Posted on 04/20/2017 7:19:20 AM PDT by Texas Fossil
Yes, can Trump unilaterally remove Turkey?
Turkey staged a fake flotilla off of Israel. I hate both countries.
“I’ve got a lot more problems with people like Assad”
Most (all) of what you list as reasons to oppose Assad, were Iranian initiatives, that Assad assisted. After Iran’s huge investment in supporting the Assad regime, he will be even more significantly beholden to Iran - perhaps a virtual puppet, or cede effective control of areas in Syria to Iranian surrogates, like Hizbullah.
I think that is why Erdogan, and his Sunni extremist jihadi surrogates, are still needed to settle Syria. Turkey is a natural, capable and willing counter to Iran.
Neither Turkey, nor Iran dominating a future Syria would be in the US interest (nor the Syrian people, I would argue). We need both of them forced out in a standoff, with a neutral regime put in place. The Turks themselves are just the tip of the Sunni spear - all the Sunnis in the neighborhood (Saudis, Qataris, Jordan) really dread an Iranian takeover, and would be willing to contribute significantly to prevent that, as would Israel.
Unless we have several hundred thousand troops to commit to Syria for years (and a whole nation building effort that would be under constant terrorist attack), trying to manage Erdogan to pressure against Iranian control, is one of the more feasible options.
Is there anyone who denies he congratulated Erdogan?
Sarah Huckabee Sanders certainly didn't.
You have a lot more confidence in Erdogan than I do. I do get the issue with Iran.
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