On Syria, Turkey and the Kurds

It’s been in the news lately. Trump has roundly received criticism and rightly so for abandoning an ally, especially one that was so pivotal in defeating ISIS, that occupied large swaths of Iraq and Syria. I watched Good Morning America this morning to see what they had to say, and was not surprised when they left out large segments that bear on this matter. Having done a little research from many sources, I’d like to expose a bigger picture.

First, there are about 2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Many of them live in detention camps. (I don’t know why the left is not screaming from the sidelines about these refugees as they do for those on our southern border, but that is another question for another day.) For two decades, Turkey has been dealing with Kurdish terrorism, instituted by the PKK, which is a Kurdish militia group which receives help from Kurds on the southern side of the Syrian border. Just last week they instituted two terror attacks in which 20 civilians in Turkey were killed. Essentially, they have adopted the fighting methods of Hezbollah and other Palestinian groups.

So Turkey wants to expand a 20 mile border zone into Syria for two reasons: to repatriate and send back the Syrians who have fled into their country (illegally) and to stop the terrorism which flows from the other side of the border. I don’t blame them for this- it seems a good cause. The Kurds are no boy scouts. The US essentially used one terror organization to put down another. 

Turkey, while a NATO member and one of the first 15 countries to sign on, is a US ally (on paper.) However, despite recently returning some land to Christian and Jewish minorities which was seized in the 1930s, the regime uses brutal means to suppress religious and cultural minorities. 

Trump failed in pulling out troops by not going with a public call first for the Kurds to cease all terrorism supporting activities. He should have given them the warning “Cease all terror related activity or we pull out.” He did not. Yes, the Kurds are holding thousands of ISIS soldiers in confinement (some of which are escaping.) Yes, they are responsible for defeating the terrorist state. And yes, the Kurds are responsible for terrorism in Turkey.

None of this was reported on Good Morning America- just the human atrocities left by the Turkish Air Force at the hands of Trump. And now the Kurds are turning to a Russian brokered deal with Syria. 

The situation is far more complex than even my meager words can explain. If these facts are not being reported by major news networks, I ask, what else are we not being told? Perhaps one can see why I hesitate to simply accept what I am told by the media. 

G.Houtchens

armchair coach

amateur historian