t stay away from the orb of tyranny these days.
The recent cover of The Economist.
President Trump authorized a new round of potentially painful economic sanctions against Turkey as a means of urging Ankara to stop its offensive against the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria. But the Turkish president is dismissing the mounting international criticism of his operation, saying Turkey has no intention of stopping, no matter what anyone says. Observers say at least 30 civilians have been killed since the offensive began.
Donald Trump basically gave Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the go-ahead to invade northeastern Syria by unilaterally announcing the withdrawal of 1,000 troops in the Kurdish region of Syria.
The results have been predictable. CBS obtained security cam footage of ISIS prisoners of the Kurds breaking out of jail as Turkish forces attack. If any of those ISIS terrorists shoot up a public gathering or blow up a building then Trump will be to blame for the terrorism.
Pro-Turkish forces in Syria have been murdering Kurds, including prominent politician Hevrin Khalaf.
Female Kurdish politician among nine civilians killed by pro-Turkey forces in Syria, observers say
Scattered components of the Trump administration are now superficially critical of Turkey. But token limited sanctions won’t stop the fighting.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich points out a likely reason why Trump has been playing footsie with Erdoğan:
Trump never divested from his real estate business, and the Trump Towers Istanbul is the Trump Organization’s first and only office and residential building in Europe. Businesses linked to the Turkish government are also major patrons of the Trump Organization. Which may be why Trump has repeatedly sided with the Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been intent on eliminating the Kurds.
^^^ Trump Towers İstanbul
With Trump, everything is transactional. That includes US foreign policy. We shouldn’t be surprised that Trump sold out the Kurds to make money at the Trump Organization’s only non-recreational property on the European continent.
Facebook reports that at the 2020 Republican National Convention, Trump will drop Mike Pence as a running mate in favor of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The stable genius strikes again!
Hundreds of ISIS affiliates are now free because of Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to withdraw from Syria and allow Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to invade.
And the chaos is hardly over. Expect Trump to get a commendation from the Kremlin for creating conditions favorable for Russia.
Russian shadow falls over Syria as Kurds open door for Assad