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You are here: Home / Archives for Syria

U.S. Drones Saw Turkish Forces Targeting Civilians

November 12, 2019 at 9:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“U.S. military officials watched live drone feeds last month that appeared to show Turkish-backed Arab gunmen targeting civilians during their assault on Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria, attacks the Americans reported to their commanders as possible war crimes,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The existence of the military surveillance videos, which hasn’t been previously disclosed, provided what some of the U.S. officials saw as firsthand evidence of apparent war crimes by forces backed by Turkey, a NATO ally. Others said the videos were inconclusive.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria, Turkey

Large U.S. Military Convoy Spotted in Northern Syria

October 31, 2019 at 8:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“U.S. forces in armored vehicles conducted a patrol on the Syria-Turkey border on Thursday, the first such exercise since a U.S. decision to withdraw from northeast Syria,” Reuters reports.

“A military source from the Kurdish-led SDF said the patrols would ‘not be one-time’ only.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Trump Proposes War Crime In Syria

October 29, 2019 at 11:41 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump has a long history of calling for the United States to “take the oil” in the Middle East, in Iraq and Syria in particular, ABC News reports.

“But any oil in both countries belongs to their governments, and according to U.S. law and treaties it has ratified, seizing it would be pillaging, a technical term for theft during wartime that is illegal under U.S. and international law.”

Said Trump just yesterday: “We’re keeping the oil. I’ve always said that — keep the oil. We want to keep the oil, $45 million a month. Keep the oil. We’ve secured the oil.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Trying to Change Trump’s Mind on Syria

October 22, 2019 at 2:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In the days after President Donald Trump paved the way for Turkey to invade Syria, several of his closest allies went to the White House — twice — to try to change his mind,” NBC News reports.

“Retired Gen. Jack Keane, a Fox News analyst, first walked the president through a map showing Syria, Turkey and Iraq on Oct. 8, pointing out the locations of oil fields in northern Syria that have been under the control of the U.S. and its Kurdish allies, two people familiar with the discussion said. That oil, they said Keane explained, would fall into Iran’s hands if Trump withdrew all U.S. troops from the country. Keane went through the same exercise with Trump again on Oct. 14, this time with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) at his side.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Erdogan Seeks Putin’s Support In Syria

October 22, 2019 at 8:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Russian counterpart to discuss dividing influence in Syria as U.S. troops pull out and a five-day halt to a Turkish offensive comes to an end, with both Ankara and Moscow seeking to capitalize on a rebalancing of power in the region,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, Mr. Erdogan said he would seek Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support to create a safe zone in northeastern Syria that is free of Kurdish fighters whom Ankara views as a terrorist threat.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Russia, Syria, Turkey

Trump Says He’s Been ‘Strategically Brilliant’ on Syria

October 16, 2019 at 1:52 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump insisted withdrawal of troops from Syria has been “strategically brilliant” and minimized concerns for the Kurds, implying that they allied with the United States only out of their own self-interest, the New York Times reports.

Said Trump: “We paid a lot of money for them to fight with us.”

He dismissed concerns that his decision has opened the way for Russia, Iran and the Syrian government to move into the abandoned territory and reassert their influence in the area: “I wish them all a lot of luck. If Russia wants to get involved in Syria, that’s really up to them.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Russian Troops Move Into Northern Syria

October 15, 2019 at 9:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Russia said on Tuesday that its military units were patrolling territory in northern Syria between Syrian and Turkish forces after the American withdrawal from the area, underscoring the sudden loss of United States influence in the area and illustrating how the power balance in the region has shifted rapidly in the past week,” the New York Times reports.

“The announcement that Russian forces were now patrolling an area where the United States had maintained two military bases until Monday appeared to signal that Moscow was moving to fill a security void left by the American withdrawal.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Russia, Syria

Trump Orders Full Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Syria

October 13, 2019 at 11:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump has ordered a withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria in the face of a Turkish military offensive targeting Kurdish fighters in the region, two days after he promised that the United States was not ‘abandoning’ its partners in the campaign against the Islamic State,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump ordered a withdrawal of the about 1,000 U.S. troops left in northern Syria late Saturday. The president made the decision after indications that Turkey intends to expand its attack ‘farther south than originally planned and to the west.'”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Cockpit Tapes Confirm Russia’s Role In Airstrikes

October 13, 2019 at 8:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Russian Air Force has repeatedly bombed hospitals in Syria in order to crush the last pockets of resistance to President Bashar al-Assad,” according to an investigation by the New York Times.

“An analysis of previously unpublished Russian Air Force radio recordings, plane spotter logs and witness accounts allowed The Times to trace bombings of four hospitals in just 12 hours in May and tie Russian pilots to each one.”

“The 12-hour period beginning on May 5 represents a small slice of the air war in Syria, but it is a microcosm of Russia’s four-year military intervention in Syria’s civil war. A new front in the conflict opened this week, when Turkish forces crossed the border as part of a campaign against a Kurdish-led militia.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Erdogan Threatens to Send Millions of Refugees to Europe

October 10, 2019 at 11:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will send the 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to Europe if European countries continue to criticize his military incursion in Syria, Reuters reports.

Said Erdogan: “We will open the gates and send 3.6 million refugees your way.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria, Turkey

Lindsey Graham Says Trump Is Putting Nation at Risk

October 9, 2019 at 7:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

In an interview with Axios. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) condemned President Trump in his harshest language yet for deciding to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria, suggesting Trump is violating his oath of office by allowing Turkey to move in and attack the Kurds.

Said Graham: “I think he’s putting the nation at risk, and I think he’s putting his presidency at risk. And I hope he will adjust his policies like he did before. That would actually be a sign of real leadership.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria, Turkey

Pat Robertson ‘Appalled’ By Trump Decision

October 7, 2019 at 4:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Pat Robertson told his television audience he is “appalled” by President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria.

Said Robertson: “The President of the United States is in great danger of losing the mandate of Heaven if he permits this to happen.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Pat Robertson, Syria

McConnell Rebukes Trump Over Syria Pullout

October 7, 2019 at 2:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly rebuked President Trump’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from northeast Syria, saying that a supermajority in the Senate disagreed with the president’s abrupt announcement,” the Washington Post reports.

Said McConnell: “I urge the President to exercise American leadership to keep together our multinational coalition to defeat ISIS and prevent significant conflict between our NATO ally Turkey and our local Syrian counterterrorism partners. Major new conflict between Turkey and our partners in Syria would seriously risk damaging Turkey’s ties to the United States and causing greater isolation for Turkey on the world stage.”

Filed Under: Senate Tagged With: Syria

Trump Loses ‘Fox & Friends’ on Syria Pullout

October 7, 2019 at 11:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade blasted President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria.

Said Kimeade: “What kind of message is that to the next ally that wants to side with us? All we did is arm them, and they did all the work. And now we say ‘good luck. Good luck surviving.'”

He added: “What a disaster.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Nikki Haley Criticizes Trump’s Syria Withdrawal

October 7, 2019 at 10:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blasted President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria and allow Turkey to carry out an operation in the region.

Said Haley: “We must always have the backs of our allies, if we expect them to have our back. The Kurds were instrumental in our successful fight against ISIS in Syria. Leaving them to die is a big mistake.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Nikki Haley, Syria

Graham Rips Trump’s Decision to Pull Troops from Syria

October 7, 2019 at 9:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is enraged over President Trump’s decision to abandon U.S. allies in northern Syria and took the rare step of challenging the president on Twitter and in a phone call to Fox News, calling it a “disaster in the making.”

Said Graham: “If I’m an Isis fighter, I’ve got a second lease on life. So to those who think ISIS has been defeated, you will soon see.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Lindsey Graham, Syria, Turkey

Pentagon Warns ISIS Is Resurging In Syria

August 8, 2019 at 10:41 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

In a sobering new report, the Pentagon’s independent watchdog concludes that the remnants of the Islamic State militant group have been capitalizing on President Trump’s drawdown in Syria, the Washington Post reports.

From the report: “Despite losing its territorial ‘caliphate,’ the Islamic State solidified its insurgent capabilities in Iraq and was resurging in Syria. The reduction of U.S. forces has decreased the support available for Syrian partner forces at a time when their forces need more training and equipping to respond to the ISIS resurgence.”

Trump, just three weeks ago: “We did a great job. We have 100 percent of the caliphate, and we’re rapidly pulling out of Syria. We’ll be out of there pretty soon.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

Inside Syria’s Secret Torture Prisons

May 11, 2019 at 10:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “As Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, closes in on victory over an eight-year revolt, a secret, industrial-scale system of arbitrary arrests and torture prisons has been pivotal to his success. While the Syrian military, backed by Russia and Iran, fought armed rebels for territory, the government waged a ruthless war on civilians, throwing hundreds of thousands into filthy dungeons where thousands were tortured and killed.”

“Nearly 128,000 have never emerged, and are presumed to be either dead or still in custody, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, an independent monitoring group that keeps the most rigorous tally. Nearly 14,000 were ‘killed under torture.’ Many prisoners die from conditions so dire that a United Nations investigation labeled the process ‘extermination.'”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Syria

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Follow me on Twitter, Mastodon and Post.News.

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