Bill Neely joined Velshi & Ruhle this afternoon to offer insight into the global diplomatic implications of Trump's decision to withdraw our troops from Syria. Ali Velshi introduced Hërr Twitler's tweets by saying they "seem to underscore that he does not understand the problem on the Turkey/Syrian border as it relates to isis fighters and the Kurds." Understatement of the day, that is. The REAL problem, of course, is that withdrawing our troops will allow the Turks to enter Syria, and capture and/or kill the Kurds, who are our only allies in the region fighting ISIS.
Neely explained the situation and its consequences in more urgent terms:
I think the bigger picture, and perhaps the most important thing is damage to America's reputation. You quoted Lindsey Graham calling this a stain on America on earth. When you got him and Nikki Haley saying leaving the Kurds to die is a big mistake, when you've got your former allies saying things like that, it is not a good day for president Trump.
Stephanie Ruhle asked if, indeed, anyone besides Senator Rand Paul was happy about this. The answer is a resounding NO. Then, Bill Neely took one of Trump's tweets, and explained how it demonstrated just how little this fake president knows about foreign policy. He made a devastating comparison to another case of spineless appeasement that took place across the pond in 1939.
There's a big difference, though, between Chamberlain and Trump (besides the capacity for speaking in full sentences.) Chamberlain pursued a policy of appeasement, disastrous though it was, because he thought it would work to keep England out of war — a way to keep the peace. Trump is withdrawing troops from Syria in order to induce chaos in the region, as a means of distraction from his impeachment troubles here at home. To him, the alleged benefit of a shifting focus is worth the cost of the loss of god-only-knows-how-many Kurdish lives and a resurgence of ISIS in the region, not to mention further destabilization of our relationships with our allies around the world.