During the run-up to the historic election, President Donald Trump made a campaign to end the policy of endless foreign wars. His recent move to pullback troops in northern Syria has avoided the U.S. being drawn into another regional conflict. Democrats and critics are infuriated that President Trump is living up to his end to “senseless wars” promise.
“From the first day I entered the political arena, I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless, senseless wars — especially those that don’t benefit the United States,” Trump said. “Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place, and we will hold them to this commitment.”
The argument floated by political opponents and the fake news media is that America owes a debt to the Kurdish people who reside in the northern Syria and Turkey region. While it’s true they took up U.S.-provided arms against ISIS, it was in an effort to defend their own homes. These were not patriots of the Red, White, and Blues.
Following President Trump’s swift eradication of the ISIS caliphate, these same Kurds have emerged as armed rebels resisting the legitimate Turkish and Syrian governments. Although neither are necessarily U.S. allies, their fight is a regional one that does not call for America to surrender the lives of its sons and daughters.
“Fighting between various groups that has been going on for hundreds of years. USA should never have been in Middle East,” the president tweeted. “Moved our 50 soldiers out. Turkey MUST take over captured ISIS fighters that Europe refused to have returned. The stupid endless wars, for us, are ending!”
Everyday Americans staunchly supported the change in foreign policy during the president’s first campaign. The country has been in an almost constant state of armed conflict dating back to World War II. The U.S. was hesitant to sacrifice American blood for a primarily European fight until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Since then, American soldiers have fought and died in Korea, Vietnam, Africa, and been repeatedly drawn into various Middle Eastern fights.
“I think the president avoided a disaster and that if 50 soldiers had been killed, could you have imagined the response that could have been unleashed by the United States? And it would have been a conflagration that I think nobody would really desire,” Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said.
Thwarting the spread of communism and protecting oil interests no longer cry for soldiers’ lives. That’s because Trump Administration’s foreign policy maximizes financial sanctions that prove far superior that bullets and bombs. While agreeing to step away from a desert fight between the Turkish army and Kurdish rebels, President Trump was able to set the parameters of the skirmish. And after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan overstepped, he received a stunning letter from Trump threatening to attack, not his forces, but the Turkish economy.
“Dear Mr. President, Let’s work out a good deal! You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy — and I will,” Pres. Trump reportedly wrote. “History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!”
President Trump reminded the Turkish leader of the brutal sanctions that ravaged their economy when they held an American pastor captive. The message pointed out that such economic upheaval would be a small sample of what would happen if Turkey killed civilians. Erdogan was reportedly so enraged that he tore up the letter and threw it in the trash. He then brokered a ceasefire with the Trump Administration within hours. The Trump Administration continues to successfully employ financial strategies rather than destroy communities, watch families mourn, and look on as innocent civilians become collateral damage.
It may be that Washington, D.C., politicians have been using war for so long that they know no other way. But the Trump Administration has already vaulted the country into an age of energy dominance, making our presence in skirmishes between oil-producing countries unnecessary. The administration is also beating the communists back with targeted tariffs.
It appears hitting foreign leaders in their wallets has more impact than flying bullets. Who knew? Apparently, President Trump knew, and there are American soldiers alive right now because he kept his campaign promise to end the senseless wars.
