Politico: Trump says Turkey orchestrated Assad's overthrow in Syria

[Dennis Donovan]

Politico - Trump says Turkey orchestrated Assad’s overthrow in Syria

U.S. president-elect said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan conducted an “unfriendly takeover” of Syria, which Turkey has wanted “for thousands of years.”

December 16, 2024 10:35 pm CET
By Joe Stanley-Smith

Turkey controls the militants that ousted former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said during a wide-ranging and at times incoherent press conference Monday.

“Those people that went in are controlled by Turkey,” he said during the event, his first press conference since winning the presidential election in November. “And that’s okay, that’s another way to fight.”

In answer to a question about the 900 U.S. troops currently in Syria, Trump began to speak of his decision to pull American soldiers out of the country during his last stint as president, before getting sidetracked and talking about Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Turkey is a major force, by the way,” he said. “Erdoğan is somebody I got along with great, but he has a major military force. And his has not been worn out with war. He’s built a very strong, powerful army.”

Returning to the question, he said: “We [had] 5,000 soldiers in between a five-million person army and a 250,000-person army, and I asked a general: ‘What do you think of that situation?’ He said: ‘They’ll be wiped out immediately.’ And I moved them out. And I took a lot of heat. And you know what happened? Nothing. Nothing. I saved a lot of lives.

/snip

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Nonsensical bloviating potentially impacts a slew of emerging market funds

Official BS has real world implications.

[riversedge]

2. I agree --and Trump KNOWS the chaos/cruelty he creates and the worst part is that HE LOVES to do it!!

[RainCaster]

3. This moron never read any security briefings

Remember the last time he was in the White House? They had to dumb down his briefings so much because of his illiteracy and poor attention span. How could this idiot actually come to such a conclusion unless Putin gave it to him?

[LastDemocratInSC]

4. TSF sounds like a motorcycle club hangaround bragging about his new connections.

[Renew Deal]

5. He's basically right that Turkey orchestrated it

Though it is in their self interest. They are holding over 3 million Syrian refugees

[C0RI0LANUS]

6. Trumpf is National Security Disaster

This is what happens when Trumpf gets POTUS national security briefings. He creates word salad and DISCLOSES intelligence information:

"Those people that went in are controlled by Turkey."

D/NSA, D/CIA, D/DIA must have groaned hearing that verb.

Smarter way of saying that: "Turkiye supports the Sunni group that ousted Bashir al-Assad. This method didn't cost any Turkish military casualties."

[C0RI0LANUS]

7. Ankara is getting ready to deport Syrian refugees-- Trumpf style.

A father and daughter wait at the newly opened Yayladagi border gate. (Photo: Reuters)


Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, Mr. President-elect.



Ankara's poor treatment of the Kurds in the SE corner of their country led to the formation of the PKK with secret Soviet support in 1984. Turkiye had designs on ousting the Assad Regime after Damascus began supporting the PKK which killed 30,000 Turkish soldiers in internecine guerilla warfare and terrorist attacks.


Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg6eeg87lqo

[WarGamer]

8. this time... he's actually right.

https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/what-role-turkey-playing-syrias-civil-war

Turkey is the most important outside power supporting the rebel side.