On October 9
th
, the President of the United
States wrote the President of Turkey a
letter
.
In the letter, he used a couple of approaches. President Trump appealed to
President Erdogan’s ego. Something President Trump certainly understands. He
wanted the Turkish President to realize that murdering Kurds would forever
stain his record and place in history.
As if Erdogan would even
care
about his place in
history.
President Trump also threatened him. Attempting to make sure
Erdogan knew that America could, or would, wreck their economy if the murders
began. As if he
could
, or for that matter,
would
.
I want to point out again that the letter was sent October 9
th
.
That was just hours before the murdering began. The letter did exactly the
opposite of what it was intended to do. The letter insured that one President
was going to show the other who was in charge of their country.
The letter was thrown in the garbage.
If there is an upside, it’s that the Republicans have
finally stepped up, voting with the Democrats in the House to admonish
President Trump for his actions. A number of Senate Republicans have done the
same. Using the national media to call out President Trump for withdrawing our
troops and leaving the Kurds with no chance whatsoever.
So, we find ourselves with a foreign policy disaster that is
costing lives. One that has diminished our standing with our allies, not to
mention the world.
But hey, at least he sent a note.
Good riding with you.
(Joel Heitkamp is a talk show host on the Mighty 790 KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. His award-winning program, “News & Views,” can be heard weekdays from 8 – 11 a.m. Follow Joel on Twitter @JoelKFGO.)
