In the fight against the Islamic State, the Kurds have been our best and most reliable ally. In Syria, in partnership with U.S. Special Operations, the Kurdish-led militia, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, have largely been responsible for the success in taking back territory, handling captured fighters, and liberating communities. In fact, they are still leading the fight against ISIS in eastern Syria.

So naturally, to thank them for shedding blood alongside U.S. personal, Trump has decided to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. This comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told him in a phone call to “get out of the way” because Turkish forces were preparing to attack the Kurds. Or so reports Jennifer Griffin of Fox News.



Sr US defense official tells me: The President made the decision to pull out of Syria last Fri Dec 14 after speaking with Turkish President Erdogan, who told Trump Turkish forces were planning to enter Syria to go after the Kurdish PKK and warned US troops to get out of the way. — Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) December 20, 2018



Seeing no problem with throwing our allies under the proverbial bus and under Ankara’s literal guns, Trump agreed and Tweeted out his new policy declaration on Wednesday, calling for a unilateral withdrawal of troops.



We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018



And if Trump or anyone else needed confirmation of Turkey’s intentions as soon as the U.S. left, on Thursday morning Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, referring to Kurdish forces preparing fortifications against ISIS, “whatever they dig … when the time comes they will be buried in the trenches.”

As disturbing as that threat is, it’s not surprising.

Turkey has long viewed ethnic Kurdish forces as a threat. It has been waging a decadeslong war against Kurdish militants. Ankara has also labeled the Kurdish militias as terrorist organizations and considers them part of the Turkish-Kurdish separatist group known as the PKK.

In Syria, Turkey has also supported attacks on Kurdish forces, ejecting them from Afrin, a city in northern Syria where the United Nations has already alleged that Turkey-backed forces engaged in human rights abuses against Kurds. Those fights, of course, mean that Kurdish forces are forced to abandon their ongoing fight against ISIS to protect themselves against Turkish attacks.

That history also suggests that Trump knew well that an immediate casualty of the abandoning Syria would be our Kurdish allies, and he simply didn’t care.

Perhaps what Trump did not consider in the callous calculation, however, are just what the consequences of an all-out attack by Turkish forces on the Kurds would look like.

For one thing, the U.S. would likely be dragged back into the conflict while also giving up leverage in securing a long-term peace. Turkey is a member of NATO and an important ally in countering Russia's moves in the region. That leaves the U.S. in a pinch, should an all-out fight between the Kurds and the Turks develop. Worse, it means ISIS may well regain power and territory. In the long run, such a fight would likely further destabilize the region and prevent any peace agreement between Turkey and the Kurds.

Beyond setting the stage for another devastating conflict, a hasty withdrawal also sends a clear message to would-be allies in Washington’s seemingly perpetual fight against terrorists (or anyone else): The U.S. is fickle and not an ally to be trusted.

The repercussions of the betrayal of our Kurdish allies to Turkey will continue to echo throughout U.S. foreign policy. The serious damage to our credibility, damage compounded by false claims of victory and decisions made at the behest of authoritarian regimes like Erdogan’s Turkey, will affect U.S. efforts elsewhere and for years to come.