Trump threatens Turkey with sanctions as surround sound pumps up
Boston, Oct 15 (IANS) With several ex four-star generals and Trump haters criticising the President for the US Forces pull out from Syria, the dragnet tightened on the continuing Columbus Day holiday weekend as a new front opened against him. However, Trump remained steadfast driven by the belief that nothing gives the fearful more courage than their adversarys fear. As Dems began the drum roll on the Syria pull out and how Trumps decision will revive the Islamic Caliphate in Syria which the Americans fighting alongside the Kurds had bottled up, the volume was pumped up in Washington as Turkish forces continued with their blood lust assault.
In typical Trump style of brinkmanship, Trump announced economic sanctions against Turkey through a press statement on Monday. He raised steel tariffs on Turkey and threatened more sanctions over its incursion into Syria as Trump scrambled to limit the damage from his much-criticized decision to clear U.S. troops from Turkey’s path. With lawmakers in the U.S. Congress moving to impose sanctions of their own, Trump announced he would soon issue an executive order authorizing sanctions against current and former officials of the Turkish government for contributing to Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria.
In a statement, Trump said he had increased tariffs on imports of Turkish steel back up to 50 per cent, six months after they were reduced, and would immediately stop negotiations on what he called a $100 billion trade deal with Turkey.
Turkey has become the cynosure after a retired four-star Marine general on Sunday bluntly criticized President Donald Trump over the ongoing Turkish military offensive in northern Syria, saying, “There is blood on Trump’s hands for abandoning our Kurdish allies.” Gen. John Allen, the former commander of American forces in Afghanistan and former special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS under the Obama administration, told CNN the unfolding crisis in Syria was “completely foreseeable” and “the US greenlighted it.”
“There was no chance (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan) Erdogan would keep his promise, and full-blown ethnic cleansing is underway by Turkish supported militias,” he said. “This is what happens when Trump follows his instincts and because of his alignment with autocrats.”
This is after former defence secretary James Mattis said Donald Trump’s abrupt withdrawal of US troops from the Syria-Turkey border has increased the chances of a resurgence of Islamic State. But the retired general passed up an opportunity to directly criticise the President. “If we don’t keep the pressure on,” Mattis told NBC’s Meet the Press, “then Isis will resurge. It’s absolutely a given that they will come back.”
After Mattis’s remarks were released, the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said 785 foreign individuals affiliated with Isis had escaped the camp where they were being held, following heavy Turkish shelling. Trump believes that America’s days of playing global policeman are over and he has said categorically that it is time to end the endless wars, but the return of IS could be a major threat Percept for the world which has seen their brutality. Strategically, a return through regrouping of IS fighters would be disastrous.
Trump took to social media again today to trash this new campaign against him after releasing a formal statement on Turkey’s actions in north eastern Syria – Some people want the United States to protect the 7,000 mile away Border of Syria, presided over by Bashar al-Assad, our enemy. At the same time, Syria and whoever they chose to help, wants naturally to protect the Kurds. I would much rather focus on our Southern Border which abuts and is part of the United States of America. And by the way, numbers are way down and the WALL is being built!
He asserted – After defeating 100% of the ISIS Caliphate, I largely moved our troops out of Syria. Let Syria and Assad protect the Kurds and fight Turkey for their own land. I said to my Generals, why should we be fighting for Syria and Assad to protect the land of our enemy? Anyone who wants to assist Syria in protecting the Kurds is good with me, whether it is Russia, China, or Napoleon Bonaparte. I hope they all do great, we are 7,000 miles away.
Then some more – “To his credit the Europeans didn’t step up to deal with this ISIS problem – it’s a lot of the reason why we are in this situation today. Now, Angela Merkel of Germany is finally stepping up and telling Turkey to back off. Don’t the Europeans have a lot of responsibility?” @KatiePavlich Thank you Katie, I offered ISIS prisoners to the European countries from where they came, and was rejected on numerous occasions. They probably figured that the U.S. would bear the tremendous cost as always!