I gotta hand it to Trump, right or wrong he's willing to go against "conventional wisdom" and try something completely different.
Given how Eurocrats ****ed over the Middle East partitioning the Ottoman Empire after WW I
Specifically our so called best friends in England who often have the Midas touch for shlt.Given how Eurocrats ****ed over the Middle East partitioning the Ottoman Empire after WW I
So there's a big part of me when I see Americans going into the Middle East that says "Eff this! Why does it have to be US? Let 'em pour into Europe and let them deal with it".
I do think one thing is clear, and until recently, it's something I've always agreed with the DEMOCRATS on - the U.S. cannot be the world's policeman. We have a responsibility for protecting freedom and rights across the globe - but it is absurd that we do it alone. In that respect, our allies, the members of NATO and so on - they have to pull their weight.
So there's a big part of me when I see Americans going into the Middle East that says "Eff this! Why does it have to be US? Let 'em pour into Europe and let them deal with it".
Nary a peep out of anyone, save the occasional rehash of the initial faux outrage.
Trump's Syrian Maneuver Works - President Erdogan Asks for Negotiations With Kurds in Syria... - The Last Refuge
President Trump has played this out perfectly. By isolating Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and effectively leaving him naked to an alliance of his enemies, Erdogan is now urgently asking for the U.S. to mediate peace negotiations with Kurdish forces. This request happens immediately after...tinyurl.com
President Trump has played this out perfectly. By isolating Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and effectively leaving him naked to an alliance of his enemies, Erdogan is now urgently asking for the U.S. to mediate peace negotiations with Kurdish forces.
This request happens immediately after President Trump signed an executive order [See Here] triggering the sanction authority of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Erdogan called the White House requesting an urgent phone call with President Trump.
ExactlyGiven how Eurocrats ****ed over the Middle East partitioning the Ottoman Empire after WW I
The vast majority of the people who make up these countries don't really give a crap about "the country", their order of allegiance is Family, extended Family (aka Tribe) and religion -those are the ties that bind, not a national flag.
I don't think they were that clever, they drew boundaries like they had in Europe, tried to form nation/states they could negotiate treaties with, like they did in Europe. They tried to make countries that looked like the mother land. Problem is, that's not the mindset of the people who lived there.like in Africa - Eurocrats put tribes of people together who hated each other to keep them fighting and ignoring the Colonialists
Trump did something that on the surface looks stupid, hideous, and is being used to stir up problems with even his most loyal supporters.
But it's far more complicated.
Turkey is and has had it's problems, but has tried to stay a democratic nation and is a member of NATO. While the country is predominately Muslim, they have for the most part tried to stay a secular state. That is until recently when there has been a push from radicals to become more "Islamic".
If you studied biblical history you know that what is modern day Turkey is home to some of the earliest Christian settlements. Jews had spread from Israel up along the Mediterranean coast into modern day Greece (all part of the Roman Empire at the time).
Syria is another mixed bag of nuts. Various ethnic groups and religions. The majority is Sunni Muslim. Pardon my spelling, but the country is ruled by the Baath party. They believe in an Arab Renaissances, socialism and one party rule. They are predominately Shia Muslim.
The Kurds are a part of the non-Arab Sunni group. They have been sniping at Turkey for decades as well as Iraq and Syria. They are aligned with nobody but themselves, and just to be clear, not all Kurds agree even on the time of day. They want a homeland, their own country, which they intend to carve out of the countries that surround them, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran (minor). The US first started to arm the Kurds when they were fighting Saddam. All well and good until they took those weapons and turned them on a NATO Ally, Turkey. The Kurds had no time for Saddam and no time for ISIS, they don't want to be subjugated by anyone. Therefore the US was their friend in the sense that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The Syrian war refugees and the terrorist attacks from the Kurds have put a serious strain on Turkey. Turkey is a NATO ally and has long been a base of operations to spy on the former Soviet Union and Iran. I can tell you from work with NATO in the 80's and 90's that the Turks did not want to visit air defense radar sites in the border region with Syria and Iraq for fear of being grabbed by Kurdish fighters. The feeling was if you got pulled over and had an American passport you were safe - safer, than if you were Turkish.
It's a shithole, always has been a shithole, and will probably continue to be a shithole until they kill every last one of themselves, it;s tribal / ethnic and religious warfare, they all claim the same land, they all want the same thing, which is the land and the other guy gone.
That's just as simple a summary as I could come up with. 10,000 years of history in 1000 characters
Turkey started down hill in the 90's. They had runaway inflation and then the Islamic uprising started. They were more or less a secular nation, they were courteous to their connection to Islam but not religious fanatics. For example, Islam does not allow the consumption of alcohol. The bars are inside western hotels, it's well know and accepted. Or was, my connections to the country were lost in 95.NATO has had to play referee between Turkey & Greece for decades. Fighting over some islands. At least the Turks attempt to act like a democracy. Sad part is that Afghanistan and Iran use to be just like Turkey with women freely going about their business on a daily basis.