US Special Forces soldier says he is 'ashamed' of Trump's betrayal of the Kurds and the decision to withdraw troops from Syria
President Donald Trump faced a fresh wave of criticism amid the impeachment inquiry after he pulled out American soldiers from northern Syria, exposing Washington’s local allies -- the Kurds -- against a number of threats. His sudden decision was seen as ceding strategic advantage to countries like Turkey and Russia in the Middle East though the president was more than convinced about his decision and even said that the Kurds hadn’t helped the US during the Second World War (1939-45).
It is no surprise that Trump sticks to his beliefs, but his decision on Syria has created a wide repercussion and now, a member of the US Special Forces, who recently trained Kurdish fighters in Syria, slammed his decision over abandoning the local allies especially since the Kurds have served as a close friend to Washington in the fight against terror outfits like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in the region.
US' withdrawal has exposed Kurdish fighters against Turkey, IS
The "distraught" soldier, whose identity was not revealed, recently had a telephonic conversation with Jennifer Griffin, the national security reporter with Fox News, in which he said he was “ashamed" for the first time in his career. America’s withdrawal left the Kurdish fighters in direct confrontation with the powerful Turkish military as Ankara considers them separatists and terrorists. Turkey wants to push away the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces and create a buffer zone where it aims to relocate more than 1 million Syrian refugees since their presence on Turkis soil has seen a backlash. Through their settlement, the Turkish leadership also eyes to complicate the region’s demographic mix so that a Kurdish-dominated state doesn’t emerge as a threat on the border.
Griffin posted on social media platform Twitter snippets of the talks she had with the Special Forces soldier on Wednesday, October 9.
“I am ashamed for the first time in my career. Turkey is not doing what it agreed to. It's horrible,” the veteran Special Forces soldier, who was still on the frontlines and witnessing Turkey's action, was quoted as saying. He said all parties abided by the security arrangements and there was no threat to the Turks from the Syrian side. “I don't know what they call atrocities but they are happening,” he said.
The White House has condemned the Turkish aggression and Trump even threatened to obliterate Turkey’s economy but the Recep Tayyip Erdogan regime didn’t care much which is evident from the early offensive.
'Turkey's advantage means IS prisoners will be freed'
According to the American personnel, if Turkey gains control, thousands of IS fighters kept in prisons would be released and that would be disastrous. He said the Kurds were still sticking to their positions by preventing at least one prison-break even after the American forces deserted them.
Lashing out at the US president saying he has little understanding of the problem, the soldier said: "[Trump] doesn't understand the problem. He doesn't understand the repercussions of this. Erdogan is an Islamist, not a level headed actor. The Kurds are as close to Western thinking in the Middle East as anyone … This is not helping the ISIS fight."
"The Kurds are sticking by us. No other partner I have ever dealt with would stand by us,” he said, adding that Washington was doing “nothing” even when the Kurds were “pleading for support”.