Sen. Mitt Romney tore into President Trump’s administration for its handling of foreign policy regarding Turkey and the Kurds.
“I also hope the cease-fire agreement is honored and that Turkey ends its brutal killing. But I note that lives are already lost and American honor has already been tarnished,” the Utah Republican said on the Senate floor Thursday, as news broke the United States had negotiated a cease-fire between Turkey and the Kurds. “We once abandoned a red line. Now, we abandon an ally.”
In exchange for a cease-fire, the U.S. got Kurdish forces to agree to Turkish demands to evacuate a 20-mile wide “safe zone” south of Turkey’s border. Turkey had invaded the Kurdish territory declaring forces their “terrorists.”
A senior Turkish official declared the cease-fire agreement was “exactly what we wanted,” adding that the “military operation paid off.”
Turkey announced its invasion of northern Syria days after Trump said U.S. forces would be withdrawing. The Kurds have been a U.S. ally and helped defeat ISIS in the region.
Romney, 72, expressed frustration that the U.S. had caved to Turkey’s demands, asking, “Are we so weak and so inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America? Turkey?”
The senator recommended the Senate hold hearings to look into the U.S. handling of the situation.
