Trump Defends Decision To Abandon Kurdish Allies Fighting ISIS In Syria

President Donald Trump on Monday defended his widely condemned decision to greenlight a Turkish military operation that jeopardizes the lives of U.S.-allied Kurdish forces fighting the self-described Islamic State in northern Syria.

In an extraordinary shift in U.S. foreign policy, the White House released a statement late Sunday announcing that American forces would no longer be in the immediate area, allowing Turkey to invade northern Syria. Any captured ISIS fighters are now the responsibility of Turkey, the White House added.

The Kurds, an ethnic group, lead the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main ally of the U.S. in Syria. The Turkish government, however, considers them to be terrorists. Middle Eastern and foreign policy experts have warned that allowing Turkey to invade northern Syria will result in a genocide against the Kurds.

But Trump, in a series of tweets Monday, essentially told the Kurds that the United States has supported them for years, but now theyre on their own.

The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago, the president wrote. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight.

The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so, he continued. [I]t is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home. WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN.

Trump added that its now up to Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds to figure the situation out.

They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years, he tweeted. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!

The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area. We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate,.....

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The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area. We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate,.....
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019

....including capturing thousands of ISIS fighters, mostly from Europe. But Europe did not want them back, they said you keep them USA! I said NO, we did you a great favor and now you want us to hold them in U.S. prisons at tremendous cost. They are yours for trials. They.....

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Donald J. Trump","author_url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump","cache_age":86400,"description":"....including capturing thousands of ISIS fighters, mostly from Europe. But Europe did not want them back, they said you keep them USA! I said NO, we did you a great favor and now you want us to hold them in U.S. prisons at tremendous cost. They are yours for trials. They..... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Donald J. 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....including capturing thousands of ISIS fighters, mostly from Europe. But Europe did not want them back, they said you keep them USA! I said NO, we did you a great favor and now you want us to hold them in U.S. prisons at tremendous cost. They are yours for trials. They.....
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019

.....again said NO, thinking, as usual, that the U.S. is always the sucker, on NATO, on Trade, on everything. The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for....

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.....again said NO, thinking, as usual, that the U.S. is always the sucker, on NATO, on Trade, on everything. The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for....
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019

....almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home. WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN. Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to.....

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....almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home. WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN. Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to.....
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019

...figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their neighborhood. They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Donald J. Trump","author_url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump","cache_age":86400,"description":"...figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their neighborhood. They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Donald J. 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...figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their neighborhood. They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019

In a statement Sunday, the SDF said a Turkish invasion would displace our people and could result in many civilian casualties. The forces warned that Trumps decision to withdraw support in northern Syria will reverse the progress theyve made on defeating ISIS and make the war-torn country a permanent conflict area.

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Several senior Republicans pushed back on Trumps plan to desert the Kurds.

I hope Im making myself clear how shortsighted and irresponsible this decision is in my view, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Fox & Friends on Monday. This, to me, is just unnerving to its core.

Trump called for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria last December, but he ultimately reversed his decision following backlash from American intelligence officials, foreign allies and U.S. lawmakers, including Graham.

This story has been updated with a statement from the Syrian Democratic Forces.