The abandonment of the Kurds in Syria will be a stain for ever

Gradually the military are speaking out. Former commander of US Central Command, General Joseph Votel, has condemned the abandonment by the US of the Kurds in northern Syria. Other former special operations commandos have given anonymous interviews saying how appalling the decision was to leave the Kurdish militia fighters to their fate. OK so there were only 60 or so US special operations troops serving in the part of northern Syria where Turkish forces were about to invade. But these 60 Americans were the sole reason why President Erdogan hesitated before ordering his army to cross the border. He didn't want American soldiers in harm's way. So I assume he asked Trump to withdraw these 60 commandos and Trump said ok. Thus the way was cleared for the occupation by the Turkish army, and Kurdish fighters, just a week ago regarded as loyal comrades of the US, were left to fight the Turks. Many have been killed already. History will condemn this president-to-president deal. But Trump's attitude is simple: he no longer wants US troops to be involved in Syria or anywhere in the Middle East, and he seems less than interested in the fate of the ex-Kurdish allies despite calling them wonderful fighters. Perhaps one of his more bizarre comments was to make the point that Kurds didn't fight alongside American troops in the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War. Why on earth did that idea come into his head? I can imagine that every American soldier still serving in Syria will be seething that their commander-in-chief ordered them to abandon their Kurdish partners. As the casualties mount up and the number of people fleeing the fighting rises rapidly, what will Trump do next? Will he, can he, turn against Turkey despite giving Erdogan the green light to advance into northern Syria? No. He made the decision to allow the Turkish president to launch his long-planned-for operation and he can hardly then dictate where the Turkish soldiers should go and how they should conduct themselves. Let alone impose economic sanctions on Turkey. You made the decision, Mr President, and it's no good backtracking now that the killing has started.