United States President Donald Trump surprised many people in early October by ordering an abrupt removal of US troops from Syria.
Those US troops had been working with Kurds to protect Syrian land from ISIS and Turkish aggression — in general, to keep the area stable. There has been conflict between Kurds and Turks for a long time. Trump did this after a phone conversation with Turkish leader Erdogan.
Let’s be very clear: President Donald Trump removed US troops from Syria so that Russia could strengthen its position there. Immediately after removal of US troops, Russia sent in troops to fill the vacuum.
The US sanctions with which Trump has been threatening Turkey — after initiating the removal of US military forces — are a ruse.
Everything Trump does is to the benefit of Russia and at the request of Putin and oligarchs from Russia and other countries. Why? Because Trump owes those people vast sums of money.
For more about Turkey and Syria and the Kurds, this is an excellent round-up of information from Vox.