Betraying The Kurds Makes Things Harder for US Operators Everywhere

11/10/19
Trust is a powerful commodity that has saved many lives in shadowy battlefields across the Middle East. But it takes a long time to build and can be gone in an instant. The abrupt withdrawal from Syria and cynical disregard for the Kurds’ contribution to the ISIS fight will undermine that trust and put U.S. forces and their missions at risk. For nearly 20 years — from the invasion of Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden to the conflicts in Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Syria — combat advisors and special operators have been working closely with local forces on the ground in difficult and dangerous situations. These “by-with-through” missions often required U.S. advisors and special operators to entrust their lives to non-state partners. Small U.S. teams have routinely worked alone and unafraid among Afghan or Syrian militiamen far from U.S. bases and beyond the range of air support and quick-reaction forces. Local partners have protected bases and fought alongside U.S. forces. They have collected intelligence and served as interpreters on missions where communicating with the people was critical. As an advisor to U.S. forces in far-flung areas of Afghanistan, I have been in on patrols where my safety depended on militias partnered with U.S. forces.

U.S. troops — backed up by leaders in Washington — have for years made promises to their local partners in order to raise militias, cement relationships and lead effective action against terrorists. The sudden withdrawal from Syria, the openly callous disregard for long-standing relationships with Kurdish forces on the ground, and the cynical talk about taking Syrian oil as if that were the objective all along, will undermine the credibility of these promises in the future. It will be more difficult for U.S. military advisors and special operators to find willing local allies and to build the trust necessary to aggressively prosecute threats to America and survive in places where a heavy U.S. footprint is not possible. The open disavowal of U.S. obligations to Syrian Kurdish forces with so little effort to maintain even the veneer of an honorable end to U.S. support will undermine the trust of other local partners working with U.S. forces in battlefields across the region, including in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is on the march. It will also hinder U.S. forces in the future as they attempt to recruit local partners and entrust those forces with the success of critical missions — and with their lives.

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Rogue Valley said:

This is how I see it also. Trump's betrayal of our Syrian Kurd allies will have both short and long term consequences for US forces in the ME region and perhaps beyond.

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Rogue Valley said:

Betraying The Kurds Makes Things Harder for US Operators Everywhere

It will henceforth be much more difficult for U.S. combat forces and advisors to get help from local partners around the world.

This is how I see it also. Trump's betrayal of our Syrian Kurd allies will have both short and long term consequences for US forces in the ME region and perhaps beyond.

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WillyPete said:

After our handling of both Cuba and Afghanistan in the last few decades, there's already ample evidence we are not reliable long-term partners.

Maybe the Ukrainians knew that already, maybe they didn't, but I doubt they felt like they had much choice at the time.

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