Security, law, ethics and Syria

One of the topics that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently highlighted was the reason why Turkey had to take matters into its own hands. It was due to the fact that Turkey is experiencing a time where its seeks support from its so-called allies who are overtly supporting regional structures that want to cause it harm. We need to immediately point out that this is not the result of a political misstep by Turkey; it stems from the fact that in contrast to previous periods, Ankara now wants to a play a role in securing its long-term interests and security.

Unethical examples from US history

Obviously, when it comes to U.S. policy in the Middle East, we can say that there are very few examples of policies and actions that can be said to be ethical. For example, let me recall the subject that I mentioned in passing in the previous article and which attracted the attention of so many historians who deemed it a scandal: the Iran-Contra scandal.

In the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan became president, the United States secretly sold illegal weapons to Iran and transferred the money to the anti-communist counter-revolutionaries who tried to overthrow the leftist administration of Nicaragua. After the outbreak of this scandal, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North was put on trial for organizing the process and was convicted after being charged of the illegal transfer of U.S. funds. Though he then testified in Congress and his sentence was abolished, this does not change the fact that the scandal took place.

Let’s continue. Back in 2003, the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq on the grounds that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Years later, millions of people lost their lives and the region was dragged into a very long period of instability, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a confession. In July 2016, Blair conceded, "Intelligence assessments turned out to be inaccurate, and the post-intervention environment has become more hostile, protracted and bloody than thought." He expressed his regret about the invasion of Iraq. Just as U.S. President Trump said in October 2019; the intelligence was wrong and there was never a weapon of mass destruction in Iraq.

Aside from these historical mistakes (!), the fact remains that relevant institutions of the United States act in a similar manner. For example, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) structure is made up from militants and leaders of the PKK terror group. In other words, the U.S. educates, equips and provides intelligence for a structure that is on its own terror list.

Nevermind the damage this situation has caused allies, just as in the Iran-Contra scandal, it is starting to cause them trouble domestically and they’re trying to detract from the growing mistrust at home as the U.S. president and some senators scramble to tweet against Turkey.

LAW AND TRUST

On the one hand, there are scandals such as the one mentioned above, and on the other, acts that go against international law are increasing with every passing day, such as the U.S. leveraging sanctions against Turkey, which Washington repeatedly uses despite it being contrary to both the United Nations Charter and NATO Treaty.

Unforunately that’s how the U.S. administration, which reacts to Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring to safeguard its own security and the return of Syrian refugees to their lands with sanction threats and economic collapse, comprehends "laws and ethics." Now with that understanding, they’re offering to mediate between “Kurds” and Turkey. It is tragicomic that they have not yet differentiated between the Kurds and the PKK, but instead expect us to trust an understanding that acts as if the PKK and SDF are different structures.