Border Message
In the tumultuous landscape of immigration discourse, the resonance of former President Donald Trump's border message extends far beyond his political base.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned his Turkey counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria, calling him “Don’t be a fool”
Three days after appearing to greenlight an invasion by pulling US troops from the Kurdish-dominated region, Trump told the Turkish president he would wreck Ankara’s economy if the invasion went too far.
In language shorn of diplomatic niceties, Trump began with an outright threat.
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Last week, Trump wrote a letter to his Turkish counterpart, saying “Let’s work out a good deal”.
“You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy — and I will”, Trump added.
“History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way,” Trump said. “It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen”, he said.
Earlier this week, President Trump had announced that he will authorise sanctions against Turkish officials, raise steel tariffs and end negotiations on a USD 100 billion trade deal.
Last week, Turkey launched a cross-border assault on Kurdish fighters after the US decided to withdraw troops from Syria, a move that was criticised by the Republicans, with some terming it a “betrayal” of the Kurds.
On pulling back of US troops, Trump said that only a small contingent will remain at the Tanf Garrison in southern Syria to disrupt remnants of the ISIS.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump had promised to bring back US troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
More than 50 people, including civilians, have been killed last week as the Turkish offensive in Syria, which was launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at pushing the Kurdish forces away from its border.
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