Condemning President Donald Trump for ordering Dec. 19 2,000 U.S. advisers out of Syria, critics insisted the U.S. abandoned the Kurds, the fighting force battling the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS]. Today’s anti-Trump critics forget that the U.S. government already looked the other way Sept. 25, 2017 when 72-year-old Massoud Barzani opted to hold an independence vote. Instead of backing Barzani, the U.S. threw Barazani under the bus, with U.S. Special Mideast Envoy Brett McGurk backing Iraq’s military when they evicted Oct. 19, 2017 the Kurds for oil-rich Kirkuk, forcing Barzani to resign in disgrace. Yet today’s media blames Trump for withdrawing from Syria, when in fact the U.S. had already turned its back on the Kurds in 2017. Trump’s Syria critics were forced to eat crow when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad decided to defend the Kurds in Manbij.
When Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Dec. 15, Erdogan reassured him that Turkish forces would work diligently to eradicate what’s left of ISIS. Trump also expressed concerns about the Kurd’s YPG militia who Erdogan considers a mortal enemy of Turkey. After Trump announced his decision Dec. 19 to withdraw from Syria, Erdogan announced a new Turkish military operation to clear out Kurds from Manbij province close to the U.S. garrison in Manbij. Trump received considerable flack from the media for his decision to withdraw from Syria, primarily for abandoning the Kurds. Yet the Kurds have been living autonomously since before WW I in the hinterlands of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Announcing a partnership with al-Assad, threw Trump’s Syria-policy critics for a loop, realizing the Kurds didn’t need the U.S. for protection.
Moving Syrian forces into Manbij, al-Assad counters Ergogan’s threat to use the Turkish army to clear out the Kurd’s YPB militia from Manbij. Trump wanted out of Syria precisely for the free-for-all in the region, putting U.S. advisers at risk. Erdogan, who backed the Free Syrian Army, now Syrian Democratic forces, to remove al-Assad from power in Damascus, now has to deal with the Syrian Army. Al-Assad’s clever move to provide cover to the YPG shows the complexity to the Syrian theatre, where U.S. forces were not wanted by Syria. Withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria no longer threatens the Kurds, especially after getting the backing from Damascus. With the Syrian army in Manbij, it’s doubtful Turkey will be brazen enough to move on Manbij, with our without U.S. troops present. For six years under Obama, the U.S. backed toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Getting U.S. advisers in Syria out of Syria, Trump wanted no part of the free-for-all to assert power in the region. Even though U.S. advisers remain in Manbij, the Syrian military seeks to give the Kurds cover from the Turks. Al-Assad’s well aware of Turkey’s backing of the seven-year-old Saudi proxy war to topple his Damascus government. Unlike former President Barack Obama, Trump decided that supporting the Saudi proxy war against al-Assad was pointless, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin joined the fight Sept. 30, 2015 to save al-Assad. Putin told the U.N. General Assembly that year he wouldn’t let Syria deteriorate into another Iraq, no matter how much arms-and-cash flowed into anti-al-Assad rebels from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States. Whatever difference al-Assad has with the Kurds, it nothing like Erdogan’s outright hatred.
Erdogan vowed to “crush” the YPG militia, despite having little-or-no connection with the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK], who Turkey considers a mortal enemy for its decades old attempt to carve out an independent Kurdistan in Turkey. When Erdogan visits Putin in Moscow, he won’t find support for a military operation against the Kurds in Syra. Putting Russian-backed Syrian troops in Manbij sends Erdogan a loud message to stop any offensive against the Kurds. When you look at Trump’s strategy to remove 2,000 U.S. advisers from Syria, he’s mending fences with Turkey and Russia, while, at the same time, giving the Kurds the protection needed to avoid any possible military action by Turkey. Kurd’s YPG militia knows how to take care of itself with our without U.S. forces in Syria. Only getting some perspective can you see Trump’s wisdom of getting out of Syria.
Getting Russian-backed Syrian forces into Manbij gives the U.S. cover to continue its withdrawal at whatever timetable works for the U.S. With Russian-backed Syrian troops entering Manbij, Trump has neutralized Erodgan’s threat to take action against a strong U.S. ally. Whether the U.S. backed Barazan’s 2017 independence drive, the U.S. still has strong relations with the Kurds, especially after helping drive ISIS out of Iraq and Syria. “We invite the Syrian government, to which we belong, as people, land and borders, to send its armed forces to take over these positions and protect Manbij in the face of Turkish threats,” said the Kurds YPG. For all the criticism, Trump’s decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. advisers from Syrian improves U.S.-Turkey and U.S.-Russian relations, essentially allowing al-Assad to put Erdogan on notice that any military operation must be approved by Damascus.
