Betrayal and Duplicity

Over the weekend the news came that the Kurds, in control of northern Syria but under assault from Turkey, were close to making a deal with Syria such that their enemies the Syrians, whom they have been in rebellion against, will protect that region against the Turks.  This is apparently with Russian support.

It's hard to see this coming out well.

One thing that didn't come out well was the escape of a large number of ISIL prisoners from a Kurdish compound.  This was widely feared as a probable result of the Turkish assault and now it has happened.

And the United States is pulling all of its troops out of northern Syria.

It would be hard to find a worst set of news here.

This puts the Syrian government back in some sort of ultimate control of northern Syria, with all that means.  I think it unlikely that Damascus will tolerate Kurdish independence any more than the Turks are willing to.  And it elevates Russia, which is a second rate power that is a menace mostly because its big and it has nuclear arms, back towards the position of being world power.

It also makes the United States look foolish and cowardly.

And it raises questions about Donald Trump that you'd think he'd want buried.  Once again, in a matter where it didn't have to occur, the Russians have come out on top with there being no good explanation. The only acceptable explanation is a return of the US to a pre 1941 sort of isolationism, but at the same time we're pulling out of northern Syria we're getting into Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is perfectly capable of defending itself and in no way shape or form needs the US to do it.

Indeed, the fact that we're now going into Saudi Arabia demonstrates that the entire "not getting into" logic is at best pretty unevenly applied.  The only good explanation for going in there, to protect a nation that's capable of protecting itself against Iran, is that "it's about the oil", something that American administrations try not to encourage a belief in.

Indeed, in terms of friends, the Kurds are a lot more western and democratic than the Saudis, which are neither in any fashion.

And if it is to protect Saudi oil, why? The United States is now an energy exporting nation.  Not only can the Saudis protect their oil facilities themselves but, if they can't, perhaps those who depend on them can. That isn't us.

So, we betrayed somebody we armed, while going into protect somebody whose values are completely the opposite of our own, while causing our former field ally to make common cause with an enemy, and which also results in enemies escaping.