The unification of the two is what is at stake, to make a credible effort to see these two views in accordance ordnance to a single derivitive to appear as non consequential, within the higher value of the betterment for the country as the whole. At issue is one consisting of a desired progressive national unity within it’s worldly implications.
The vacuum left after the fall of the Soviet Union is enormous, and world politic was left missing the most important political tool with which to grapple day to day matters, that is the dialectics of substantial manifested mechanics of the intercourse of diplomacy.
As hidden it was before it’s demise, it exerted enormous influence within the actual machinations involved, in the Western spheres of influence, as it had within the perimeters of the third world.
Whether the NWO conceptually required such states of affairs, or, negatively, the effecticitu of such relationship was more of a build up of probable contingencies, is still harboring levels of conscious manifestation in accordance with the levels and forces of conscious policy conscious constructions.
Such appear more as fabrication today, and momentum is building to further public required clarity.
The former, seems more likely a scenario, remembering that Trump appeared sans platform in the weaning days of his presidency.
New wrangling:
Trump says Kurds ‘didn’t help us with D-Day’ as Turkey attacks – live
Trump fails to note that allies helped fight Isis for years amid questions over troop pullout
Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)
Wed 9 Oct 2019 19.11 ED
Key events
19:11 EDT
Donald Trump pressed former secretary of state Rex Tillerson to persude the Justice Department to drop a case against an Iranian-Turkish gold trader who was a client of Rudy Giuliani, Bloomberg is reporting, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the 2017 meeting.
Tillerson refused, arguing it would constitute interference in an ongoing investigation of the trader, Reza Zarrab, according to the people. They said other participants in the Oval Office were shocked by the request.
Tillerson immediately repeated his objections to then-Chief of Staff John Kelly in a hallway conversation just outside the Oval Office, emphasizing that the request would be illegal. Neither episode has been previously reported, and all of the people spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the conversations.
Zarrab was being prosecuted in federal court in New York at the time on charges of evading U.S. sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program. He had hired former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Giuliani, who has said he reached out repeatedly to U.S. officials to seek a diplomatic solution for his client outside the courts.
The president’s request to Tillerson – which included asking him to speak with Giuliani – bears the hallmarks of Trump’s governing style, defined by his willingness to sweep aside the customary procedures and constraints of government to pursue matters outside normal channels. Tillerson’s objection came to light as Trump’s dealings with foreign leaders face intense scrutiny following the July 25 call with Ukraine’s president that has sparked an impeachment inquiry in the House.
The Guardian has not independently verified Bloomberg’s report.
Updated at 19:11 EDT
19:06 EDT
Bernie Sanders said he “misspoke” when he said he’d be slowing down his campaign
Sanders spoke to reporters outside his home in Burlington, Vt. Photograph: Wilson Ring/AP
In an interview with NBC, Sanders said he wouldn’t be slowing down his campaign after suffering a heart attack, saying he misspoke when he told reporters that he will “change the nature of the campaign a bit” after being hospitalized.
“We’re going to get back into the groove of a very vigorous campaign, I love doing rallies and I love doing town meetings,” Sanders said. “I want to start off slower and build up and build up and build up.”
Last week, Sanders was at a campaign event in Nevada when he experienced chest discomfort and was taken to a hospital.
Updated at 19:06 EDT
18:47 EDT
“I found that to be wholly appropriate,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of the July call between Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president.
“I was on the call. I listened to it. It was consistent with what President Trump has been trying to do to take corruption out” Pompeo told PBS’ Judy Woodruff.
Live on @NewsHour: @JudyWoodruffinterviews Secretary of State Mike Pompeo https://t.co/7BNYxda8Fp
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) October 9, 2019
Updated at 18:47 EDT
18:10 EDT
As we noted earlier, when Trump defended his decision abandon Kurdish allies in Syria by saying that they didn’t help the US during World War II.
“They didn’t help us with Normandy as an example,” Trump told reporters.
Trump on the Kurds: “They didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us with Normandy, as an example.” He suggests that they battled alongside U.S. forces for “their land,” and adds, “With all of that being said, we like the Kurds.” pic.twitter.com/4aFGJiQquv
— Luis Velarde (@luivelarde) October 9, 2019
Kurdish forces, did, however, fight alongside the US against Isis for nearly five years, losing roughly 11,000 fighters.
On Sunday, the president announced that US troops would withdraw from the region, and today, Turkey has launched an offensive into north-eastern Syria against Kurdish forces who control the region.
Trump said he learned that the Kurds didn’t help in Normandy from a “very, very powerful article”, and seemed to be referencing a column by conservative opinion writer Kurt Schlichter.
Trump appears to have gotten his “Kurds didn’t help us at Normandy” line from a Kurt Schlichter column. https://t.co/jAbsP9VCQtpic.twitter.com/6HknvoZ0gl
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) October 9, 2019
Misrepresenting howNato works, Trump told reporters: “If you look at how much money we spend on NATO and how much countries from Europe who are a much bigger beneficiary than we are.”
“Alliances are very easy. But our alliances have taken advantage of us,” Trump said.
“We have spent a tremendous amount of money helping the Kurds,” the president said. “They’re fighting for their land. When you say they’re fighting with the US, yes. But they’re fighting for their land.”
“With all of that being said, we like the Kurds,” Trump added.
Turkey unleashes airstrikes against Kurds in north-east Syria
Updated at 18:27 EDT
17:55 EDT
Trump told reporters he’ll cooperate with the House democrats’ impeachment inquiry if “they give us our rights”.
Asked whether he’ll cooperate with the democrats if they hold a vote on the impeachment inquiry, Trump responded: “The Republican Party and president has been treated extremely badly by the Democrats, very unfairly, because they have a tiny margin in the House, they have eviscerated the rules, they don’t give us any fair play, it is the most unfair situation people have seen, no lawyers, you can’t have lawyers, you can’t speak, you can’t do anything.”
But does the president have the right to due process during an impeachment?
In a word: No.
From NPR:
The Constitution states clearly that the House of Representatives “shall have the sole Power of Impeachment,” and that “the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.”
What “impeachment” means in this context is, effectively, indictment — the House has the power to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to spur a trial that would then take place in the Senate.
Updated at 17:55 EDT
17:01 EDT
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will be taking over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
The Justice Department announced the arrest of an employee at the Defense Intelligence Agency for allegedly leaking sensitive national security information to two journalists.
For the first time, Joe Biden called for the impeachment of Trump over the Ukraine controversy.
Trump defended his decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria as Turkey launched a military operation in the region. (The president also flippantly said he was not worried about the potential escape of Islamic State fighters because they would likely flee to Europe.)
Despite that defensive stance, a number of Republican lawmakers criticized Trump’s Syria policy as news of the Turkish operation broke.
House Democratsare reportedly planning a new wave of subpoenas as the White House made clear it would not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry.
Maanvi will have more on the news of the day, so stay tuned.
Updated at 17:01 EDT
16:50 EDT
Democrats reportedly planning new wave of subpoenas
House Democrats are preparing a new wave of subpoenas as the White House has signaled it will not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, according to CNN.
They are also considering a secret interview of the whistleblower who kicked off the Ukraine controversy.
CNN reports:
In the face of the blistering White House letter refusing to cooperate with their probe, Democrats expect they are likely done with any voluntary interviews for most witnesses, according to multiple Democratic sources. And Democrats are now threatening subpoenas to associates of Rudy Giuliani and considering them for current State Department officials, including former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. She is scheduled for an interview Friday, but there are new concerns she won’t appear given that she is still a State Department employee and could face backlash internally if she were to appear voluntarily.
Negotiations are also intensifying over bringing in for an interview the whistleblower whose complaint has upended Trump’s presidency, with new discussions about holding the interview in secret or off site and not disclosing that it happened until after the fact, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
Updated at 16:50 EDT
16:44 EDT
In response to a question about the threat facing America’s Kurdish allies now that Turkey had launched a military operation in northern Syria, Trump blamed them for not assisting in World War II.
Asked about the Kurds, President Trump said that the Kurds did not help the US during WWII or in the Normandy invasion/ D-Day
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) October 9, 2019
Updated at 16:44 EDT
16:34 EDT
Asked about Islamic State fighters potentially escaping amid Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria, Trump told reporters he felt the United States had carried a disproportionate amount of responsibility in capturing the militants.
Trump indicates he’s not worried about ISIS fighters escaping northern Syria because if they do they’ll just end up in Europe pic.twitter.com/cBsbXQxjsg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 9, 2019
Trump said: “Well, they’re going to be escaping to Europe. That’s where they want to go; they want to go back to their homes, but Europe didn’t want them from us.”
Trump predicts Islamic State fighters will escape to Europe - video
The president said the relationship between the US and its European allies had not been “reciprocal” when it came to combating the Islamic State.
In response to Trump’s comments, a CNN reporter questioned whether the flippant remark about Islamic State militants returning to Europe, where the group has previously carried out terrorist attacks, would provoke any condemnation from Republican lawmakers.
Is there a single GOP lawmaker, Trump surrogate or media ally who will take issue with the US president dismissing the escape of ISIS terrorists into Europe? https://t.co/O0HvkWltqs
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 9, 2019
Updated at 17:23 EDT
16:27 EDT
Trump said he would cooperate with the impeachment inquiry if the full House votes on it and “if the rules are fair,” but he appeared to leave himself a lot of wiggle room on the issue.
Trump says he’ll agree to cooperate in Democrats’ impeachment probe only “if the rules are fair.” Won’t commit to cooperation if the full House holds a vote.
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) October 9, 2019
Updated at 16:27 EDT
16:16 EDT
Trump predicts Islamic State fighters will escape to Europe
When asked by reporters whether he was concerned that Islamic State fighters would be able to escape because of Turkey’s military operation, Trumppredicted that the militants would not travel to the US.
The president said this to apparently reassure the American people (and surely terrify many US allies): “They’re going to be escaping to Europe.”
President Trump says he will “wipe out” Turkey’s economy if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tries to take out the Kurds in northern Syria: “I hope that he will act rationally” https://t.co/1ftZN3y51Ypic.twitter.com/OAkuAlsYc4
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 9, 2019
Trump also dismissed criticism from senator Lindsey Graham, one of his closest congressional allies, over the president’s decision to withdraw US troops from the region.
Trump said: “I think Lindsey would like to stay there for the next 200 years.”
Updated at 16:16 EDT
16:08 EDT
Trump stands by his decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria
Speaking to reporters after signing two executive orders, Trump stood by his decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria even as Turkey launched a military operation in the region.
President Trump: Turkey has been wanting to do this for years. These people have been fighting each other for centuries. I feel like we are doing the right thing by pulling out. It has to be done or otherwise we will never do it.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) October 9, 2019
Asked how he would react if Turkish forces decimated America’s Kurdish allies in the region, Trump warned he would “wipe out” Turkey’s economy if they did so.
15:57 EDT
The British prime minister’s office released a readout from Boris Johnson’s conversation with Trump.
It reads, in part: “The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump this evening. The leaders expressed their serious concern at Turkey’s invasion of north east Syria and the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe in the region. …
“On trade, the Prime Minister underlined his disappointment at the US announcement of tariffs against UK and EU exports in the Airbus-Boeing dispute, which will harm a number of industries including Scotch Whisky. He pressed the President not to impose the tariffs.”
Updated at 15:57 EDT
15:51 EDT
Trump is now making remarks about two executive orders he is signing and noted that he had an “extended conversation” with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson.
President Trump says he just had an “extended conversation” with British PM Boris Johnson, adding “they will be doing a number of things for us.” pic.twitter.com/S1UPo4DHDB
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) October 9, 2019
Updated at 15:51 EDT
15:45 EDT
Even as senator Lindsey Grahamlambastes Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, he is standing by the president on confronting the impeachment inquiry.
Specifically, the Senate judiciary committee chairman is accusing House Democrats of abusing their power by not releasing a transcript from their closed-door interview with Kurt Volker, the former US ambassador to NATO.
Graham warned that he would call Volker to publicly testify if the transcript is not released soon.
If this continues, I will call Volker before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify publicly to ensure the full story is told.t.co/jNi3KQ3wRB
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 9, 2019
Facebook is refusing to take down a Trumpcampaign ad that centers on false claims of corruption against Joe Biden.
CNN has already refused to air the ad over its factual inaccuracies, but Facebook wrote in a letter to the Biden campaign that the video did not violate the social media platform’s policies.
A Facebook executive wrote: “Our approach is grounded in Facebook’s fundamental belief in free expression, respect for the democratic process, and the belief that, in mature democracies with a free press, political speech is already arguably the most scrutinized speech there is.”
The social media giant’s decision provoked an enraged response from at least one of Biden’s primary opponents, Elizabeth Warren.
The following is a record of a conversation I had this afternoon with a White House official about the telephone call yesterday morning between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The official who listened to the entirety of the phone call was visibly shaken by what had transpired and seemed keen to inform a trusted colleague within the U.S. national security apparatus about the call. After my call with this official I [redacted] returned to my office, and wrote up my best recollection of what I had heard.
The official described the call as “crazy,” “frightening” and “completely lacking in substance related to national security.” The official asserted that the President used the call to persuade Ukrainian authorities to investigate his political rivals, chiefly former Vice President Biden and his son, Hunter. The official stated that there was already a conversation underway with White House lawyers about how to handle the discussion because, in the official’s view, the President had clearly committed a criminal act by urging a foreign power to investigate a U.S. person for the purposes of advancing his own reelection bid in 2020.
The phone call lasted approximately half an hour. The two leaders spoke through interpreters. My conversation with the official only lasted a few minutes, and as a result, I only received highlights:
The President asserted that “it all started in Ukraine,” referring to the allegations of foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent investigation into the Trump campaign’s contact with Russian individuals
The President asked Zelenskyy to locate the “Crowdstrike server” and turn it over to the United States, claiming that Crowdstrike is “a Ukrainian company,” (Note: This appears to be a reference to the DNC server from which Russian hackers stole data and emails that were subsequently leaked in mid-2016; the DNC hired cyber security firm Crowdstrike to do the forensic analysis, which informed the FBI’s investigation. It is not clear what the president was referring to when he claimed Crowdstrike is a Ukrainian company; one of its cofounders was born in Moscow.)
The President told Zelenskyy that he would be sending his personal lawyer, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to Ukraine soon and requested that Zelenskyy meet with him. Zelenskyy reluctantly agreed that, if Giuliani traveled to Ukraine, he would see him.
The President raised the case of Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden’s role in the company, and former Vice President Biden’s role in setting Ukraine policy. The President urged Zelenskyy to [end page 1] investigate the Bidens and stated that Giuliani would discuss this topic further with Zelenskyy during his trip to Kyiv.
The President urged Zelenskyy not to fire Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, who the President claimed was doing a good job. (Note: Lutsenko has spearheaded various politicized investigations, including on Burisma Holdings and alleged “Ukrainian interference” in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Lutsenko is widely reviled in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy has pledged to fire him but has been unable to secure approval from the legislature.)
The President stated that he wanted Attorney General William Barr to speak with Zelenskyy as soon as possible. (Note: It was not clear whether this conversation was to be in reference to Crowdstrike or the investigations of the Bidens.)
The President reiterated his concern that Zelenskyy was surrounded by people who were enemies of the President, including “bad oligarchs.”
The President did not raise security assistance. According to the official, Zelenskyy demurred in response to most of the President’s requests.
I did not review a transcript or written notes, but the official informed me that they exist.
The standard White House practice for Presidential-level phone calls with world leaders is for the White House Situation Room to produce a word-for-word electronic transcript that memorializes the call. The transcript is typically then circulated to key White House officials to be transformed into a formal memorandum that is distributed as an eyes-only document, to the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Director of the CIA.
In this case, the official told me that such a transcript had indeed been produced and was being treated very sensitively, in hard copy only. Moreover, several additional senior White House officials listened to the entire phone call in an adjacent room in the Situation Room suite and they presumably took written notes on the call.
The official did not know whether the President was aware that other people were listening and that the call was being transcribed. The official also was not certain whether anyone else was in the Oval Office with the President during the call.
On the Ukrainian side, it is unclear who listened to the call or whether a record was produced.
© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2019 CBS Interactive Inc.
The following is a record of a conversation I had this afternoon with a White House official about the telephone call yesterday morning between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The official who listened to the entirety of the phone call was visibly shaken by what had transpired and seemed keen to inform a trusted colleague within the U.S. national security apparatus about the call. After my call with this official I [redacted] returned to my office, and wrote up my best recollection of what I had heard.
The official described the call as “crazy,” “frightening” and “completely lacking in substance related to national security.” The official asserted that the President used the call to persuade Ukrainian authorities to investigate his political rivals, chiefly former Vice President Biden and his son, Hunter. The official stated that there was already a conversation underway with White House lawyers about how to handle the discussion because, in the official’s view, the President had clearly committed a criminal act by urging a foreign power to investigate a U.S. person for the purposes of advancing his own reelection bid in 2020.
The phone call lasted approximately half an hour. The two leaders spoke through interpreters. My conversation with the official only lasted a few minutes, and as a result, I only received highlights:
The President asserted that “it all started in Ukraine,” referring to the allegations of foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent investigation into the Trump campaign’s contact with Russian individuals
The President asked Zelenskyy to locate the “Crowdstrike server” and turn it over to the United States, claiming that Crowdstrike is “a Ukrainian company,” (Note: This appears to be a reference to the DNC server from which Russian hackers stole data and emails that were subsequently leaked in mid-2016; the DNC hired cyber security firm Crowdstrike to do the forensic analysis, which informed the FBI’s investigation. It is not clear what the president was referring to when he claimed Crowdstrike is a Ukrainian company; one of its cofounders was born in Moscow.)
The President told Zelenskyy that he would be sending his personal lawyer, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to Ukraine soon and requested that Zelenskyy meet with him. Zelenskyy reluctantly agreed that, if Giuliani traveled to Ukraine, he would see him.
The President raised the case of Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden’s role in the company, and former Vice President Biden’s role in setting Ukraine policy. The President urged Zelenskyy to [end page 1] investigate the Bidens and stated that Giuliani would discuss this topic further with Zelenskyy during his trip to Kyiv.
The President urged Zelenskyy not to fire Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, who the President claimed was doing a good job. (Note: Lutsenko has spearheaded various politicized investigations, including on Burisma Holdings and alleged “Ukrainian interference” in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Lutsenko is widely reviled in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy has pledged to fire him but has been unable to secure approval from the legislature.)
The President stated that he wanted Attorney General William Barr to speak with Zelenskyy as soon as possible. (Note: It was not clear whether this conversation was to be in reference to Crowdstrike or the investigations of the Bidens.)
The President reiterated his concern that Zelenskyy was surrounded by people who were enemies of the President, including “bad oligarchs.”
The President did not raise security assistance. According to the official, Zelenskyy demurred in response to most of the President’s requests.
I did not review a transcript or written notes, but the official informed me that they exist.
The standard White House practice for Presidential-level phone calls with world leaders is for the White House Situation Room to produce a word-for-word electronic transcript that memorializes the call. The transcript is typically then circulated to key White House officials to be transformed into a formal memorandum that is distributed as an eyes-only document, to the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Director of the CIA.
In this case, the official told me that such a transcript had indeed been produced and was being treated very sensitively, in hard copy only. Moreover, several additional senior White House officials listened to the entire phone call in an adjacent room in the Situation Room suite and they presumably took written notes on the call.
The official did not know whether the President was aware that other people were listening and that the call was being transcribed. The official also was not certain whether anyone else was in the Oval Office with the President during the call.
© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
U.S. accused of abandoning Kurds to face Turkish onslaught
Trump defends troop drawdown in northern Syria
23M AGO
Biden announces support for Trump’s impeachment
Turkey launches military offensive in Syria
Copyright © 2019 CBS
Fallout:
House Democrats are increasingly confident they have all the evidence they need to impeach President Donald Trump for obstructing their investigations.
Lawmakers say White House counsel Pat Cipollone’s letter sent Tuesday night to Speaker Nancy Pelosi — accusing Democrats of running an “invalid” and “illegitimate” impeachment probe — is the final insult in a long-running campaign of obstruction that will likely become a voluminous article of impeachment against Trump.
Former Rep. Trey Gowdy was fired as a Fox News contributor, a spokesperson for the network tells CNBC on Wednesday.
Gowdy has been tapped to join President Donald Trump’s outside counsel as the White House suits up for an impeachment fight with Congress, Trump’s personal lawyer Jay Sekulow said.
A source familiar with the situation says that Gowdy representing the president would pose a conflict of interest with his role as a Fox contributor.
— President Donald Trump wants the House to vote on impeachment as soon as possible — ideally, three weeks ago.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi? Not so much.
The White House put proof of its stance in an eight-page letter on Tuesday evening — half lawyerly complaint, half campaign fundraising message — accusing the Democratic-led House of running a sham investigation and announcing Trump would block any further participation by his administration.
The letter challenged the rights of the House to set the rules of impeachment, charged Democrats with trying to reverse the results of the 2016 election and influence the 2020 contest, and concluded that there is “no legitimate basis” for the inquiry Pelosi is calling “impeachment” that’s already underway.
“For the foregoing reasons, the President cannot allow your constitutionally illegitimate proceedings to distract him and those in the Executive Branch from their work on behalf of the American people,” White House Counsel Pat Cipollone wrote.
The Constitution vests the House with “the sole Power of Impeachment” in Article I, Section 2, and prescribes in Article I, Section 5, that “each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings.” What’s really going on is a fight over when the House will first take a vote involving Trump that has any form of the word “impeach” in it.
ROCHESTER, N.H. — Former Vice President Joe Biden called for President Donald Trump to be impeached during a blistering campaign speech on Wednesday.
“Donald Trump has violated his oath of office, betrayed this nation and committed impeachable acts,” Biden said in his strongest comments to date on the matter, adding, “He should be impeached.”
Today:
.
What the polls are saying: More than half of US voters want Trump impeached and removed from office, according to a Fox News Poll released Wednesday.
And here is what Trump is tweeting about Fox News:
From the day I announced I was running for President, I have NEVER had a good @FoxNews Poll. Whoever their Pollster is, they suck. But @FoxNews is also much different than it used to be in the good old days.
Ha! I wonder how that goes down with the American people!
Evangelical Christians:
The Guardian
Pastors from the Las Vegas area pray with Donald Trump.
Evangelical Christianity
Abandoning Kurds could cost Trump support of evangelical Christians
One of the president’s staunchest constituencies has stuck by him through many controversies but Syria may be a policy lurch too far
Tom McCarthy in New York
@TeeMcSee
Fri 11 Oct 2019 02.00 EDT
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Evangelical Christian voters have been among Donald Trump’s most enthusiastic and reliable supporters. Trump’s recent rejection of asylum seekers and cuts to domestic food assistance programs have not stopped followers of Christ from flocking to the president.
A great schism, however, may finally be at hand. In drips that have become a gush, evangelical leaders this week have sharply criticized Trump’s decision to stand down US forces in northern Syria, warning that Turkey’s invasion of the region threatens America’s longstanding Kurdish allies and vulnerable Christian communities.
“It is very possible that the American withdrawal from the region will lead to the extinction of Christianity from the region,” Ashty Bahro, former director of the Evangelical Alliance of Kurdistan, told the Christianity Today news outlet.
‘Betrayal leaves a bitter taste’: spurned Kurds flee Turkish onslaught
“An invasion by Turkey into NE Syria would pose a grave threat to the region’s Kurds and Christians, endangering the prospects of true religious freedom in the Middle East,” tweeted the evangelical leader Tony Perkins, a Trump adviser.
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) founder, Pat Robertson, described even more grave stakes in a broadcast on Monday.
“I believe … the president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of heaven if he permits this to happen,” Robertson said.
Despite warnings from domestic and international allies, Trump’s move allowed Turkey to launch a ground and air assault on Wednesday against Syria’s Kurds, who had been a crucial American ally in the fight against the Islamic State.
As Turkish planes bombed towns in north-eastern Syria, angry and terrified civilians fled, unsure of their futures. But another consequence of Trump’s decision is that losing the mandate of heaven could seriously hurt Trump’s re-election chances.
White evangelicals made up 26% of voters in the last presidential election and they voted 81% for Trump, according to Robert P Jones, chief executive of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and author of The End of White Christian America.
Trump has won the avowed love of evangelicals by appointing conservative judges, opening the way for new abortion restrictions, supporting Christian universities, moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and other measures.
With so much common ground, not all of Trump’s most high-profile evangelical allies have broken with him over Syria. The Liberty University president, Jerry Falwell Jr, who helped Trump seal the deal with evangelical voters as a 2016 campaign adviser, said Trump was “keeping his promise to keep America out of endless wars”.
Christian leader Jerry Falwell urges Trump support: ‘He’s a moral person’
“The president has got to do what’s best for the country, whether it helps him with this phony impeachment inquiry or not,” Falwell told the Associated Press.
But other extremely loyal Trump allies have split with him, warning that Roman Catholic, Armenian and Syrian Orthodox churches in northern Syrian border cities such as Ras al-Ayn, which is in the crosshairs of the Turkish invasion, are under threat. Thousands of civilians have fled Turkish shelling in the area.
“Today I ask that you join me in praying for the lives affected by the White House decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria,” tweeted one evangelical pastor, Franklin Graham. “Both Democrat & Republican leaders are deeply concerned bc this would be, in essence, abandoning our closest allies there – the Kurdish people.”
“Hey @SpeakerPelosi,” tweeted the evangelical radio host Erick Erickson, “maybe do a vote to initiate impeachment STAT, have the committee get out articles by tonight and over to the Senate, and perhaps we’ll still have time to save some of the Kurds.”
“Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration,” tweeted the Republican senator Lindsey Graham. “This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS.”
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanuyahu, a deeply popular figure in the American evangelical community, joined the chorus.
“Israel strongly condemns the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria and warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies,” Netanyahu said. “Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people.”
But evangelical Christians are not ready to cast Trump out entirely. Earlier this week CBN News, America’s top Christian-themed media outlet, reported that Trump would be the keynote speaker this weekend at the Value Voters Summit, a huge political convention for evangelical Christians.
“Typically, when President Trump speaks to evangelical audiences, he receives multiple standing ovations,” the report said. “This Saturday will probably be more of the same because, even with the swirl of impeachment surrounding him, evangelicals have stood solidly behind the president so far.”
“So far.” The report went on to note evangelical “concern” about the Syria situation and concluded:
“President Trump will have an opportunity to explain his reasoning in front of this all-important voting block.”
© 2019 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Counter argument to mistaken strategy of Syrian withdrawal:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
GLOBAL RESOURCES
5 Reasons Why Trump is Right About Getting America Out of Syria
RICHARD SOKOLSKY, AARON DAVID MILLER
JANUARY 03, 2019
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Source: Getty
Summary: Although the president’s failure to consult with Congress and allies in making the decision to withdraw from Syria was diplomatic malpractice, critics’ fears about the withdrawal are overblown.
Much of America’s foreign policy establishment, on both the right and the left, has been in an uproar over President Trump’s decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. If Trump’s critics are to be believed, it amounts to one of the worst foreign policy blunders in American history, a catastrophe for the nation’s interests and influence in the Middle East. Although the president’s failure to consult and coordinate with Congress and allies in making the decision was a head-spinning case of diplomatic and political malpractice, on balance, critics’ fears about the withdrawal are overblown.
Here are five reasons why.
Richard Sokolsky
Richard Sokolsky is a nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program. His work focuses on U.S. policy toward Russia in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
THE ISLAMIC STATE “CALIPHATE” ISN’T GOING TO RETURN.
Islamic State now controls 1% of the territory it once held in Syria and Iraq. It has lost thousands of fighters and recruitment is down. Syria is not Iraq in 2011, where Islamic State militants advanced when there were no countervailing forces. The group’s fighters still confront thousands of determined Kurdish forces, and Syria, Iran, Israel, Turkey and Russia share a common interest in preventing an Islamic State resurgence. Jihadist attacks in northeast Syria will continue and could certainly contribute to keeping Syria unstable. But a continued U.S. military presence won’t change that, or eliminate the risk of a terrorist attack on the United States. Wiping out Islamic State was never realistic — the political, economic and sectarian grievances that inspire its fighters cannot be eliminated by military means alone, and the Trump administration refuses to invest in the kind of stabilization efforts that might address those issues.
ISRAEL AND THE KURDS CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT U.S. TROOPS IN SYRIA.
It’s true that the foothold that Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, have established in Syria threatens Israeli security. But Israel is capable of defending itself and is doing so by attacking Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria. “Our enemies understand our intelligence and air superiority,” said the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff after Trump’s announcement.
Aaron David Miller
Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.
As for the Kurds, U.S. officials always made it clear that Washington viewed its partnership with these fighters as transactional, temporary and tactical. It simply isn’t in U.S. interests to help carve out the autonomous enclave the Kurds seek in northeast Syria. That fight could lead to a direct military confrontation with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces or with our NATO ally Turkey, which sees the Syrian Kurds, allied as they are with the militant Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, as a mortal enemy. The major actors, including Turkey, have an interest in avoiding an all-out battle with the Kurds, who, in the wake of Trump’s decision, have begun to seek reconciliation with the Assad regime.
VITAL U.S. INTERESTS WON’T BE SACRIFICED WHEN THE TROOPS ARE WITHDRAWN.
The United States doesn’t have vital interests in Syria. This was true under President Obama just as it is under Trump. Yes, the Syrian war is a proxy conflict between the U.S. and Iran and Russia, and yes the war has had a horrific toll — hundreds of thousands of civilians killed, a massive refugee crisis, whole cities destroyed, terrorists sent around the world — but neither the White House, Congress nor the American public, after protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, support a huge military and economic investment in Syria.
Syria is not a major source of oil. It does not pose an existential threat to Israel. The terrorist threat it poses to the United States has been inflated and is better handled by means other than military action. The country is so broken and dysfunctional that neither Russia nor Iran will be able to use its influence there as a springboard to establish hegemony in the Middle East.
AS U.S. TROOPS DEPART, RUSSIA AND IRAN AREN’T LEFT WITH A WIN.
Iran and Russia will dominate Syria as they have done for years. Both countries have always had a greater strategic stake in Syria than the U.S. and thus were more willing to accept a high price to protect their interests there. Now both will struggle with the difficulties of pacifying and reconstructing a war-torn state. With American forces in place, Putin and the Iranians could leave some of the dirty work of confronting the remnants of Islamic State to Washington; no longer. And with the U.S., a common adversary, gone, tensions between Iran and Russia could rise. The more Syria becomes a burden for Russia and Iran, the better for the United States.
AMERICAN CREDIBILITY HASN’T BEEN DESTROYED.
Any damage to the U.S. stems from our own reckless rhetoric and confused policy in Syria — we never committed to ousting Assad, pushing out Iran or helping the Syrian Kurds realize their political goals. Other U.S. allies and partners will judge America’s support based on how the U.S. responds to them individually, not on how Washington has behaved in a country where it has no vital interests.
Two U.S. presidents have failed to come up with an effective policy toward Syria and the Syrian civil war. Withdrawing 2,000 U.S. forces from a battlefield in which other powers have the will and resources to prevail may make Syria even messier than it is now. But keeping U.S. military forces in place with no serious, long-term strategy or attainable objectives to guide them would not make the situation significantly better. Syria was never America’s to win or lose, and getting out now is not a catastrophe.
This article was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.
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