WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2019) US Congress should compel President Donald Trump to take in more Kurdish refugees to remedy the president's decision on a troop withdrawal that helped Turkey attack Kurdish fighters aligned to the United States, Senator Chris Murphy said in a statement.
"Congress needs to make sure America does its part to alleviate the humanitarian nightmare caused by Trump's unconscionable double crossing of the Kurds. Congress should require Trump to take increased numbers of Kurdish refugees into the United States," Murphy said on Tuesday.
Turkey launched an offensive across the board targeting Kurdish fighters almost immediately after Trump's October 9 decision to withdraw US forces from northern Syria. The international community has widely criticized the incursion, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled as Operation Peace Spring to clear the region of Kurdish militants and Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) fighters.
Murphy, who also requested Congress provide countries like Iraq with humanitarian aid to help deal with a new influx of refugees, said the Kurdish problem was largely created by Trump's decision to abandon its Syrian ally.
He said sanctions issued by the Trump administration need to be targeted at preventing Turkish aggression toward the Kurds and "dis-incentivizing the forced repatriation of Syrian refugees living in Turkey".
The sanctions should also punish the Turks if they knowingly allow IS fighters to regroup, Murphy said.
"Sanctions to simply punish them for actions that the President of the United States invited them to take makes no strategic sense. Thus, our sanctions should seek to deter Turkey and Turkish-backed forces from committing war crimes or obstructing humanitarian relief," Murphy added.
The United States joined an international coalition against IS militants in 2014, conducting airstrikes and later building military bases on Syrian territory to assist ground operations against them. Kurds, who make up the largest ethnic minority in Syria, were the staunchest US allies in the operation against IS.
Trump, who came into office in 2016 vowing to pull America out of what he called "unnecessary wars," said the withdrawal from Syria was to decrease US overseas military engagement.
The US military has operated in Syria without the permission of President Bashar Assad's government and without UN Security Council authorization.
