10/10/19
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) put out a written statement on Wednesday declaring, “On Monday, I said that President Trump’s decision to abandon the Kurds, our major ally in the fight against ISIS, was terribly unwise. Today, we are seeing the consequences of that terrible decision. If the reports of Turkish strikes in Syria are accurate, I fear our allies the Kurds could be slaughtered.” Republican hawks Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) are fit to be tied, as Axios reports. Graham declared, “Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration. This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS. Will lead effort in Congress to make Erdogan pay a heavy price. I urge President Trump to change course while there is still time by going back to the safe zone concept that was working.” Cheney lashed out: “News from Syria is sickening. Turkish troops preparing to invade Syria from the north, Russian-backed forces from the south, ISIS fighters attacking Raqqa. Impossible to understand why @realDonaldTrump is leaving America’s allies to be slaughtered and enabling the return of ISIS.” Impossible to understand? Hardly, Rep. Cheney. Cheney and Graham know full well from the Trump campaign and more than 2½ years of Trump’s presidency that he has a sweet spot for dictators, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin and his friends. They know Trump has sided with Putin over the consensus of U.S. intelligence agencies as to whether Russia interfered with our election. They and all the other Republicans now decrying the slaughter of the Kurds enabled by Trump know he has invited foreign powers to interfere with our election.
In sum, Trump betrays American democracy at the drop of a hat. He continually praises, sides with and provides brutal dictators (e.g., North Korea’s Kim Jong Un) with a treasure chest of good PR. He savages our allies, denigrates NATO and has suggested extorting allies to keep our troops forward-positioned in their country. What did they expect Trump would do to the Kurds? Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.), Ted Cruz (Tex.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Graham as well as House Republican hawks have not only defended but also now support for reelection a president who has defended and promoted the interests of American foes (e.g., Russia, North Korea) time and again. Without them, Trump could not fend off impeachment; without them, he would not have clear-sailing to a second term in which even more allies could be betrayed. These Republicans have betrayed their own oaths of office, which require them to enforce checks on the executive branch and defend Congress’s constitutional powers (e.g., the power to appropriate or decline to appropriate money for the wall, the power to conduct robust impeachment hearings), just as Trump has. In doing so, they have lost the moral high ground and any leverage to affect Trump’s actions. Giving him a pass on whatever nonsensical statements come out of his mouth has empowered him to do worse things with each passing year. Here is a suggestion for the Cheneys, the Grahams and the rest: Withdraw support for Trump’s reelection. Hold him accountable for betraying American democracy. Then they’ll have the moral authority to condemn the massacre of the Kurds. Right now they are enablers of the Kurdish genocide about to unfold.
