Donald Trump is fending off mounting criticism as the death toll mounts from a Turkish bombing campaign which has forced tens of thousands of Kurds to flee.
Two days into the offensive against the Kurds in north-east Syria, Turkish troops have surrounded the border towns of Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad. International pressure is growing for Turkey to halt the attack, in which residential areas have been shelled and civilians killed.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The former top American general overseeing operations in the Middle East, Joseph Votel, has questioned the wisdom of Trump’s withdrawal. “The abrupt policy decision to seemingly abandon our Kurdish partners could not come at a worse time,” he wrote in The Atlantic.
The US president has sought to deflect the criticism, arguing that Turks and Kurds had been fighting for centuries, “and, bizarrely, that the Kurds had not helped the US in the second world war, at the Normandy landings”, says The Guardian.
A senior US official struck a different tone, saying the Turkish invasion “endangers our allies in the fight against terror... and creates tremendous insecurity for the entire region”.
Even some Republicans have admitted that Trump’s withdrawal effectively gave Turkey a green light, and are planning to introduce sanctions against Turkey with a bill in the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Liz Cheney said Turkey must face “serious consequences for mercilessly attacking our Kurdish allies” in the region.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is unrepentant in the face of international censure. He has said he will “open the gates” for Syrian refugees in his country, allowing 3.6 million to migrate to Europe if the continent’s leaders label Turkey’s military campaign in north-eastern Syria an “occupation”.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
-
Syria’s Kurds: abandoned by their US allyTalking Point Ahmed al-Sharaa’s lightning offensive against Syrian Kurdistan belies his promise to respect the country’s ethnic minorities
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
5 highly hypocritical cartoons about the Second AmendmentCartoons Artists take on Kyle Rittenhouse, the blame game, and more
-
Syria’s Kurds: abandoned by their US ally
Talking Point Ahmed al-Sharaa’s lightning offensive against Syrian Kurdistan belies his promise to respect the country’s ethnic minorities
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Ukraine, US and Russia: do rare trilateral talks mean peace is possible?Rush to meet signals potential agreement but scepticism of Russian motives remain
-
Syria’s Islamic State problemIn The Spotlight Fragile security in prison camps leads to escape of IS fighters
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Trump backs off Greenland threats, declares ‘deal’Speed Read Trump and NATO have ‘formed the framework for a future deal,’ the president claimed
-
Iran in flames: will the regime be toppled?In Depth The moral case for removing the ayatollahs is clear, but what a post-regime Iran would look like is anything but
