Trump’s Syrian Maneuver Works – President Erdogan Asks for Negotiations With Kurds in Syria…

[RocksInMyHead]

If the Kurds choose to maintain hostilities, then they own what happens afterwards.

Why? They don't appear to have been given any voice in the negotiations and are getting the short end of the stick on the deal (pulling back 20 miles from the border when they are not the aggressor - essentially abandoning their territory and providing Turkey an easy route for future invasion).

 

[Kentonio]

We'll see what happens then.

If the Kurds choose to maintain hostilities, then they own what happens afterwards.

I’m sure if someone invaded your home and summarily executed, raped and murdered your neighbors, you’d be happy with a deal whereby you were allowed to run away and the invaders were just handed your land.

 

[trunks2k]

Well, Turkey says it's not a cease-fire.. but a 5 day hold on operations to give time for their demands to be met. Looks like the demand is for Kurdish "terrorists" to abandon a 20 mile wide "safe zone".

 

[TLK Valentine]

Well, Turkey says it's not a cease-fire.. but a 5 day hold on operations to give time for their demands to be met. Looks like the demand is for Kurdish "terrorists" to abandon a 20 mile wide "safe zone".

And should the Kurds choose to run away (having learned the maneuver from watching Donald) the Turks get to invade unopposed.

If they don't; the shooting starts up all over again, and Donald has accomplished nothing.

 

[The_Barmecide]

We'll see what happens then.

If the Kurds choose to maintain hostilities, then they own what happens afterwards.

Presumably you've heard that Erdogan says it is NOT a cease fire, but rather a pause so the Kurds can leave the zone he wants to develop as a buffer. If they don't leave hostilities will resume with a couple of days as I recall.

I am certain the Kurds are our "allies" based on a mutual set of needs and not because we all have the exact same values, but the Kurds have been our helpers in Iraq and against ISIS...so it seems pretty crappy of America to cut 'em loose so Trump can curry favor with yet another bloodthirsty dictator just because there's a Trump property in Istanbul.

Let's not be so fast to find ways to blame the kurds for the bloodbath that is about to happen to them. Remember the Turks have some pretty solid bona fides when it comes to ethnic cleansing. Just ask anyone whose last name ends in "-ian" here in the US about their family history....

 

[The_Barmecide]

And should the Kurds choose to run away (having learned the maneuver from watching Donald) the Turks get to invade unopposed.

If they don't; the shooting starts up all over again, and Donald has accomplished nothing.

Yup. But the only thing the Kurds can do at this time is run away. They've lost the support of the US, they are an ethnic minority and Turkey is a huge modern military. They can turn it into a guerilla war for a long time, but in the end I suspect the Turks will be more than happy to comply with some pretty horrific brutality.

Remember: Trump seems to LIKE Erdogan and if there's one thing we know about Trump's taste in men, he likes 'em bloodthirsty (like Putin and Kim).

 

[NightHawkeye]

I am certain the Kurds are our "allies" based on a mutual set of needs and not because we all have the exact same values, but the Kurds have been our helpers in Iraq and against ISIS...

As I've pointed out elsewhere, these Kurds support quite different ideologies than the Kurds we're allied with in Iraq. Yes, they were our allies against ISIS, but never against Turkey.

... so it seems pretty crappy of America to cut 'em loose so Trump can curry favor with yet another bloodthirsty dictator just because there's a Trump property in Istanbul.

Can't say that I was in favor of us leaving but it was a no-win situation ... possibly the best solution was to let the Kurds know that they need to make peace with Turkey sooner rather than later. After all, nowhere in the Middle East has the US made things better. Nowhere. Certainly not in Iran. Not in Iraq. Not in Afghanistan. Not in Libya. And, now, not in Syria. The US has essentially defeated Al Qaeda and ISIS finally, but one can also blame the US for having fostered the growth of that mess to begin with.

 

[Kaon]

Now Turkey will be vindicated in their assault when the Kurds reject their negotiations if true.

The "mediation" involves the nation that is strongarming them, and the nation that abandoned them. I don't see how the Kurds could feel fairly represented, but that isn't the point.

 

[Nithavela]

In today's news ... Pence has now met with Erdogan
Vice President Mike Pence seeks Syria ceasefire Turkey had rejected

Amid the ongoing fighting in northern Syria between Turkish forces and their allied rebels and U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds, Vice President Mike Pence met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday to push for a ceasefire.

Erdogan has repeatedly rejected the idea, saying his government will not negotiate with what it considers a terrorist organization.

The high-level diplomacy comes one day after President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about the violent clashes: "That's between Turkey and Syria, it's not between Turkey and the United States, like a lot of stupid people would like us to, would like you to believe," he said in the Oval Office Wednesday.

Someone is missing in that picture. Can't remember.. ah, propably no one important.

 

[Nithavela]

Presumably you've heard that Erdogan says it is NOT a cease fire, but rather a pause so the Kurds can leave the zone he wants to develop as a buffer. If they don't leave hostilities will resume with a couple of days as I recall.

I am certain the Kurds are our "allies" based on a mutual set of needs and not because we all have the exact same values, but the Kurds have been our helpers in Iraq and against ISIS...so it seems pretty crappy of America to cut 'em loose so Trump can curry favor with yet another bloodthirsty dictator just because there's a Trump property in Istanbul.

Let's not be so fast to find ways to blame the kurds for the bloodbath that is about to happen to them. Remember the Turks have some pretty solid bona fides when it comes to ethnic cleansing. Just ask anyone whose last name ends in "-ian" here in the US about their family history....

Correction: the Kurds *were* your allies.

I can assure you that the Kurds in Iraq are looking at your boys quite differently now.

 

[cow451]

Someone is missing in that picture. Can't remember.. ah, propably no one important.

The cardboard cutout of Pence is there.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

The cardboard cutout of Pence is there.

I remember when he was in Purple Rain.

 

[cow451]

I remember when he was in Purple Rain.

Pence, not Prince. You never see the two together, now that you mention it.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Pence, not Prince. You never see the two together, now that you mention it.

Ah! Like you never saw Janet and Michael together…

 

[TheGuide]

Trump’s Syrian Maneuver Works – President Erdogan Asks for Negotiations With Kurds in Syria…

This request happens immediately after President Trump signed an executive order triggering the sanction authority of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Erdogan called the White House requesting an urgent phone call with President Trump.

After President Trump talked to Kurdish General Mazloum Kobani Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, President Trump then discussed the options available to President Erdogan...​

So...you're saying this was effective?

 

[TheGuide]

That didn't take long. Pence and Erdogan have agreed to cease-fire.

What cease fire? Are we to believe you or our own eyes, because mine see war raging in Syria on all news channels.

 

[NightHawkeye]

What cease fire? Are we to believe you or our own eyes, because mine see war raging in Syria on all news channels.

You mean like on ABC, which faked the gunfire?

 

[cow451]

Cease fire?
Top SDF Commander: Turkey Blocking Kurds’ Retreat; Urges Trump to ‘Stop This War’

 

[lasthero]

Ah! Like you never saw Janet and Michael together…

Am I the only one who remembers Scream? >_>

 

[DaisyDay]

As a practical matter, the US is effectively the world's policeman.

Not any longer - Donald has relinquished that role of the US, the world's only (former) superpower.

We'll see what happens then.

If the Kurds choose to maintain hostilities, then they own what happens afterwards.

If the Kurds agree to the ethnic cleansing and leave their homes to become refugees, they won't be summarily slaughtered. Wow, great deal!