Turkish āPeace Springā military operation, which started on October 9, has made a splash among US policy makers. The presidentās decision to withdraw troops from operation area has split the nationās political elite into two halves. Some officials say Washington shouldnāt have abandoned the Kurds, others have supported presidentās decision and agreed that thereās ānot their border and the US shouldnāt be losing lives over it.ā
Itās obvious that the majority of those who criticized the withdrawal are indifferent to Kurdsā fate in northern Syria. With almost a year until the 2020 presidential election, whatever Trumpās decision to be condemned and called āwrongā by his competitors.
In this regard, it would be interesting to know what is the opinion of US servicemen, who are mostly indifferent to big politics, concerning the troops withdrawal. Iāve managed to make contact with John K. (names have been changed to protect the innocent), who in 2018 served in Syriaās Dadat village (Manbij), which was left by US army a few days ago.
Hereās a little interview with him.
- When did you go to Syria and what was the task?
- I was sent to Syria in 2018 ā it was my first and the only trip to this country as of today. Before that, I had served two tours in Iraq. We were deployed to Dadat village where we had a compound. By a weird coincidence, itās seized by *** Russians now (laughing). What about the tasks...I donāt want to tell you what was my task...the unitsā tasks were area patrol and air supports. We maintained contact with Kurds, who provided us with different data.
- How often did Kurds provide you with data?
- I think every day...Another matter was that we didnāt always use their data. There were different reasons to that...sometimes our Command doubted the truth of provided data...sometimes two or more sourcesā information differed...as for me, the main reason lied in USā lack of interest to some data..I mean the whole nationās interest. I know that sometimes Kurds showed their dissatisfaction due to the fact we ignored their data. But they kept silence realizing that they were not those who ācalls the tune.ā
- Whatās your opinion on the Kurds?
- Theyāre good guys in whole. Though we had a some kind of misunderstanding, I think it was due to different sets of mind and religions. They are brave fighters. They showed it in fighting ISIS.
- And whatās your opinion on the Turks? You had to contact with them too.
- A little complicated. Only our Command had contact with the Turks, by the way, it was dissatisfied with work with them. Moreover, here, in the USA, Iāve already learnt a few stories about our joint patrols in northern Syria. Just believe me, the stories are not pleasant.
- Whatās your opinion on Trumpās decision to withdraw troops from north-eastern Syria?
- Itās a total b***t! Write that! What for we have been serving there for a number of years? Iām sure if we keep our presence there, Turkey wouldnāt do those things that they are doing now! Itās a real genocide. I regret weāve allowed it.
- The Syrian Arab Army and Russian troops are helping Kurds now. Whatās your comment to that?
- Itās obvious, that if we abandon them, they have no choice except alliance with Assad and Russians. I keep telling you, Iām sorry weāve abandoned them. Itās good that somebody stands by them.
Itās obvious that the majority of those who criticized the withdrawal are indifferent to Kurdsā fate in northern Syria. With almost a year until the 2020 presidential election, whatever Trumpās decision to be condemned and called āwrongā by his competitors.
In this regard, it would be interesting to know what is the opinion of US servicemen, who are mostly indifferent to big politics, concerning the troops withdrawal. Iāve managed to make contact with John K. (names have been changed to protect the innocent), who in 2018 served in Syriaās Dadat village (Manbij), which was left by US army a few days ago.
Hereās a little interview with him.
- When did you go to Syria and what was the task?
- I was sent to Syria in 2018 ā it was my first and the only trip to this country as of today. Before that, I had served two tours in Iraq. We were deployed to Dadat village where we had a compound. By a weird coincidence, itās seized by *** Russians now (laughing). What about the tasks...I donāt want to tell you what was my task...the unitsā tasks were area patrol and air supports. We maintained contact with Kurds, who provided us with different data.
- How often did Kurds provide you with data?
- I think every day...Another matter was that we didnāt always use their data. There were different reasons to that...sometimes our Command doubted the truth of provided data...sometimes two or more sourcesā information differed...as for me, the main reason lied in USā lack of interest to some data..I mean the whole nationās interest. I know that sometimes Kurds showed their dissatisfaction due to the fact we ignored their data. But they kept silence realizing that they were not those who ācalls the tune.ā
- Whatās your opinion on the Kurds?
- Theyāre good guys in whole. Though we had a some kind of misunderstanding, I think it was due to different sets of mind and religions. They are brave fighters. They showed it in fighting ISIS.
- And whatās your opinion on the Turks? You had to contact with them too.
- A little complicated. Only our Command had contact with the Turks, by the way, it was dissatisfied with work with them. Moreover, here, in the USA, Iāve already learnt a few stories about our joint patrols in northern Syria. Just believe me, the stories are not pleasant.
- Whatās your opinion on Trumpās decision to withdraw troops from north-eastern Syria?
- Itās a total b***t! Write that! What for we have been serving there for a number of years? Iām sure if we keep our presence there, Turkey wouldnāt do those things that they are doing now! Itās a real genocide. I regret weāve allowed it.
- The Syrian Arab Army and Russian troops are helping Kurds now. Whatās your comment to that?
- Itās obvious, that if we abandon them, they have no choice except alliance with Assad and Russians. I keep telling you, Iām sorry weāve abandoned them. Itās good that somebody stands by them.