Trump throws the Kurds to the wolves - we have to act

Trump throws the Kurds to the wolves - we have to act
Trump throws the Kurds to the wolves - we have to act
With Trump's decision, the Kurds risk being thrown to the wolves. The most loyal in the fight against the world's worst terrorists IS is treated as slit-and-throw.
Sweden must raise the issue in the UN Security Council before our mandate ends, writes Liberals Jan Björklund and Fredrik Malm.



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DEBATE. US President Donald Trump has suddenly ordered the withdrawal of US forces from Syria east of the Euphrates River. This would mean major strategic concerns for the United States and many of its allies, and it could lead to a catastrophe for the Kurds.
President Trump has been driving all around, politicians, advisers, and senior military personnel. Defense Minister Jim Mattis has resigned, as well as the envoy for the coalition against IS, Brett McGurk. The only ones who seem to welcome the decision are Russia, Turkey, Iran and IS.
The Kurds have rendered the jihadists harmless
The area in which the United States is to leave is today largely controlled by Kurdish-led forces in the SDF Alliance. These have been the West's most loyal ground forces against IS. One has village for village, block for neighborhood, searched the jihadists and rendered them harmless. The Kurds have been the United States and Europe's front soldiers to rid the world of IS. One has fought with light weapons, both men and women, on a secular basis. This would have been impossible without US presence and air support.

Jihadists from the Islamic State, IS.
Photo: UNCREDITED / AP MILITANT WEBSITE
With Trump's decision, the Kurds now risk being thrown again to the wolves. The most loyal in the fight against the world's worst terrorists is treated as slit-and-throw.
In addition, the war on IS is not complete. There are several terrorists left in Syria and Iraq.

READ MORE: Those who enlisted in IS are no longer Swedes

The enemy Turkey can invade Syria
Anxiety is now great for a Turkish invasion of northern Syria, and millions of civilians are at risk of being besieged, injured or forced to flee. In Turkey, the Kurds have been persecuted for many decades.
The country's President Erdogan is in charge of iron and imprisons journalists and Kurdish politicians. He is now threatening to invade Northern Syria, to break the chances of a Kurdish self-government there.
The reason is that the Kurdish forces fighting IS are considered part of the Kurdish PKK guerrilla. Such links exist, but the Syrian Kurds do not pose a threat to Turkey, and a military offensive risks being greatly destabilized by both Syria and Turkey.
The problem is not that the Kurds in Syria are trying to build a local self-government, but rather that the Kurds in Turkey have been denied to do just that for decades.
Secular guides must be supported
The outside world cannot quietly look at whether Turkey is carrying out an invasion.
It would be a capitulation for what the US and Europe say they want in the Middle East, ie more secular and pragmatic governance.
Of course, the United States should not stay in Syria forever. But the withdrawal takes place in a way, without any heads up, seemingly impulsive and contrary to the information the US Army left to the SDF on the ground.

READ MORE: The IS terrorists should not be reintegrated in Sweden - they should be expelled

The Kurds in Syria are now being forced to negotiate with the Syrian government to try to stop a supposed Turkish attack. But it is difficult to see any development in the area if the Syrian government gets control. So far, Bashar al-Assad has drawn misery, blood and devastation over Syria, and displaced several million inhabitants.
One does not abandon an ally
Europe and the United States have a great responsibility, both political, security and moral, not to abandon their secular and pragmatic allies in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East. If the United States chooses to abruptly break such alliances, the EU and the UN must promptly raise the issue on their agendas and see how to act to avoid any new disaster.
Sweden must raise this issue in the UN Security Council before our mandate ends, as well as in the EU's highest body.
Together with others, we must put heavy pressure on Trump to re-evaluate his decision. The EU must also analyze and draw conclusions as to what a US withdrawal imposes on the Union and its Member States.

By Jan Björklund
Party leader Liberals
Fredrik Malm
Foreign Policy Spokesman (L)
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