As the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, President Trump has decided to put his faith in the wrong person: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Trump announced during a press conference today that the ceasefire in Syria is holding and “will indeed be permanent,” though he admitted the degree of permanence is “somewhat questionable.”
The one thing he seems not to question, however, is Erdoğan’s commitment to creating “a much more peaceful and stable area.” If there’s one thing we should know by now, it’s that Erdoğan is an autocrat who cannot be trusted to do the right thing by the Kurds, the United States, or his own people, for that matter.
The Turkish leader has proven time and time again that he cares about one thing: his power and how to keep it. Here are just a few examples:
- In 2016, Erdoğan shut down U.S. operations on the base in Incirlik, effectively neutering our campaign against ISIS in that region. This despite Erdoğan’s earlier pledge to defeat terrorism in the Middle East. In fact, Erdoğan turned a blind eye to ISIS’s actions in Syria and even allowed ISIS to travel throughout Turkey, according to multiple reports. Some reports even accuse Erdoğan and the Turkish military arming ISIS. As former President Barack Obama learned the hard way, Erdoğan’s words don’t mean much.
- Erdoğan attacked the Kurdish units in northern Syria the moment the U.S. had withdrawn. Trump’s economic threats didn’t do much to dissuade Erdoğan, who has bombed the Kurds several times before and will do so again, for no reason other than the fact that he hates them and wants to see them gone.
- Erdoğan blamed the U.S. for a failed Turkish military coup in 2016 — a ludicrous and false claim that effectively turned the Turkish population against the U.S. and the West. Erdoğan feigns respect for the U.S. on the world stage, but as soon as the international networks’ cameras are off he spreads vicious propaganda in an attempt to rally the rest of the Middle East behind himself and his climb to the top.
A few years ago it would have been fair to describe Erdoğan as a fair-weather friend who assists the U.S. agenda overseas, so long as he benefits. But the mask has come off and the jig is up. We’ve seen enough to know that Erdoğan is no friend to the U.S. He’s a self-interested totalitarian who actively undermines our foreign policy, whether that’s by enabling ISIS, attacking our allies, or spreading anti-American propaganda throughout his country.
Trump is wrong to trust him. He should hold Erdoğan to account and reinstate sanctions on Turkey. If he doesn’t, then he will have fallen into Erdoğan’s trap, and Erdoğan will have made him the fool.
