By A Muslim Girl writer recently stated in a blog post that President Trump is unfit to be president for several reasons. His Islamophobia, and racism, and the fact that he is inciting domestic terrorism. The facts that he is accused, according to PBS, by 16 women of sexual assault, (including a 13-year-old child) as well as his refusal to acknowledge climate science and deal with the environmental crises, alongside his treasonous behavior where he has colluded with foreign governments to undermine our democracy, should render him unfit in the eyes of America. I actually thought I was at a bottom for how much he disgusted and offended me.
However, on Sunday, he reached a new low. I personally have been devastated by this decision, out of all Trump’s decisions. I thought I was really done with having any good opinion of him with the information about him being accused of being a pedophile and a child molester during the attention that Epstein was getting.
I feel a loss beyond words that the Kurdish people have been betrayed by my country, and by our traitorous, evil President.
The news that Trump was being subjected to an impeachment inquiry and preceding over an indiscrete phone call with the Ukrainian government was fine by me. I am hopeful that Congress will do the right thing, in a hope beyond hope that the Republicans will care enough about democracy and our country’s integrity to do the right thing. It’s long overdue.
However, I feel a loss beyond words that the Kurdish people have been betrayed by my country, and by our traitorous, evil President. I will quote the people who fought alongside them from another article on the decision.
Lara Seligman of the website ForeignPolicy.com writes:
“On Dec. 20, 2018, the day after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced via Twitter that the United States would withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria, a group of U.S. soldiers set out on a routine patrol through Manbij, a Kurdish-held town in northern Syria.
A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) approached the American troops, according to a U.S. Army officer on patrol that day, who spoke to Foreign Policy on the condition of anonymity. The man broke down in tears, thanking the U.S. service members for their support.
“I feel physically ill with worry and concern and deeply ashamed that my own country would permit this fate to befall our close allies who did all our fighting for us, when we had the power to prevent it.”
‘He took off his unit patch and gave it to me. It was the most emotional moment I’ve ever experienced,’ said the officer, who fought alongside the SDF in the years long battle to defeat the Islamic State and is one of many retired and current service members who say they are devastated by Trump’s latest decision to withdraw troops from the border, paving the way for Turkey to launch a major attack on northeastern Syria.”
Seeing the group’s reaction to Trump’s tweet on the front lines in Manbij “was when I truly found out that the SDF were probably some of the most noble people I’d ever met.”
“I feel physically ill with worry and concern and deeply ashamed that my own country would permit this fate to befall our close allies who did all our fighting for us, when we had the power to prevent it,” said a U.S. Marine who served in Syria in 2017-2018.
A Brutal Betrayal
Trump announced, in a tweet, that he would betray our allies by pulling troops out of Northern Syria, thus paving the way for a Turkish offensive to decimate Kurdish forces and civilians. Why did he make this decision? Is it truly because he wants the U.S. out of foreign wars as he claims?
To shed some light on this heinous and hasty decision, we turn back the clock a little bit. In his presidential campaign, President Trump stated that his dealings with Turkey would be influenced by his business dealings with them. Mother Jones reports:
“I have a little conflict of interest ’cause I have a major, major building in Istanbul…It’s a tremendously successful job. It’s called Trump Towers — two towers, instead of one, not the usual one, it’s two.”
Trump announced, in a tweet, that he would betray our allies by pulling troops out of Northern Syria, thus paving the way for a Turkish offensive to decimate Kurdish forces and civilians.
During the presidential election, Trump openly admitted that he would hand his business interests over to his children if he became president. He actually made the decision to retain control of these interests and merely step back from the day-to-day operations of these businesses. However the profits still go directly to him, and he seems content to openly admit to this conflict of interest. These two towers in Turkey have made Trump, since he launched his bid for the presidency, somewhere between $3.2 million and $17 million in royalties.
A Break in Loyalty
Trump’s Republican allies, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others have broken with Trump uncharacteristically and criticized the decision.
“In a bipartisan statement, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday requested Trump send a representative to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to defend the move.”
The senators insisted, “The Administration must come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and explain to the American people how betraying an ally and ceding influence to terrorists and adversaries is not disastrous for our national security interests.”
Article 3 Section 3 of the United States Constitution states: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”
What does this mean, “Adhering to their enemies, and giving them aid and comfort”? Does this decision to withdraw from a vital region for national and world security to enable President Erdogan to commit genocide only consist of a despicable, horrifically evil act because of the murder of noble people who fought for US interests in a region that is notoriously hostile to us?
Or is it a blatant act of treason, where our adversaries are aided and comforted by a decision made by the leader of our country in the interest of his own personal gain?
I am clear, in spite of my minimal understanding of the political situation in the Middle East and criminal law, that we were fighting against forces that were confused, and intermingled and that was part of the difficulty in Syria. But the reason we got involved was to secure democracy in the region. The reason we got involved in Syria (despite our horrific culpability in the chaos in the region from the beginning due to our disastrous destabilization of Iraq) was to protect democracy, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the interests of the people of Syria.
It was in the defense of human rights, in the hopes that there would be better government and more security. Granted, probably misguided. Granted, disastrously unsuccessful. But, I would argue that the enemies of our country have been aided by Trump in substantial ways as a result of this decision.
Turning our allies over to the Turks to commit genocide, is treason. Treason of the ultimate and worse kind.
What are our enemies as a country? The denial to people of their basic rights of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to have a government that doesn’t torture them, where they have a voice and a chance to live in peace. Trump’s decision has instead aided our enemies, the destruction of life, the destruction of integrity, freedom, peace, security, democracy, the basic and vital rights of people who have struggled, and fought, and died fighting with our troops.
Breaking these peoples’ hearts, breaking all of our hearts, to make money on his business interests, and turning our allies over to the Turks to commit genocide, is treason. Treason of the ultimate and worse kind. He has aided and given comfort to the most dedicated enemies of the very values that this country stands for. He has aided the enemies of the very fundamental meaning of what we hope for as people, the hope for a democratic world. A world where people have a voice, and safety, and peace.
I sometimes have a hard time processing horror from the news. I tend to go numb and just go in a trance a bit. I have been staring at this in my mind’s eye all week, in agony for the Kurds, for our soldiers who fought with them. For them to fight for so many years, to have a victory and be betrayed by our country makes me sick in ways I cannot even put words to.
It occurs to me that our President is a traitor, treason based on his total lack of loyalty to the fundamental values that this country stands for. It should have been enough to prevent him getting elected. And it absolutely should be enough to get him impeached.