SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing regarding federal regulations in the Roosevelt Room of the White House October 9, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
'Disgusting, Disgraceful': Fury as Trump Suggests Ditching Kurds Justified Because 'They Didn't Help Us With Normandy'
"Trump to the Kurds: 'Drop dead, because you didn't help us with Normandy.' Yes, really. This is real life."
Oct 10, 2019
In remarks that sparked outrage and left some critics at a loss for words, President Donald Trump on Wednesday attempted to justify his decision to abandon Kurdish forces in Syria by criticizing Kurds for not assisting the United States in World War II.
"As somebody wrote in a very powerful article today, they didn't help us in the Second World War, they didn't help us with Normandy, as an example," Trump said during a signing ceremony for unrelated executive orders. "They're there to help us with their land, and that's a different thing."
As The Daily Beast's Will Sommer pointed out, Trump's remarks appear to have been inspired by a Tuesday article written by right-wing columnist Kurt Schlichter.
British historian Akil N. Awan was quick to point out on Twitter that Kurds "DID fight on the Allied side in WW2."
"They helped break the siege following the 1941 pro-Nazi coup d'etat in Iraq and were part of the (pro-Allied) Iraq Levies," said Awan. "By 1942 Kurds made up 25% of the force. By 1943, 10 of the 44 companies comprising the Iraq Levies were Kurdish."
In addition to condemning the president's historical ignorance, critics also slammed Trump's comments as unspeakably cruel:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In remarks that sparked outrage and left some critics at a loss for words, President Donald Trump on Wednesday attempted to justify his decision to abandon Kurdish forces in Syria by criticizing Kurds for not assisting the United States in World War II.
"As somebody wrote in a very powerful article today, they didn't help us in the Second World War, they didn't help us with Normandy, as an example," Trump said during a signing ceremony for unrelated executive orders. "They're there to help us with their land, and that's a different thing."
As The Daily Beast's Will Sommer pointed out, Trump's remarks appear to have been inspired by a Tuesday article written by right-wing columnist Kurt Schlichter.
British historian Akil N. Awan was quick to point out on Twitter that Kurds "DID fight on the Allied side in WW2."
"They helped break the siege following the 1941 pro-Nazi coup d'etat in Iraq and were part of the (pro-Allied) Iraq Levies," said Awan. "By 1942 Kurds made up 25% of the force. By 1943, 10 of the 44 companies comprising the Iraq Levies were Kurdish."
In addition to condemning the president's historical ignorance, critics also slammed Trump's comments as unspeakably cruel:
In remarks that sparked outrage and left some critics at a loss for words, President Donald Trump on Wednesday attempted to justify his decision to abandon Kurdish forces in Syria by criticizing Kurds for not assisting the United States in World War II.
"As somebody wrote in a very powerful article today, they didn't help us in the Second World War, they didn't help us with Normandy, as an example," Trump said during a signing ceremony for unrelated executive orders. "They're there to help us with their land, and that's a different thing."
As The Daily Beast's Will Sommer pointed out, Trump's remarks appear to have been inspired by a Tuesday article written by right-wing columnist Kurt Schlichter.
British historian Akil N. Awan was quick to point out on Twitter that Kurds "DID fight on the Allied side in WW2."
"They helped break the siege following the 1941 pro-Nazi coup d'etat in Iraq and were part of the (pro-Allied) Iraq Levies," said Awan. "By 1942 Kurds made up 25% of the force. By 1943, 10 of the 44 companies comprising the Iraq Levies were Kurdish."
In addition to condemning the president's historical ignorance, critics also slammed Trump's comments as unspeakably cruel:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.