Syria, Turks, and Kurds

[Horatio Parker]

Donald Trump's longtime business connections in Turkey back in the spotlight

Trump and his family have long had business ties in and with Turkey, the most visible example being the Trump Towers Istanbul, which licenses the Trump name. The Trump Organization describes the buildings on its website as “a landmark in the historic city of Istanbul” and it is the organization’s first and only office and residential tower in Europe, with offices, apartments and upscale shops. The Washington Post has reported that the organization was paid up to $10 million to put the Trump name on the two buildings.

Erdogan attended the opening ceremony of the office and residential towers in 2012 and Ivanka Trump tweeted a message thanking him for attending, although a photo of Erdogan at the ribbon cutting has been removed from his Facebook page.

According to a review of Trump family social media posts, Ivanka Trump made business trips to Turkey in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

In 2015, Trump acknowledged having a potential “conflict” when it came to issues involving Turkey.

“I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul,” Trump said in 2015. “It’s a tremendously successful job. It’s called Trump Towers — two towers, instead of one, not the usual one, it’s two,” Trump said in an interview with Stephen Bannon, then chairman of Breitbart News.

 

[Elixir]

Donald Trump's longtime business connections in Turkey back in the spotlight

Trump and his family have long had business ties in and with Turkey, the most visible example being the Trump Towers Istanbul, which licenses the Trump name. The Trump Organization describes the buildings on its website as “a landmark in the historic city of Istanbul” and it is the organization’s first and only office and residential tower in Europe, with offices, apartments and upscale shops. The Washington Post has reported that the organization was paid up to $10 million to put the Trump name on the two buildings.

Erdogan attended the opening ceremony of the office and residential towers in 2012 and Ivanka Trump tweeted a message thanking him for attending, although a photo of Erdogan at the ribbon cutting has been removed from his Facebook page.

According to a review of Trump family social media posts, Ivanka Trump made business trips to Turkey in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

In 2015, Trump acknowledged having a potential “conflict” when it came to issues involving Turkey.

“I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul,” Trump said in 2015. “It’s a tremendously successful job. It’s called Trump Towers — two towers, instead of one, not the usual one, it’s two,” Trump said in an interview with Stephen Bannon, then chairman of Breitbart News.

Make no mistake - Trump is allowing our allies to be slaughtered to protect his business interests in the country of a brutal autocrat.
(Incredibly corrupt) business as usual

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Jason doesn't support a right to life and liberty. See?

The only way they have a right to life and liberty is if US troops are protecting them?

If you really really are as concerned about the Kurds as you pretend to be, go join their military.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Jason doesn't support a right to life and liberty. See?

The only way they have a right to life and liberty is if US troops are protecting them?

Umm ... ya. They have a much larger and more advanced army who's starting to shoot at them right now because the US military withdrew their protection after they had spent years helping out the US military.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

If the Turks invade Syria and start killing many Kurds,this is going to be a crisis for the GOP. If they cannot reign in Trump and the Turks, the claim they are the party that can run foreign policy better than the Democrats will be wrecked. If the GOP can do nothing more than sullenly stand by and watch this disaster, it is not going to be forgotten on voting day. Or forgiven. I feel so bad for the Kurds words fail me. My hate for Trump and the GOP grows fiercer and stronger.

It is obvious that this administration and the GOP as a whole had no plans for the future of the end of the Caliphate of Isis. No end game. No principles to guide them. Not that the Democrats were much better.

I would like to see the Democratic members of Congress and the Democrats in the Senate all sign a strong statement asking Turkey to not act in this manner or face future problems with the US over their behavior against the Kurds. To start drawing a line in the sand and stand up for the Kurds.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Jason doesn't support a right to life and liberty. See?

The only way they have a right to life and liberty is if US troops are protecting them?

Umm ... ya.

Absurd bullshit.

But if that actually hypothetically were the case, then perhaps they should pay taxes to the US.

They became dependent on the US, and agitated their neighbors saying "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it? If you hit me my big brother will hit you."

Are you forgetting that Turkey is ALSO our ally? That means we would be fighting against an ally.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Jason doesn't support a right to life and liberty. See?

The only way they have a right to life and liberty is if US troops are protecting them?

If you really really are as concerned about the Kurds as you pretend to be, go join their military.

Just like you, I already did and now I am too old.

But, no, you don't support them. You want your allies to be murdered because you think your money should be spent elsewhere.

Not me. I support option#3, them retreating very, very slightly and making borders for Kurdistan.

This is real simple. It's like the US and the declaration of independence and France as an ally. Should the French have cried, "no I can't help them because we want to spend money on other wars," or should the French have helped Americans with their right to self-defense and self-determination.

If you aren't for Americans supporting Kurdish independence, then you are making hypocritical arguments because clearly you support French helping American independence.

Option#3! Option#3!

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Jason doesn't support a right to life and liberty. See?

The only way they have a right to life and liberty is if US troops are protecting them?

If you really really are as concerned about the Kurds as you pretend to be, go join their military.

Just like you, I already did and now I am too old.

I joined the US military, not the Kurdish military. I didn't say join the US military.

But, no, you don't support them. You want your allies to be murdered because you think your money should be spent elsewhere.

I don't want one set of allies to murder another set of allies, but that doesn't mean I think it is the job of the US military to stop it. You aren't willing to do anything personally to stop it in spite of your insistence that this is a high priority.

This is real simple. It's like the US and the declaration of independence and France as an ally. Should the French have cried, "no I can't help them because we want to spend money on other wars," or should the French have helped Americans with their right to self-defense and self-determination.

The French supported the US for pragmatic instead of idealistic reasons. They had a personal interest in supporting the US.

If you aren't for Americans supporting Kurdish independence, then you are making hypocritical arguments because clearly you support French helping American independence.

Or, perhaps, just maybe, I recognize that France helped the US for reasons of benefit to France. You "support" the Kurds for "idealistic" reasons.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Just like you, I already did and now I am too old.

I joined the US military, not the Kurdish military. I didn't say join the US military.

But, no, you don't support them. You want your allies to be murdered because you think your money should be spent elsewhere.

I don't want one set of allies to murder another set of allies, but that doesn't mean I think it is the job of the US military to stop it. You aren't willing to do anything personally to stop it in spite of your insistence that this is a high priority.

This is real simple. It's like the US and the declaration of independence and France as an ally. Should the French have cried, "no I can't help them because we want to spend money on other wars," or should the French have helped Americans with their right to self-defense and self-determination.

The French supported the US for pragmatic instead of idealistic reasons. They had a personal interest in supporting the US.

If you aren't for Americans supporting Kurdish independence, then you are making hypocritical arguments because clearly you support French helping American independence.

Or, perhaps, just maybe, I recognize that France helped the US for reasons of benefit to France. You "support" the Kurds for "idealistic" reasons.

The French had both a personal interest and believed in it ideologically.

But what's wrong with being idealist about it so long as we can afford it? Nothing.

You vote for the Libertarian Party candidate all the time, and that's not realistic at all.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

The French had both a personal interest and believed in it ideologically.

Are you as naïve about politics as you currently pretend? They wouldn't have done it if their only interest was ideological, they would have done it had their only interest been personal, and the fact that they had an ideological reason served as a buttress to the personal reason. Their reason for helping was "this screws over England."

But what's wrong with being idealist about it so long as we can afford it? Nothing.

Oh, you think we can afford it. After all, it isn't your life on the line.

You vote for the Libertarian Party candidate all the time, and that's not realistic at all.

I live in California. Voting for anyone is not realistic. Do you think if I had voted for Hillary in California she would have won Pennsylvania and Ohio? Do you think if I had voted for Trump in California he would have won California?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Are you as naïve about politics as you currently pretend? They wouldn't have done it if their only interest was ideological, they would have done it had their only interest been personal, and the fact that they had an ideological reason served as a buttress to the personal reason. Their reason for helping was "this screws over England."



Oh, you think we can afford it. After all, it isn't your life on the line.

You vote for the Libertarian Party candidate all the time, and that's not realistic at all.

I live in California. Voting for anyone is not realistic. Do you think if I had voted for Hillary in California she would have won Pennsylvania and Ohio? Do you think if I had voted for Trump in California he would have won California?

So don't vote.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This morning, Turkey, a NATO member, invaded Syria. The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea. There are no American soldiers in the area. From the first day I entered the political arena, I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless, senseless wars—especially those that don’t benefit the United States. Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place—and we will hold them to this commitment. In addition, Turkey is now responsible for ensuring all ISIS fighters being held captive remain in prison and that ISIS does not reconstitute in any way, shape, or form. We expect Turkey to abide by all of its commitments, and we continue to monitor the situation closely.

Abide by all of their commitments? The hypocrisy is so strong it'd choke a horse, an animal not prone to choking.

I heard Lynne Cheney rebuke Trump's decision. How strong armed of the gutless GOP. I wonder, they might even write a strongly worded letter.

Jason will get his way in the end... there will be no one left in the Middle East that'll ever trust us again.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

This morning, Turkey, a NATO member, invaded Syria. The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea. There are no American soldiers in the area. From the first day I entered the political arena, I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless, senseless wars—especially those that don’t benefit the United States. Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place—and we will hold them to this commitment. In addition, Turkey is now responsible for ensuring all ISIS fighters being held captive remain in prison and that ISIS does not reconstitute in any way, shape, or form. We expect Turkey to abide by all of its commitments, and we continue to monitor the situation closely.

Abide by all of their commitments? The hypocrisy is so strong it'd choke a horse, an animal not prone to choking.

I heard Lynne Cheney rebuke Trump's decision. How strong armed of the gutless GOP. I wonder, they might even write a strongly worded letter.

Jason will get his way in the end... there will be no one left in the Middle East that'll ever trust us again.

Like they trust us now.

So do you support fighting an ally to defend an ally? Or do you support someone else doing it while you type about it on an internet forum? And why are they an ally in the first place?

If you examine our complex foreign policy, you will find that each alliance or enmity is based on some other alliance or enmity, which is in turn based on some other alliance or enmity, forming a very elaborate inter-connected lattice with thousands of pieces connecting to each other and the whole connected to NOTHING AT ALL! The "vital interest" in supporting the Kurds is someone else is fighting someone else and that has nothing to do with the US. Our entire foreign policy is the result of our foreign policy. Neocons like you think that situation is good.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Next March, California votes on Super Tuesday. This makes Californian's vote in the primaries very important. California may well tip the Democratic primary race one way or the other. Do you still thinking voting in California is not important?

 

[Half-Life]

I'm not surprised that the left abandoned its principles just to be on the opposite side of Trump.

Leftists: "No more troops needlessly dying! Bring them all home! No more War!

Trump: "OK, i'm bringing them home, guys."

Leftists: "No! Not now! We need to stay and fight with the Kurds! More of our men need to die!"



These are the same ones that say stuff like, "We shouldn't be the world's police. Just let countries do whatever they want....but also if Israel tries to genocide the Middle East we're sending troops to stop them!"

 

[Sarpedon]

I've been reading Israeli news sources, and they are shitting themselves over this. Expect him to get some major blowback from the pro-Israel crowd.

 

[Half-Life]

I even saw leftists asking, "WHY WON'T TRUMP SELL WEAPONS TO THE KURDS TO ARM THEM?!?!

Leftists have now become war hawks in favor of arming countries. You can't make this stuff up, folks!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I even saw leftists asking, "WHY WON'T TRUMP SELL WEAPONS TO THE KURDS TO ARM THEM?!?!

Leftists have now become war hawks in favor of arming countries. You can't make this stuff up, folks!

You make stuff like that up all the time! Someone in the comments section said so.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I've been reading Israeli news sources, and they are shitting themselves over this. Expect him to get some major blowback from the pro-Israel crowd.

Yeah, sure. Like that’d matter. Of course it’d be difficult to shift like the wind, or as the last person who talked to hun when the Turkish and Syrian troops are on the ground already.

 

[Half-Life]

I even saw leftists asking, "WHY WON'T TRUMP SELL WEAPONS TO THE KURDS TO ARM THEM?!?!

Leftists have now become war hawks in favor of arming countries. You can't make this stuff up, folks!

You make stuff like that up all the time! Someone in the comments section said so.

Post #55 shows the hypocrisy of the left.

One minute they want the troops home to avoid needless killing of U.S. soldiers. The next minute they want them to stay and get shot full of holes.

None of these leftists are volunteering to fly to the Kurds and help them out, either, which is ironic because they called Trump "chicken shit" for not going to Vietnam.

Keith, what's your opinion on these chicken shit leftists?

"We need to help the Kurds! This is a disgrace!!! They are our allies!! Keep the troops there!!!......But I'm not going there! No way!"

UPDATE: Now leftists are calling Trump a traitor because he won't help the Kurds. Thought leftists were against dual loyalty, too? They hated it when Trump said "American Jews are disloyal to Israel." But, we have to be loyal to the Kurds?

This whole situation is a laugh riot for right-wingers! Leftists flip-flopping on all their positions!!!