Republican U.S. Senator Mitt Romney says President Trump’s withdrawal of soldiers protecting the Kurds “will stand as a bloodstain in the annals of American history.” The move took the Pentagon by surprise, but it had been high on the wish list for Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Syria also stands to benefit when the Kurds no longer enjoy the protection of the U.S. It’s not clear what it means for Kurdish soldiers or their families. In Wasington and elsewhere, U.S. diplomacy looks increasingly confused and chaotic as the president acts on impulse rather than planning or principle.
Trump’s Turkey debacle
Russia president, Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Photo credit: Maxim A. Suchkov
Credits
Guests:
- Rukmini Callimachi - New York Times - @rcallimachi
- Aaron Mehta - Pentagon correspondent for Defense News - @AaronMehta
- Angela Stent - Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and professor at Georgetown University; nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; author - @AngelaStent