RichVR
5387
This is an important point. Many soldiers bond with their indigenous allies. It happened in Vietnam with special forces and the Nung people.
Given virtually all history of Western fuckery in the region, I assume by continuing to dig our reputational grave through the endless piles of bodies our actions leave behind…
Oh, wait, you said recover. No, sorry, I don’t think that we will. But we never really do.
At least some people are waking up about blessed Saint Mattis.
That makes me feel like Chihiro in Spirited Away, looking out at the world she’s supposed to be living in.
Tighten that ball gag on DJT, Vlad.
This whole debacle just comes across as weird. I expect Trump to behave callously and without regard for the US’s reputation, but I wouldn’t have expected him to do something this stupid. This is going to give the Democrats such an extreme amount of ammunition for next year - they’ll be able to hammer him in ad after ad about how he not only betrays US allies, but also allowed a resurgence of ISIS. Even if 35% of the voting population are morons who will vote for him regardless, this will hurt him with those who aren’t. It also makes it that much easier for the Democrats to argue that he is unfit for office.
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Is he just that stupid and out of touch with reality? We know he is stupid, but he’s also demonstrated a certain kind of low political cunning, and this seems uncharacteristically moronic even for him.
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Is he just following the instructions of his Russian handlers? There’s little doubt Putin has kompromat on him; it’s the only rational explanation for a POTUS so deferential to another superpower. Are the Russians cashing in their chips now, because they expect he’ll be impeached or lose the election next year?
Menzo
5395
Especially given his surge in troops in Saudi Arabia, so the obvious counter of “Democrats are in favor of infinite war in the Middle East” isn’t going to work.
Oghier
5396
A combination of impulsiveness, narcissism and the inability to admit error, ever, seems to be the recipe for a decision as stupid as betraying the Kurds. Erdogan rolled Trump, and he’s incapable of acknowledging that fact.
This isn’t “what if he nuked France” bad, but it’s honestly beyond anything I imagined he would do. I assumed that the Pentagon still exercised some influence on him.
I think in this case it was mostly DJT not having the first clue of what the situation there is, and being too stupid, stubborn, and arrogant to get counsel from people who do, combined with getting totally owned on a phone call with Erdogan.
That and whatever godforsaken secret promises he’s made to Putin.
Really? I mean… you have been paying attention, right?
Let’s not go ascribing some sort of genius manipulation. Erdogan “owning” him was probably as simple as “sure would be terrible if something were to happen to Trump Towers Istanbul”.
I think he likes sowing chaos and thinks chaos works to his benefit.
Oh, I don’t think it took any genius manipulation. It was just merely a prosaic owning call. DJT could get owned by a cancerous squirrel on its deathbed.
Thanks DJT, you are one clever hombre. All for absolutely less than nothing.
Yep, don’t forget that Donnie has spent the last 2 1/2 years banishing anyone with any intelligence or skill from his administration so that “Trump can be Trump.” This is what Trump being Trump is like.
KevinC
5405
It’s true that you can’t trust the United States at all, whether you’re the Kurds or Iran or anyone else. Even if you can establish a good relationship with a particular President, you can’t trust the American electorate to not vote in a complete moron our foreign stooge like Trump. I know I certainly never would.
I don’t think I’ll see the US international reputation recover in my lifetime.
Tim_N
5406
I think Oghier has hit on the simpler and more likely explanation.
He, like all of his base, don’t care one bit about what is going on in a country they couldn’t even place on a map let alone appreciate the history of different ethnic groups and what the current geopolitical situation is like. When thinking of Trump’s decision here, picture yourself making a decision about something that is really trivial: you don’t really care which way to go so you’re very amenible to suggestions.
Turkey’s been nagging him to do this for years no doubt, going on and on to him on the phone and in person about how they will pay to hold the ISIS fighters from now on, and how they promise there won’t be any atrocities as that is their part of the deal. When asked, Russia said “sure why not”.
Meanwhile, where does he turn for the frank and fearless advice he needs? He’s surrounded himself with yes-men who have no understanding of the implications either way.
