There’s No Excuse for Yet Another Betrayal of the Kurds

Instead of betraying its Kurdish allies yet again, the United States should do its part to defend them

In a September interview with The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill, Noam Chomsky urged the United States to defend its Kurdish allies in northern Syria:

In my opinion, it makes sense for the United States to maintain a presence which would deter an attack on the Kurdish areas. They have the one part of Syria which has succeeded in sustaining a functioning society.

Chomsky pointed out that the consequences of abandoning the Kurds — something President Trump decided to do when he announced a full withdrawal of U.S. forces a month ago — could be horrendous: “The idea that they should be subjected to an attack by their bitter enemies the Turks, or by the murderous Assad regime … anything should be done to try to prevent that.” Chomsky is the last person you’d expect to call for the extension of an American military engagement, and Scahill seemed taken aback:

You are one of the leading people in the world that is consistently reminding the world that the United States has always adopted a posture of ‘certain Kurds are good Kurds, certain Kurds are bad Kurds.’ And the United States has poured money and weapons into…