Turkey vs. Syria: Is Peace Possible?

Last week, Turkey informed the White House of plans to invade northern Syria to attack terrorists in the area. In response, President Donald Trump decided to remove the 50 US troops that were there. This decision caused an argument about American involvement in Syria.

Turkey’s Involvement in Syria

Unfortunately, shortly after invading Syria, Turkey did attack the Kurds, killing hundreds. Trump imposed sanctions as a response. Economic sanctions are policies designed to harm a person, country, or organization by costing them money.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to halt attacks against the Kurds for 120 hours. This ceasefire agreement is intended to give the Kurds a chance to leave the area. In exchange for the agreement, the United States promised not to impose more sanctions on Turkey’s government.

What Will Happen Next?

Predicting how things will turn out in Syria is pretty much impossible, and the situation with Turkey and the Kurds is no different. While hostilities on both sides continue, it becomes less likely that a permanent ceasefire agreement can be reached. But the question of US involvement seems to be the overall issue at hand.

When President Trump was running for president in 2016, he promised that if elected, he would stop America’s involvement in “endless wars.” Many Americans have grown tired of having our military in wars that do not affect our nation. A lot don’t even know why the US is still present in these nations. They believe that we are putting our soldiers at risk for no good reason.

On the other hand, there are those who want the US military to stay in Afghanistan and Syria. When it comes to Syria, they think our military makes sure that the situation does not get worse. They believe that if the United States pulls its troops out, terrorist organizations like the Islamic State (ISIS) will regroup and begin carrying out more atrocities.

The latest fight between Turkey and the United States will likely not be the last. As long as US soldiers are in the region, it is inevitable that our interests would be at odds with Turkey’s. Even worse, it is not clear when the fighting will stop on all sides. But it is clear that this is a problem that the White House will have to grapple with in the years to come.