Sanctions Won’t Help. Here’s What Would.

There is a bipartisan bill seeking to impose sanctions on Turkey in response to Trump’s withdrawal of US troops from Syria. In response to the US withdrawal, Turkey has planned a massive invasion of norther Syria, occupied by the Kurds.

So the question becomes, will sanctions help the situation? The answer is- It’s not that simple.

This move is really nothing but theater. Consider the fact that the US is still selling arms to Turkey. Remember (or did you even hear about) the arms deals to sell F35’s and Patriot missiles systems to Turkey? Nothing about the sanctions does anything to stop those deals.

What may actually help would be an arms embargo. Then again, an arms embargo would help Yemen, as well. You are not going to hear mention of the mere suggestion of an arms embargo because that would anger the weapons contractors who “donate” massive sums to political campaigns and spend fortunes lobbying. When arms manufacturers stand to lose money, you will not hear anything of that idea.

Have you noticed that the media never even mentions Yemen? Or the fact that our presence in Syria is still illegal under international law? They have not mentioned the Kurds at all unless there is the suggestion of ending one of our wars.

Turkey has had an ongoing attack against the Kurds for quite some time now. While US troops have been present in northern Syria. Has our presence helped the Kurds? Have we defended them? No, unless you consider that Turkish…