Opposing the Decision to End Certain United States Efforts to Prevent Turkish Military Operations Against Syrian Kurdish Forces in Northeast Syria

Floor Speech

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution, and I rise in opposition to the recent decision of the Trump administration.

We had a situation in Syria that was stable. We had a modest deployment of American troops. We were successful in limiting American casualties to a very low number. We had defeated the caliphate. Our friends, the Kurds, who had incurred most of the deaths by the many thousands necessary to destroy the ISIS caliphate, were safe. In other words, the situation was stable and favorable to the United States.

Now we have taken an action in which America is humiliated, the Kurds are subject to slaughter, our word means less in the world, and ISIS stands to be revitalized. This is such an obvious mistake. It is hard to find anyone with any knowledge of foreign policy that regards it as anything other than an unforced error. It is such a great mistake that it makes you wonder whether it was an intentional mistake designed to give Russia territory in northeast Syria, for whatever reason we might want to do that.

It is time to reevaluate our policies toward Turkey. Since the 1940s, we have safeguarded Turkey through our membership in NATO and theirs. We protected Turkey from subversion in the 1940s and protected it from the Soviet Union for decades. Recently, over the last 20 years, we have had a policy of obsequious humiliation in our approach to Turkey. We have kowtowed to Ankara in failing to recognize the Armenian genocide.

In doing so, we have taken a foreign policy normally based on truth and honor, and instead, humiliated ourselves through silence and concealment. It is time to recognize the Armenian genocide by an overwhelming vote here in the House. It is time for us to stop dishonor in our relationship with Turkey.

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