Sandy Shanks
Gold Member
- Jul 10, 2018
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When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire? There are multiple answers to that questions.
When only Mike Pence and Trump say it is a ceasefire. US Vice President Mike Pence announced in Turkey today that he and Turkish President Erdogan agreed to a ceasefire halting Turkey's incursion into northern Syria.
When Pence said Turkey "will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow for the withdrawal of (Kurdish) YPG forces from the safe zone for 120 hours." In other words, five days to allow the Kurds to leave their land, exactly what Erdogan wanted when he began killing Kurds and occupying their territory after Trump allowed him to do so.
When Trump's comments are laughable. Understand, on Oct. 5th, he opened the door for Turkey to slaughter the Kurds, America's ally, and remove them from the safe zone. "Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria,” the White House said in a statement late on Oct. 5. “The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces will no longer be in the immediate area."
"When those guns start shooting, they tend to do things, but I will tell you, on behalf of the United States I want to thank Turkey, I want to thank all of the people that have gotten together and made this happen," Trump said. "I want to thank everybody. And the other thing I want to thank as a group, I want to thank the Kurds, because they were incredibly happy with this solution. This is a solution that really -- well it saved their lives, frankly. It saved their lives," Trump said. Was Trump joking?
The "unilateral invasion" of northern Syria has resulted in widespread casualties and destruction, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said. "Due to Turkey's irresponsible actions, the risk to US forces in northeast Syria has reached an unacceptable level," Esper added.
"But I will tell you, on behalf of the United States I want to thank Turkey," Trump said. I have no words.
When one party to the negotiations says it is not a ceasefire. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a televised press conference Thursday that the agreement "is not a ceasefire."
"We will pause the operation for 120 hours in order for the terrorists to leave," Cavusoglu said, referring to the Kurds. "We will only stop the operation if our conditions are met."
When it is a surrender, not a ceasefire. US Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey, who participated in the talks in Ankara, told reporters, "The Turkish army has seized a great deal of territory in a very short period of time." Pence said the Turks were allowing the Kurds to flee their land. He and Cavusoglu seem to agree on that point. With Trump's help, sounds like a win/win for the Turks.
By the way, the deal gives Turkey relief from sanctions the administration had imposed.
The deal appears to secure Turkey most of its military objectives, forcing America's one-time allies in the fight against ISIS to cede a vast swath of territory. The deal meant the US was "validating what Turkey did and allowing them to annex a portion of Syria and displace the Kurdish population."
Only the Trump administration would call it a ceasefire when an American ally is forced to flee its own land and is given five days to do so.
When only Mike Pence and Trump say it is a ceasefire. US Vice President Mike Pence announced in Turkey today that he and Turkish President Erdogan agreed to a ceasefire halting Turkey's incursion into northern Syria.
When Pence said Turkey "will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow for the withdrawal of (Kurdish) YPG forces from the safe zone for 120 hours." In other words, five days to allow the Kurds to leave their land, exactly what Erdogan wanted when he began killing Kurds and occupying their territory after Trump allowed him to do so.
When Trump's comments are laughable. Understand, on Oct. 5th, he opened the door for Turkey to slaughter the Kurds, America's ally, and remove them from the safe zone. "Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria,” the White House said in a statement late on Oct. 5. “The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces will no longer be in the immediate area."
"When those guns start shooting, they tend to do things, but I will tell you, on behalf of the United States I want to thank Turkey, I want to thank all of the people that have gotten together and made this happen," Trump said. "I want to thank everybody. And the other thing I want to thank as a group, I want to thank the Kurds, because they were incredibly happy with this solution. This is a solution that really -- well it saved their lives, frankly. It saved their lives," Trump said. Was Trump joking?
The "unilateral invasion" of northern Syria has resulted in widespread casualties and destruction, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said. "Due to Turkey's irresponsible actions, the risk to US forces in northeast Syria has reached an unacceptable level," Esper added.
"But I will tell you, on behalf of the United States I want to thank Turkey," Trump said. I have no words.
When one party to the negotiations says it is not a ceasefire. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a televised press conference Thursday that the agreement "is not a ceasefire."
"We will pause the operation for 120 hours in order for the terrorists to leave," Cavusoglu said, referring to the Kurds. "We will only stop the operation if our conditions are met."
When it is a surrender, not a ceasefire. US Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey, who participated in the talks in Ankara, told reporters, "The Turkish army has seized a great deal of territory in a very short period of time." Pence said the Turks were allowing the Kurds to flee their land. He and Cavusoglu seem to agree on that point. With Trump's help, sounds like a win/win for the Turks.
By the way, the deal gives Turkey relief from sanctions the administration had imposed.
The deal appears to secure Turkey most of its military objectives, forcing America's one-time allies in the fight against ISIS to cede a vast swath of territory. The deal meant the US was "validating what Turkey did and allowing them to annex a portion of Syria and displace the Kurdish population."
Only the Trump administration would call it a ceasefire when an American ally is forced to flee its own land and is given five days to do so.
