Betrayal is the ultimate act of treachery, turning your back to one who has helped you or loved you. The only thing more painful than betrayal by a friend is the death of a loved one. Betrayal defies all common sense, all logic, all rational thinking. Betrayal, by definition, destroys trust. Betrayal destroys relationships and reputations. Betrayal breeds enemies and causes wars.
The betrayal of our allies, the Kurds, by Trump has been aggravating my digestive system since last Sunday. Removal of American troops from northern Syria has set the Kurds up to be slaughtered. These people have fought and died in our war against ISIS. These people have been loyal to a fault. They have died so Americans would not. This betrayal by Trump is incomprehensible.
Trump gave a stupid reason that he threw the Kurds aside: that the Kurds did not help us in the Normandy Invasion in World War II. Given the high level of coordination, sophistication and planning that allowed the Normandy Invasion to happen, I doubt that the poorly armed Kurds were remotely thought of by Eisenhower and Churchill as possible participants. What is at play here, we all know, is Trump’s self-interests in Istanbul and Moscow. Did Putin tell him to do this? Probably. Remember that Turkey is a member of NATO. It has long been Putin’s fondest wish that NATO be disbanded.
What will happen now that Turkey, a NATO member, has invaded Syria to commit genocide on the Kurds? Will NATO expel Turkey? Russia is certainly hoping so, because that would be the first crack in the solid NATO shell that has existed for over seventy years. If NATO cracks, war will soon follow. And we already know that the next world war will not be a conventional war. What with Pakistan, India, Iran, Russia, possibly North Korea, and Trump’s itchy fingers on the nuclear codes, the next war will be nuclear war. And it won’t just be fought in Asia, or the Middle East, or Europe. It will be fought on American soil, with our enemies’ nukes obliterating American cities. You don’t need to be a foreign policy wonk to see this.
I have taken a rational, logical approach to this subject because I want you all out there in readerland to do something. Contact your Senators and Representatives. Email them, call them, tweet them. Tell them Why you don’t want another war, especially a nuclear war. Tell them that you are just trying to make a life, and that this new threat of war is not what you had planned for your children. Ask them to get Trump out of the White House before he destroys us all. Urge them to move this impeachment process as quickly as possible. If you are represented by Republicans, ask them to please stop holding up the process and get it done. Tell them you want him impeached and removed from office before he can start World War III.
Our country, and, indeed, our very existence, depends upon it.
Anne Keller