I don’t pretend to understand what has been going on in northern Syria in the last week or so. My understanding is that Turkey has limited objectives in the area that are not entirely illegitimate, that the handful of troops that we had in the area couldn’t have stopped the Turkish advance, and that President Trump pulled our troops out of harm’s way in recognition of the inevitable. But that may be a misreading of the situation. I really am not sure. I do have considerable sympathy with yesterday’s tweet by President Trump:
“About 500,000 human beings were killed in Syria while Barack Obama was president & leading for a “political settlement” to that civil war. Media has been more outraged in the last 72 hours over our Syria policy than they were at any point during 7 years of slaughter.” BuckSexton
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
In any event, Vice President Mike Pence has been meeting with President Erdogan, and a little while ago they announced a ceasefire.
Pence explained Thursday that Turkey’s military would pause its military offensive in northern Syria for 120 hours in order to allow Kurdish militia forces to exit the roughly 20-mile-wide “safe zone” near the border. He also added that Turkey’s operation would be “halted entirely upon completion of the withdrawal.” Pence said that the administration has also begun to facilitate the withdrawal of Syrian forces from the area.
“Also Turkey and the United States agree on the priority of respecting vulnerable human life, human rights, and particularly the protection of religious and ethnic communities in the region,” Pence explained.
Let’s hope that Turkey respects the terms of the ceasefire. Senator Lindsey Graham says he will proceed with sanctions legislation against Turkey in case Turkey fails to abide by the agreement.
President Trump hailed the agreement as a signal triumph:
Great news out of Turkey. News Conference shortly with @VP and @SecPompeo. Thank you to @RTErdogan. Millions of lives will be saved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
This deal could NEVER have been made 3 days ago. There needed to be some “tough” love in order to get it done. Great for everybody. Proud of all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
This is a great day for civilization. I am proud of the United States for sticking by me in following a necessary, but somewhat unconventional, path. People have been trying to make this “Deal” for many years. Millions of lives will be saved. Congratulations to ALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
I doubt that millions of lives are being saved, but I am sure the president is glad to have the Syria controversy behind him, at least for now. I am also certain that the Democrats regret the loss of their political weapon–a hypocritical weapon, in view of their record in Syria and the region generally–more than they regret any loss of life that may have flowed from our troop withdrawal.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.