Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds isn’t unexpected but it is in keeping with American tradition
Abandoning our allies IS American foreign policy
That Donald Trump’s presidency is unorthodox is beyond question. That his bombastic style has served to alienate long-standing allies in western Europe is provable by his rhetoric, that of his EU counterparts, and of public opinion surveys throughout the EU. He has been accused of coddling dictators and undermining American standing throughout the world, most recently by abandoning our long-time Kurdish allies in Syria. Unfortunately, his betrayal of the Kurdish fighters who have been fighting alongside US forces in northern Syria for years — and it is a betrayal — should have come as no surprise to anyone familiar with American foreign policy, especially as regards the Kurds. Sadly, they should have seen this coming.
The 45th president on the United States is merely the populist perfection of our nation’s continuing untrustworthiness when it comes to keeping our word. America is a fickle ally, not quite a fair-weather friend, a perpetually divided nation — inconsistent and unpredictable. The problem isn’t Trump, it’s that we’ve shown time and again that we cannot be trusted to be there when you need us.
