Volume 1, Issue 18
Decoding the Turkey/Syria Conflict
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Turkey/Syria 101
5 MIN READ
I don’t know about you, but I have unfortunately struggled to understand the entirety of the conflict in the Middle East. With literally millennia of historical background, more groups than I can count on one hand, and new boundaries being drawn every few years, it seems like it takes a graduate degree to read the news.
When headlines announced that Turkey had invaded Syria after Trump had withdrawn U.S. troops, I tried to quickly catch up. I noticed quite a few holes in my knowledge of the situation and became determined to break my sad cycle of Middle-Eastern-affair illiteracy. As always, I wanted to share the results of my research in case you also feel confused and left behind by the national media.
I am going to give it to you in the most succinct way possible, but as always, I will provide links at the bottom so you can do further research (and I hope you will).
So what happened?
Earlier this week, Turkey's president announced his intention to launch an attack in Syria. President Trump then announced that he was withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria. On Wednesday, just days after Trump’s announcement, Turkey did, as promised, launch air and land strikes into the northeastern portion of Syria that borders Turkey.
Why the controversy?
The area that Turkey has invaded is, as I mentioned, part of the country of Syria. However, it is occupied by the Kurdish people. Trump pulled back the 50-100 American troops in the area for safety and announced his intention to withdraw all of the remaining troops in Syria in the near future. Since the Kurds are allies of the United States, many feel that this is abandoning our friends and perhaps losing that valuable relationship. A fear also is that the Turkish invasion could cause a humanitarian crisis, killing or displacing tens of thousands of people.
Who are the Kurds?
The Kurds are an indigenous people that occupy a contiguous area of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia (see map above). Their race, culture, and language are what binds them, but their religious affiliations can vary.
Why does Turkey want to attack?
Turkey’s relationship with the Kurdish people is very complicated. While 15-20% of Turkey’s population is Kurdish, the Kurds have received harsh treatment from the Turkish government for a very long time. Their lands were taken; their names, clothing, and identity were banned. In response to this, the Kurds have been fighting back for autonomy. As you can imagine, this has caused many deaths and much turmoil, and the Turkish government views the main Kurdish political group as “terrorists.”
Turkey says that it has launched this most recent attack in order to create a 20-mile wide “terror buffer zone” and push Kurdish rebels away from the Syria/Turkey border. Turkey also wants to use this area to relocate the millions of Syrian refugees that are currently living in Turkey (These refugees have fled Syria since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011).
Why are the Kurds considered allies of the United States?
Basically because we have a common enemy—ISIS. The jihadist group has been fighting with the Kurdish people over the same area of land, and the U.S. has been helping the Kurds. We have launched air strikes, provided weapons, and helped train Kurdish fighters to defeat ISIS. The Kurds have essentially been our on-the-ground force. And the Kurds have been winning, too. They pushed ISIS back from their lands and have imprisoned many of them.
Why did Trump withdraw U.S. troops?
Withdrawing our troops from the Middle East was a campaign promise of Trump’s and was officially rolled out in December of 2018. This decision was against the advice of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Mattis resigned due to this disagreement.
While we have known that Trump’s overall goal was to withdraw from the area, the specific announcement he made on Monday night and the speed of action surprised almost everyone.
We can see Trump’s reasoning in the tweets he sent out on October 9th:
So did Trump endorse the attacks from Turkey?
No, Trump and the White House did not officially endorse the Turkish attack. But Trump’s messages have been a bit mixed.
Again, we can look to Trump’s tweets. On the Turkey side of things, he said “it is time now for others in the region ... to protect their own territory.” He mentioned that Turkey is an important trade ally to the U.S., that they are a member of NATO, and that they make parts of our F-35 fighter jets.
But he also seemed to flip to the Kurdish side, by threatening to “totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey” if its military action in Syria went too far. He also tweeted that the U.S. is providing and will continue to provide financial and weapon support to the Kurdish fighters.
What are the politicians saying?
Many, many people on both sides of the aisle oppose Trump’s quick withdrawal. This includes both Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi. To be honest with you, I'm having a very hard time finding national news opinions that support the President's actions. That being said, there have been many conservatives that have previously supported Trump’s intention to back out of Middle Eastern conflict. And, as I mentioned before, this was also a campaign promise.
Even supporters of the President’s overall strategy of getting out of the Middle East still registered shock that he abruptly pulled troops without more of a long-term strategy.
A writer for The Cato Institute, a Libertarian think tank, commented that this is not the first time that the U.S. has abandoned our Kurdish allies and we should not have been surprised by Trump’s actions. “Most great powers have sacrificed allies and clients whenever more central interests seemed to be at stake,” argued author Ted Galen Carpenter.
What will happen next?
As unsatisfactory as this answer is, we will just have to wait and see. As Commander in Chief, Trump was acting within his power when he pulled the troops home. There cannot be a court ruling or Congressional action to reverse it. However, Trump could bend to any political or diplomatic pressure. I’m sure that a lot will also depend on the actions of the Turkish government in the coming days. Time will tell.
I’m trying something new, and publishing a few thoughtful opinions from different sides. This is an effort for us to further understand each other and I will be rotating the types of viewpoints that I publish. Today’s opinion comes from a veteran that identifies as a Libertarian. I encourage you to check out what he says here (it might surprise you.)
If you have a thoughtful opinion that you would like to share, please reply to this email…I would love to hear from you!
Everyone is welcome here.
Regardless of your viewpoint or your political party, if you’ve never followed politics in your life, or if you read ten news outlets a day, I thank you for joining us here. I’d love to hear your feedback on this issue and all issues yet to come. Simply reply to this email or find The Civilian on Twitter.
With respect and civility,
Sarah Bohl
Sources:
Issue 18: Decoding the Turkey/Syria Conflict