Betray the Kurds, then save them

Re “As U.S. leaves, Kurds seek aid of Syria,” Oct. 14

In a normal world, a president’s decision to open the door for Turkey’s disastrous invasion of northern Syria, then to try to slam the door shut with sanctions for doing what he allowed it to do, would be reason enough to call for his ouster. But with President Trump, it’s business as usual.

Recall his imposing tariffs on foreign goods and then reimbursing our farmers for their losses with the money from those tariffs. There’s also his removing of aid from Central American countries, feeding the stream of asylum seekers, then bribing the countries into helping stem the flow and claiming victory for the mild improvement.

Now he starts a fire in Syria and no doubt will take credit for putting it out — that is, if the sanctions have their desired effect, and even then only after an already horrible situation has been made much worse.

Vincent Brook

Los Angeles

We learned it the hard way in Vietnam, and we’re re-learning it now in Afghanistan and Syria: Don’t send U.S. troops into foreign civil wars.

Syria is now defending its territory against the Turks. Fine. It’s their country, not ours.

Chris Norby

Fullerton

What prompted Trump to order the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria? It had to be obvious that the far superior Turkish forces would overwhelm the poorly equipped Kurds, America’s longtime ally in the Mideast.

This stunning betrayal of an ally benefits whom? And why? The questions are uncomfortable to ask. Does Trump have an answer?

And while we ask these uncomfortable questions, the Kurdish people face a well-equipped Turkish military determined to effect their slaughter.

Jacqueline Kerr

Los Angeles