WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, October 7, 2019

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1/ Trump announced that he plans to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria and allow the Turkish military to launch an attack against Kurdish militias in the area. Trump made the decision Sunday evening during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Early Monday morning, the 50–100 special forces troops currently operating in northeastern Syria received an urgent, unexpected alert ordering them to pull back from their posts in preparation for "departing the field." The move surprised not just U.S. Kurdish partners in the fight against ISIS in northeastern Syria, but also senior officials at the Pentagon, State Department, and White House, as well as U.S. lawmakers from both parties. U.S. allies in the Middle East and Europe were also unaware of Trump's decision until after he agreed to pull the troops out during his call with Erdogan. On Twitter, Trump warned Turkey not to do "anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits," during any military incursion against the Kurds or he will "totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I've done before!)." (New York Times / NBC News / USA Today / Associated Press / NPR / CBS News / The Independent)

• Turkey has worked with the U.S. in its fight against ISIS forces near Turkey's border with Syria amidst Syria's ongoing civil war, but Kurdish soldiers have also been working with American forces in the northeastern part of Syria. Turkey and the Kurds are enemies and the Kurdish forces are in the process of fighting for their independence from Turkey. Erdogan is set to meet with Trump in Washington, D.C. in the next few weeks and has expressed displeasure with the support the U.S. has given to the Kurds. (Politico / The Intercept / Esquire)

2/ Leaders from both parties publicly criticized Trump for breaking promises the U.S. made to the Kurds by pulling U.S. troops out of the region. Lindsey Graham said the decision was "devastating for the good guys" and warned that "to abandon our Kurdish allies and turn Syria over to Russia, Iran, & Turkey will put every radical Islamist on steroids." Mitch McConnell cautioned that a "precipitous withdrawal of US forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime." In response, Trump defended himself at a press conference where he said he was merely fulfilling a campaign promise by withdrawing U.S. forces, reminding reporters that he "got elected on that." He added that the U.S. is "not a police force," and reiterated that he "fully understand[s] both sides but I promised to bring our troops home." (