Donald Trump has already put his presidency on the line, by acting like Tony Soprano with the leader of Ukraine.
That phone call was a shakedown for a political favor, with a thinly-veiled threat to withhold foreign aid the small nation relies on to fend off Russian aggression.
Now, following another phone call between Trump and Turkey’s president, we are suddenly pulling back U.S. troops to make way for Turkey’s planned invasion to clear the Kurds out of the border zone in Syria.
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If Turkey crushes the Kurds, and the tens of thousands of ISIS fighters they are holding prisoner escape, they could return to being active terrorists who might attack us, particularly our troops still in Syria.
Meanwhile, we are left to question the motivation behind Trump’s decision. Is this about the lives of Americans and Kurdish people? Or protecting a business partnership with Turkey worth millions to him?
We shouldn’t have to wonder. Yet until Trump
releases all his tax returns, and divests from his global businesses, this will always be an easy way for a foreign official to exert leverage on him – much like he’s accused of doing with Ukraine.
Thanks to Trump’s
personal history of grift, the message to our allies across the globe is clear: The blood you shed for America means nothing. Come back when you’ve got something lucrative to offer him.