“For Isis it is very good news.”
Democracy Now! (10/7/19)
U.S. troops have begun withdrawing from northeast Syria as Turkey prepares to invade Kurdish-controlled areas of the country. For years, the Kurds have been close allies to the United States in the fight against ISIS. On Sunday, however, the White House released a statement that surprised many in the region, announcing that Turkey would be “moving forward with its long-planned operation in Northern Syria,” following a phone call between President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in that operation, and the United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area,” the statement said.
The announcement marks a major shift in U.S. policy, since as recently as January President Trump threatened to “devastate Turkey economically” if it attacked Kurdish forces in Syria. Meanwhile, in neighboring Iraq, the death toll continues to rise as police and soldiers fire on people defying a government-imposed curfew in mass anti-government protests.
For more on events in the region, we speak with Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for The Independent newspaper.
Link to Story, Transcript and 14-Minute Video
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Special Forces Soldier Tells Fox News Reporter He’s ‘ashamed’ To Carry Out Trump’s Order On The Kurds
They are “pleading for our support.” but the U.S. is doing “nothing.” He said that he anticipates the ISIS fighters will likely be “free in the coming days and weeks.”
By Sarah K. Burris
Raw Story (10/9/19)
A special forces soldier spoke to Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin and confessed they were “ashamed.”
“I just spoke to a distraught US Special Forces soldier who is among the 1000 or so US troops in Syria tonight who is serving alongside the SDF Kurdish forces,” Griffin tweeted Wednesday evening.
She also said that it was one of the hardest phone calls she’s ever taken.
“I am ashamed for the first time in my career,” the soldier told her. “Turkey is not doing what it agreed to. It’s horrible.”
According to Griffin, this soldier has helped train local forces on the ground in multiple continents. Tonight, he is on the ground “witnessing Turkish atrocities.” …