Category: Syria

  • October 7-12, 2019. Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds in Syria and Minneapolis rally

     
     

     
    Aaron Rupar
     
    @atrupar

     
    Lindsey Graham calls in to Fox & Friends & calls Trump's decision to abandon the Kurds "impulsive." "I hope I'm making myself clear how shortsighted & irresponsible this decision is in my view," he says. "This to me is just unnerving to its core."
     
     
     
     

     
    Scott Stedman
     
    @ScottMStedman

     
    There are approximately 2,000,000 Syrian Kurds.
     
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    Walter Shaub
     
    @waltshaub

     
    “ 'I have a little conflict of interest ’cause I have a major, major building in Istanbul,' Trump said last year. 'It’s a tremendously successful job. It’s called Trump Towers—two towers, instead of one, not the usual one, it’s two.' ”
    Donald Trump’s Huge Conflict of Interest in Turkey
    A businessman who allegedly helped the Iranians duck U.S. sanctions used to operate in one of the Istanbul towers bearing the name of the next American president.
    thedailybeast.com
     
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    Nikki Haley
     
    @NikkiHaley

     
    We must always have the backs of our allies, if we expect them to have our back. The Kurds were instrumental in our successful fight against ISIS in Syria. Leaving them to die is a big mistake. #TurkeyIsNotOurFriend
     
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    Richard Engel
     
    @RichardEngel

     
    The Syrian Kurds are being abandoned after they fought, and lost 10k men and women, to battle ISIS for the world. Now, they could be- and many expect will be- wiped out in a campaign of ethnic violence/displacement.
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    NBC News
     
    @NBCNews
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    BREAKING: In an extraordinary Sunday night statement, the White House announces that the US "will no longer be in the immediate area" of Northern Syria, allow Turkey to launch an invasion in the region and give Turkey responsibility for captured ISIS fighters in the area.
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    The Babahuck
     
    @TylerHuckabee

     
    Earlier this summer, Syrian Christians begged U.S. forces to stay, writing "Turkey aims to kill and destroy us and to finish the genocide against our people. [There] are still more than 100,000 Syriac Christians living in NE Syria and they will be killed …if Turkey invades."
     
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    Andy Rowell
     
    @AndyRowell

     
    Republican stars Marco Rubio, Lindsay Graham, Nikki Haley, and Brett Baier are all concerned about the betrayal of the Kurds in Syria by Trump this morning. mobile.twitter.com/atrupar/status mobile.twitter.com/jdawsey1/statu mobile.twitter.com/NikkiHaley/sta
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    Bret Baier
     
    @BretBaier
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    This thread is quite something from the former head of administration efforts against ISIS. twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/s…
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Bandy X Lee, MD, MDiv
     
    @BandyXLee1

     
    This “tweet” is a clear demonstration of the grotesque delusions of grandeur we predicted he would fall into as a defense against the growing pressures of reality. His destructiveness is already being unleashed: against the Kurds now, but we are bound to discover many more….
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    Donald J. Trump
     
    @realDonaldTrump
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    As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over…
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    Justin Wolfers
     
    @JustinWolfers

     
    Harvard professor of psychology

     

    👇

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    Daniel Gilbert
     
    @DanTGilbert
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    Am I the only psychologist who finds this claim and this threat truly alarming? Wouldn’t these normally trigger a mental health hold? Right and Left must set aside politics and agree that there is a serious problem here. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…
     
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    George F. Will
     
    @GeorgeWill

     
    In 13 months, all congressional Republicans who have not defended Congress by exercising “the constitutional rights of the place” should be defeated.
    Opinion | The spiraling president adds self-impeachment to his repertoire
    Trump must not get away with his refusal to supply witnesses and documents to the House.
    washingtonpost.com
     
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    A thread by Andy Rowell

    A summary for those not paying attention: There is a pattern by Trump of odd foreign policy in Syria, Ukraine, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and refugee limits that runs contrary to what experts on the right and left think is sound policy. No one is defending any of these things. Sometimes we suspect strongly that Trump is operating out of self-interest. Those he is helping seem to be funneling money or election assistance to him. Other times, it seems he is operating impulsively. But there is bipartisan opposition to all of it. Yet, he continues. Syria: betraying Kurd allies who fought ISIS to be killed by Turkey's dictator
    Ukraine: withholding military assistance for favors
    China: not defending Hong Kong for favors, also trade war
    Russia: deference to Putin
    Saudi Arabia: enabling war in Yemen
    Asylum: reducing refugees

     
     
     

     
    Evan McMullin
     
    @EvanMcMullin

     
    “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…They have a strong leader.” -Donald Trump, 2015
     
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    David Ignatius
     
    @IgnatiusPost

     
    …I'm also told that Turkish attack appears coordinated with the Russians. Russian-backed forces are mobilizing to invade the Kurdish area from the south — towards Tabqa and other spots. Meanwhile, ISIS is mobilizing sleeper cells in Raqqa and attacks have taken place tonight.
     
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    David Ignatius
     
    @IgnatiusPost

     
    A bad situation in Northeast Syria is about to get much worse. Sources tell me that US officials have just informed the Syrian Kurds that Turkey is likely to attack on air and ground in next 24 hours. The US will do nothing. Targets are Tal Abyad and Ras al Ayn….
     
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    Andy Rowell
     
    @AndyRowell

     
    Replying to

    Senator Graham, Thank you for your angry outrage here on behalf of the vulnerable. The next obvious thing for you to do would be to endorse impeachment and removal of this president, who, as you know, is motivated by interests that are neither coherent, nor moral.
     
     
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    Andy Rowell
     
    @AndyRowell

     
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    Susan Hennessey
     
    @Susan_Hennessey
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    Can't help but recall Solomon's Prayer at Trump's inauguration: For I am your servant…a man who is weak & short-lived with little understanding of judgment & laws; for even one who is perfect among human beings will be regarded as nothing without the wisdom that comes from you. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…
     
     
     

     
    Andy Rowell
     
    @AndyRowell

     
    Replying to

    Mr. Graham, thank you for this statement. Also, reflect on your culpability. You along with Robert Jeffress and Jerry Falwell Jr. enabled this bloodshed. You have long been foolishly praising this reckless, immoral president and in doing so have deceived your trusting followers.

     

     
     

     
    Josh Jordan
     
    @NumbersMuncher

     
    Recent polls that asked if Trump should be impeached *and* removed from office, with change in net points since pre-inquiry announcement polls: Fox News: 51-40 (+14) Qunnipiac: 45-49 (+16) Morning Consult: 50-43 (+20) CNN: 47-45 (+15) WaPo: 49-38 (+33) That's a lot of movement.
     
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    Joyce Alene
     
    @JoyceWhiteVance

     
    John Dowd, Trump’s former lawyer, represents the 2 before the House Intel Comm & in addition to the usual complaints about the impeachment investigations offers some detail about their relationship with Giuliani & others in a letter he sent the Committee.
     
     

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    Russell Moore
     
    @drmoore

     
    What is happening right now to the Kurds is an atrocity and a disgrace. Our allies (and innocent men, women, and children) are abandoned to the cruelty of the evil axis of Erdogan, Putin, and Assad, while empowering the Islamic State. This is immoral and unjust and murderous.
     
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    Michael Gerson
     
    @MJGerson

     
    This was an applause line from Trump’s Minnesota speech: “I have reduced refugee resettlement by 85 percent.” This is how the president treats men, woman and children fleeing from oppression and violence.
    At Minneapolis Rally, an Angry Trump Reserves Sharpest Attack for Biden
    At a fiery campaign rally Thursday night in Minnesota, President Trump said former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. did nothing but “kiss Barack Obama’s ass.”
    nytimes.com

     

     
     

     
    Christianity Today
     
    @CTmagazine

     
    Three Christians have been killed in Turkey’s assault on Kurdish-held areas in northeast Syria
    Christians Killed on Syria’s Front Lines
    While Trump defends US withdrawal, advocates fear “Turkey will complete the work that ISIS tried to do, in eradicating Christians from this region.”
    christianitytoday.com
     
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    A thread by Andy Rowell

    Trump's speech is that of a demagogue. It is propaganda, brainwashing. It is lies delivered with enormous relish and amusement.

    What is the antidote? At least 1 of these:
    – education in history,
    – moral sensitivity,
    – consuming reputable news sources.
    #MinneapolisTrumpRally

    #MinneapolisTrumpRally

    See also this thread:

    John Fea@JohnFea1

    3.Trump gives lip service to "unity" or the "common good," but his tweets, speeches (tonight in for example), and encounters with the press do not match his weak calls for civility.

    John Fea@JohnFea1
     

    4. Trump has built an entire approach to politics on discord, appealing to our darkest angels to score political points, and on making appeals to the minority of the population willing to cheer his depravity.

    See John Fea's other Tweets
     
     

    Ruth Graham

    @publicroad

     

    Wow: 28% of white evangelicals now say Trump should be impeached and removed from office. https://twitter.com/nickgourevitch/status/1182080475113906176 

    Nick Gourevitch@nickgourevitch
     

    12% of Trump voters say he should be impeached and removed from office via new FOX News poll. Seems like a kind of a big problem for a guy that won by around ~80,000 votes.

    View image on Twitter
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    Quotes from rally in Minneapolis in this thread

    Video clips thread:

    Daniel Dale

    @ddale8

    Trump: "The best is yet to come."

    Daniel Dale

    @ddale8

     

    Trump has finished his speech after about one hour and 40 minutes. That was his longest campaign rally.

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    (mobile.twitter.com/atrupar/status…)

    Jack Holmes

    @jackholmes0

     

    Day after day, as they stuck with him, Trump's supporters were forced to give up more and more of themselves to stay on-board. At some point, the sunk cost became insurmountable. There is no going back now. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a29438336/trump-rally-minneapolis-ilhan-omar/ 

    Trump's Minneapolis Rally Was a Demonstration of the Moral Suicide Pact He's Made With His Suppor…

    They have given too much of themselves to The Leader to go back now. They will support him, no matter what he does, until he is stopped.

    esquire.com

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    Meet the Press

    @MeetThePress

     

    WATCH: The president held a campaign rally last night and attacked Hunter Biden. We cannot in good conscience show it to you @chucktodd: "Politics ain’t beanbag, but it isn’t supposed to be this either. We all need to play a role in not rewarding this kind of politics"

    Embedded video

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    A thread by Andy Rowell

    Transcript “I got a call the other night from pastors, the biggest pastors, evangelical Christians. They said, 'we have never seen our religion or any religion so electrified.' They say they’ve never seen anything like it. Churches are joining … hundreds of thousands of people."

    Transcript continued:
    "And that's largely because of you [the media] and your partners, the Democrats.”

     

     
     

    A thread by Andy Rowell

    Madison: "In the case of the Executive Magistracy which was to be administered by a single man, loss of capacity or corruption was more within the compass of probable events, and either of them might be fatal to the Republic."

    John Dickerson

    @jdickerson

     

    "the best way therefore to provide in the Constitution for the regular punishment of the Executive where his misconduct should deserve it, and for his honorable acquittal when [FN10] he should be unjustly accused." https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_720.asp  https://twitter.com/KWardCummings/status/1182656696293957632 

    K. Ward Cummings@KWardCummings
    Replying to @jdickerson

    Saw ctm. You referenced Franklins contribution to impeachment debate. Where is that from?

    See John Dickerson's other Tweets
     
     

    "Mr. MADISON thought it indispensable that some provision should be made for defending the Community agst. the incapacity, negligence or perfidy of the chief Magistrate. The limitation of the period of his service, was not a sufficient security."

    Madison: "He might lose his capacity after his appointment. He might pervert his administration into a scheme of peculation or oppression. He might betray his trust to foreign powers."

     

     

    A key pillar of Trump's rhetoric is his insistence that "the media" are very bad people and therefore you can't believe them. I think following journalists on Twitter dispels that idea. So, look up and follow those who write valuable articles. Mute those who lose your trust.
    12:51 PM · Oct 11, 2019Twitter for Android
     
     

     
     
     

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    Bandy X Lee, MD, MDiv
     
    @BandyXLee1
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    Our latest letter to the New York Times (they finally published us after two years of trying!): nytimes.com/2019/10/11/opi