Spectrum

President Donald Trump’s newly announced withdrawal of American troops from Northeastern Syria opens the door for Turkey to attack America’s Kurdish allies in the region, says Dr. Nukhet Sandal, Chair of the Political Science Department at Ohio University. The potential of Turkey attacking an unprotected U.S. ally is dangerous at many levels, according to Dr. Sandal. Primarily it sends a message to other U.S. allies that we will not stand behind them during times of international upheaval. We will not protect them, she says. It makes America untrustworthy in her view. Dr. Sandal also believes that this abandonment of the Kurds invites further meddling in this region by Turkey, Iran, and Russia. Most importantly, she notes that currently, the Kurds have about 10,000 ISIS prisoners in their custody and about 70,000 ISIS family members. The Kurds have said that if they are fighting the Turks that they will not be able to appropriately guard these prisoners and their release or escape could be imminent. Trump