Asian Angle | Why Donald Trump’s exit from Syria is another lesson for Asia in trusting the US
- America has a history of broken promises in the region, so it’s likely the Koreas, Japan and Taiwan are watching his abrupt withdrawal from the war-torn nation closely
US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to pull all American troops out of Syria is yet another chilling reminder that those who believe in pledges and assurances made by the US do so at their peril.
While his generals and European allies may fret over the geopolitical implications of his capricious move, it is the US-backed Kurdish forces, fighting on America’s behalf against Islamic State in northeastern Syria, who will bear the brunt of the repercussions.
It is almost certain Turkey, which has long labelled them as terrorists inciting its Kurdish minority to secede, will carry out its threat to move in and crush them.
Deserted by the Americans who have been funding, training and arming them, the Kurds will pay for Trump’s perfidy with blood. He may have made good his campaign promise to pull out US troops but to the Kurds, he has just stabbed them in the back. And they say this openly, in so many words, to the world’s media.
South Korea, Japan and Taiwan must be watching this development – this breach of faith – with trepidation. So should other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, courted by the US in its thinly disguised attempt to contain China.
