https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-turkey-flip-flop-obliterate-f-35-fighter-jets-economy-us-trading-partner-kurds-erdogan-1463862
Just hours after President Donald Trump threatened to "obliterate" Turkey's economy, he described the country as one of America's biggest and most honest trading partners.
The president's inconsistency was evident between Monday and Tuesday as he reminded his critics that Turkey is a "big trading partner" with the U.S. The president's contradictory words lent credence to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's claim Monday that Trump's announcement about pulling out U.S. forces from northern Syria, where they are stationed alongside Kurdish forces, was an "impulsive decision."
Dramatically softening his tone, Trump on Tuesday touted Turkey's participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, although in July the administration kicked the Turks out of the aircraft program for purchasing Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria has been widely labeled a "disaster" by even his staunchest GOP defenders and has also been characterized as "abandoning" the Kurds, who helped take down the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Syria. Turkish opposition figure Meral Akensar, head of the Iyi Party, called Trump's move a "diplomatic catastrophe," Reuters reported.
"So many people conveniently forget that Turkey is a big trading partner of the United States, in fact they make the structural steel frame for our F-35 Fighter Jet," Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. "They have also been good to deal with, helping me to save many lives at Idlib Province, and returning, in very good health, at my request, Pastor Brunson, who had many years of a long prison term remaining. Also remember, and importantly, that Turkey is an important member in good standing of NATO. He is coming to the U.S. as my guest on November 13th. #ENDENDLESSWARS."
In September 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was not his decision to release the pastor, who had been living in Turkey for over two decades. Andrew Brunson was accused of being involved in a coup against Erdogan, as well as in the opposition movement led by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in exile in the U.S. Before being released soon after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's insistence, Brunson was facing life in prison if convicted of the terrorism charges against him.
Bottom line: The Turks and Kurds have been involved in skirmishes for a long time. Keeping U.S. troops in Syria isn't going to change that in the long run. So withdraw and let's move on with stopping the impeachment and with getting Mr. Trump re-elected.
ReplyDeleteThere's a TV show called Succession. The show is about the patriarch of a gigantic news network, his 2nd wife, and his four children (all from the 1st wife who's deceased). As the show starts, his children how that he will announce his retirement at his upcoming 80th birthday party but instead he says he's going to stay around. Then he has a stroke which leads the plotting and scheming by the children to take over the company. He recovers enough to return to work but acts occasionally erratic (liking urinating on the floor of his son's office or blanking out while pouring himself coffee). At the family Thanksgiving Dinner he suffers an obvious memory lapse which leads the children to scheme further about voting non-confidence in him as CEO at the next board meeting. After the dinner, when he is along with his wife, he demonstrates that his lapse was false - he remembered everything he pretended to forget. So is he really unwell, or just pretending to show weakness in order to trick his enemies into attacking him before they're really ready?
ReplyDeleteOne wonders if that's Trump's strategy - convince everyone he's lost it and then trounce them when they try to take him down.
very few Republicans are impressed by his actions.
ReplyDeleteVery few trump supporters who voted for him last time are even giving a moment's thought to not voting for him again.
ReplyDeleteHard to say, really. A lot of of these Republicans apparently get campaign donations from AIPAC-type donors. It could just be a money thing.
ReplyDeletein other words corruption!
ReplyDeleteYes. That's American politics. Why does the Rav expect it to be otherwise?
ReplyDeleteNO IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
ReplyDelete