For U.S. soldiers, ‘it’s a dagger to the heart’ to abandon the Kurds

By David Ignatius
Columnist
Oct. 14, 2019 at 7:26 p.m. EDT

At a gathering last Saturday night of military and intelligence veterans, one topic shrouded the room: President Trump’s decision to abandon Kurdish fighters in Syria who had fought and died to help America destroy the Islamic State.

“It’s a dagger to the heart to walk away from people who shed blood for us,” one former top CIA official who attended the black-tie dinner told me later. A retired four-star general who was there said the same thing: Trump’s retreat was an “unsound, morally indefensible act” and a “disgrace” to America and the soldiers who serve this country.

This sense of anguish was pervasive among those attending the event, several attendees said. It was an annual dinner honoring the Office of Strategic Services, the secret World War II commando group that was a forerunner of today’s CIA and Special Operations forces. The event celebrated the military alliances that have always been at the center of American power. It was a bitter anniversary this year.

It’s probably impossible for Americans to fully grasp the sense of betrayal felt by the Syrian Kurds, who suffered 11,000 dead and 24,000 wounded in a war that we asked them to fight. But perhaps we can understand the shame and outrage of the Special Operations forces who fought alongside them and now see the Kurds cast aside to face their Turkish enemies alone.

“It will go down in infamy,” said one Army officer who served in the Syria campaign. “This will go down as a stain on the American reputation for decades.” Those may sound like extreme sentiments, but they’re widely shared by those who served in the Syria mission. For these soldiers, abandoning an ally on the battlefield is about the worst thing that can happen.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-us-soldiers-its-a-dagger-to-the-heart-to-abandon-the-kurds/2019/10/14/f0a1db60-eecf-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html

BUSINESS NEWS AUGUST 19, 2019 / 7:23 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

UK's Johnson puts health service off limits in potential U.S. trade deal: report

(Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is putting the National Health Service (NHS) off limits in any trade deal with the United States, the Sun newspaper reported.

"The Prime Minister has asked me to underline that measures affecting the NHS, including service provision and drug pricing, cannot under any circumstances form part of an agreement with the United States," a letter from Johnson's senior staff to Trade Secretary Liz Truss's office said, according to the report. bit.ly/2ZfwdG2

The letter continued that there should be no internal discussion of the issues within the government. Johnson fears the Labour Party would use any suggestion that NHS access is up for grabs to its electoral advantage, the article said.

U.S President Donald Trump had said in June that Britain’s public health service should be on the table in talks about a trade deal between the two countries after Brexit but later backtracked on his comments.

Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

Republican groups vow to stop buying Twitter ads until McConnell campaign account is unfrozen


By Felicia Sonmez
August 8 at 1:14 PM

A move by Twitter to freeze the account of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) campaign has prompted a backlash by President Trump’s campaign and national Republican groups, who have vowed to stop buying ads on the social media platform until the account is unfrozen.

On Wednesday, Twitter locked McConnell’s campaign account from further activity as punishment for its sharing of a video of protesters screaming obscenities outside the Kentucky Republican’s home. The social media company said it will not unlock @Team_Mitch unless it agrees to remove the video.

Officials for the Trump campaign, the National Republican Committee, and the Republican Senate and House campaign arms accused Twitter of bias and tweeted Thursday that their organizations are withholding their advertising dollars until the issue is resolved.

“#MassacreMitch trended on @Twitter for a full day, and they did nothing,” Kevin McLaughlin, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a tweet. “Someone threatens to stab the Majority Leader, @TeamMitch posts the video and THEY get locked out. @NRSC is not spending $ until this is adequately addressed.”

Richard Walters, chief of staff for the RNC, shared McLaughlin’s post and added: “The @GOP and @TeamTrump stand with the @Team_Mitch and the @NRSC. Any future ad $ either organization was planning to spend with @Twitter has been halted until they address this disgusting bias.”

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