Abu Bakr al Baghdadi was a murderer and terrorist responsible for terrible suffering and death.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Bernie was sending a message against Trump for abandoning our Kurdish allies but

you don't care. hmmm.

U.S. military service members’ worldviews are shaped by the jobs they do, places they’ve been and comrades in arms they’ve fought alongside. As a major in the Air Force who has flown combat missions against the Islamic State, I have seen firsthand the capability of Kurdish fighters. During my missions in 2016, they made up a critical mass of the ground forces flushing ISIS from its strongholds across Iraq and Syria. Together with a small number of U.S. special operators and others making up the moderate Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurds were instrumental in ending the Islamic State’s territorial caliphate.

(snip)

It was with this in mind that I heard the news Monday that the United States has withdrawn troops from the northern portion of Syria and that the president did not object to an attack that Turkey launched Wednesday against Kurdish forces in the area — the same forces that were so critical in liberating large swathes of Iraq and Syria from ISIS control.

A valuable partner put in jeopardy

The administration's overnight announcement drew an immediate and almost universal rebuke from the foreign policy and military community, even including condemnation from some of the president’s closest usual allies. In the fight against ISIS, it has been U.S. policy to back the Kurds in Syria, and their extremely capable fighters. This week’s decision to turn this policy on its head now puts an extremely valuable partner in jeopardy, risks creating space for the reemergence of the Islamic State, and leaves the status of thousands of captured ISIS fighters uncertain.

(snip)

A moral and strategic failure

They did all this with the hope — despite past disappointments — that America would repay the Kurds by continuing to support Kurdish ambitions in the region. Tragically, they’ve been let down once again, causing many to fear for a humanitarian disaster. With an effective green light from the United States, Erdogan feels empowered to take military actions to sweep the Kurds from territory near the Turkey-Syria border. The repercussions for America and its allies could be huge.

(snip)


https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2019/10/09/kurds-turkey-syria-isis-war-iraq-trump-column/3917818002/