“We sent them guns to the protesters, a lot of them," Trump said in a telephone interview [with Fox News]. “We sent them through the Kurds. They kept them, so we sent more to the protesters, a lot of them."
“We sent them guns to the protesters, a lot of them," Trump said in a telephone interview [with Fox News]. “We sent them through the Kurds. They kept them, so we sent more to the protesters, a lot of them."
It’s weird on a lot of levels. If it was true. Turkey would be furious that the US is arming kurds. From their perspective, a fellow NATO member just armed one of their enemies.
They’re probably furious regardless if true, because it’s such an outrageous thing to admit to.
And I don’t know which part of “secretly arming” Trump is confused about but since he just told the world, it’s obviously not secret enough.
The US (and international coalition) very openly arms the Kurds in Northern Iraq, and through the SDF (YPG and YPJ are DTOs so they can’t technically send to them) in Syria while Turkey shells the aid workers responding to earthquakes. To assume they stop arming the Kurds at the border implies Iran has excellent border security.
An armed Kurdish population gives Turkey something to play strongman against. They know it’s happening.