BY SOPHIE SOLOWAY ’23
President Trump announced his decision to withdraw troops from Syria after an Oct. 6 phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Oct. 9, Turkish and Syrian troops attacked Kurdish territory.
President Trump’s sudden decision follows the Kurds’ long history of unstable political relations and ends a decade-long alliance between the United States and the Kurds.
The Kurds are an indigenous group with territory spanning across Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. The countries in this region have historically oppressed the Kurds.
“In response to uprisings in the 1920s and 1930s, many Kurds were resettled,” according to the BBC. “Kurdish names and costumes were banned, the use of the Kurdish language was restricted, and even the existence of a Kurdish ethnic identity was denied.”
There was some hope that this dynamic would change when the United States looked to Kurds for assistance in defense against ISIS under the Obama administration. After the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) independently defended the region against the Islamic State in 2013, the United States armed and trained the group for further general defense. This decision did not conform to U.S. policy at the time.
“U.S. policy has historically been to side with Turkey against the PKK, which both countries label a terrorist organization,” Mount Holyoke Professor of Politics Sohail Hashmi said. “Trump has ended, for now anyway, the marriage of convenience between the U.S. and the PKK that was contracted by the Obama Administration.”
One question has remained at the forefront of the recent dialogue: what changed?
Many analysts have questioned Trump’s intentions. Occurring at the same time as the domestic impeachment process and accusations of Russian collusion, many have connected his decision to presidential instability.
Historically, Russia has shown immense support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Many hypothesize that the sudden U.S. support of a Russia-allied country, despite predicted negative national and global consequences, further marks some form of relationship. CNN reported that many of Trump’s statements regarding the conflict parallel the talking points of Turkish and Russian leaders, often rewording their stances in his tweets.
According to MSNBC, refugee camps have already begun to fill with Kurdish civilians fleeing the violence that began after Trump’s decision. Regional violence has become so intense that aid organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee and Doctors Without Borders, have had to withdraw their volunteers out of fear for their safety.
On Oct. 17, Vice President Mike Pence announced that Turkey had agreed to a ceasefire in Syria. In return, Turkey demanded that Kurdish troops withdraw from the local border. With unclear plans for implementation, civilians in the region are left waiting for peace to return to their home.
The withdrawal of United States troops may benefit ISIS, as a concrete alliance has been shattered and instability has increased exponentially, according to the New York Times.
“Of course, the ‘divorce’ was made by Trump in such an impulsive, haphazard, and reckless way that the biggest winners are America’s rivals in the region: Iran, Syria, Russia, and the Islamic State,” Hashmi said. “Turkey has won a momentary victory, but its battle with Kurdish rebels inside and outside its territory will continue because the PKK will, in time, retaliate.”