Trump, it's time to reverse course on Turkey
(OPINION) Just a month ago I addressed concerns of a possible Turkish military intervention in the most stable region in Syria. It’s now happened. Turkey’s strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed to get the green light from U.S. president Donald Trump to invade northeast Syria.
Northeast Syria is a hub for religious freedom and pluralistic values, but this may no longer be the case. Among the first victims of Turkey’s war against northeast Syria were Christians, with reports of deaths, demolished homes, and broken crosses flooding social media. Prior to the attacks, President Trump tweeted, “I say hit Turkey very hard financially & with Sanctions if they don’t play by the rules! I am watching closely.”
It seems Trump is not “watching closely” or has different “rules” than the rest of the world.
In an NPR report, Christians said they fear the Turkish invasion raises the risk of “genocide.” Bassam Ishak, a Syriac Christian, reported that “the attacks are widespread. They are targeting residential areas in Qamishli, where people of all religious backgrounds live. We think this is a message to the Kurds and Christians there to leave so Turkey can move refugees there. We think it’s a form of ethnic cleansing.”
The head of the Southern Baptist Convention Russell Moore tweeted his shock, “Kurdish Christians (and others among the brave Kurds) have stood up for the United States and for freedom and human dignity against ISIS terrorism and the bloodthirsty Assad regime. What they are now facing from Erdogan’s authoritarian Turkey is horrifying beyond words.” Moore ended by saying “this is wicked and unjust and is seen by a God who will have the last word. What a disgrace.”
Evangelical leader Franklin Graham, a supporter of President Trump and son of Billy Graham, tweeted, “the Kurds are the ones who have been leading the fight against ISIS in Syria. Also pray for the Christians who Kurds have been protecting. They could be annihilated,” urging Trump to reconsider.
But Christians are not the only religious group threatened by Turkey’s invasion of northeast Syria. Nadia Murad, Yazidi human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient “strongly condemned the Turkish invasion.” In a statement, Murad said, “this act of aggression will lead to a resurgence of ISIS and other radical groups, and further destabilize the region. Religious minorities in both Syria and Iraq will once again be under threat of radical groups.”
Daesh, the Arabic name for the Islamic State (ISIS), continues to be a threat, eager to escape prisons the Syrian Democratic Forces has created. There has been reports of escapes already. With the right opportunity, thousands will attempt to reorganize and take over the prisons. The Kurds fear they have to eventually shift their resources towards the Turkish border and will not be able to hold them any longer, a concern that the U.S. shares too. U.S. officials state that there are 30 detention centers holding Daesh prisoners in northeast Syria, 11,000 total terrorists, 2,000 of which are foreign fighters.
Daesh is responsible for thousands of Yazidi deaths since 2014; 3,000 women and children continue to be missing. Thousands more escaped to northeast Syria for safety, but as Murad warns, “if the frontline against ISIS is destroyed, ISIS prisoners who committed genocide and enslaved women and children are likely to get away without facing prosecution for their crimes.”
CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell says the Turkish invasion is “in many ways a jihad.” Mitchell explains that Erdogan is using jihadist allies to launch a war against Kurdish forces, “many of the people that fled the Armenian genocide 100 years ago fled to this area of Turkey.”
Erdogan has used religion as a tool to prop up his support for the invasion. All mosques across Turkey were ordered by the government to pray in support of the invasion through the minaret’s loudspeakers. Ironically, many Kurds are Muslim too, yet Erdogan uses Islam to target these Kurdish Muslims. In response to Erdogan’s use of mosques in Turkey for his war, Kurds in neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan used their mosques to pray for the support of the Kurds against the Turkish invasion in unity with the Zoroastrian faith leaders, an ancient Kurdish religion.
Unless President Trump reverses course, the Turkish invasion will further destabilize the once peaceful region many called home. A mass humanitarian crisis has already taken place. More than 300,000 civilians have fled since the start of the war. Congress has taken it upon themselves to impose their own sanctions, a strong bipartisan message to Turkey. It’s not too late for President Trump to act. He can still reverse course, call for immediate withdrawal of all Turkish forces in sovereign Syrian territory and recognize the legitimate security concerns of Syrians.
Diliman Abdulkader is an advisor to Freedom to Believe and the Director of External Relations at Allegiance Strategies, LLC. Follow him on Twitter @D_abdulkader