Defense Secretary Mark Esper says we are not abandoning the Kurds – at least not in “other parts of Syria”:
Sec. Esper: "The impulsive action of Pres. Erdogan to invade northern Syria has put the United States in a tough situation. "Rather than get pulled into this conflict, we put the welfare of our soldiers first, while urging Turkey to forego its operation." https://t.co/onrD5f5BCt pic.twitter.com/qo9lKPelFL
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) October 11, 2019
Esper says: “To be clear, we are not abandoning our Kurdish partner forces, and U.S. troops remain with them in other parts of Syria.” Other parts of Syria. So we’ve just abandoned them in the North. Gotcha.
After decrying Erdogan’s invasion of northern Syria, Esper then says that he will not put US troops in the middle of a “long-standing conflict” between the Turks and the Kurds.
Esper says he thought Turkey wouldn’t attack the Kurds in the north and “can’t explain” why Erdogan is attacking them now:
Esper puts the *timing* of US moving troops wholly on the Turks: "They've had troops massed for some time now. We thought we were making good progress on the security zone. I can't explain why they did what they did. Clearly President Erdogan felt the need at this point in time."
— Katie Bo Williams (@KatieBoWill) October 11, 2019
It’s because Erdogan is an Islamist hell bent on resurrecting the Ottoman Empire by 2023. He’s not a reasonable man and cannot be trusted.
Esper did say they were deploying about 3,000 US forces to Saudi Arabia given the threats against them in the region. Meaning, Iran and the Houthis in Yemen:
Defense Secretary Esper: "I have ordered the deployment to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia of two additional fighter squadrons and supporting personnel" pic.twitter.com/qbnW52U0fl
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 11, 2019
SecDef Esper on sending more troops to Saudi Arabia: "We thought it was important to continue to deploy forces…to send the message to the Iranians: do not strike another sovereign state. Do not threaten American interests…forces, or we will respond…you will regret that."
— Shannon Vavra (@shanvav) October 11, 2019