William K. Black
October 9, 2019 Kansas City, MO
The most betrayed people in the world are likely the Kurds. They have the misfortune to live in a particularly violent region dispersed among five nation states – Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Armenia. They are a large ethnic group (the fourth largest in their region). They are overwhelmingly Sunni. Kurds have tried to be a nation, and the West betrayed them. Kurds have tried to develop ‘home rule’ within the nation states they inhabit, and everyone betrayed them. The majority population of each of the nation states they inhabit tends to despise Kurds as non-Arabs or fake Turks. Turkey pretends they do not exist and calls them “mountain Turks.”
The Kurds are generally proficient fighters, and that includes many of their young women. The U.S. allied with Syrian Kurds in the fight against ISIS. There are many criticisms one can make about civilian deaths, but the success of the Kurd/American alliance in Syria from the American perspective rates a word such as “astonishing.” The Kurds did almost all the dying in this alliance, and their losses were severe. Naturally, our betrayer in chief, Donald Trump, decided to betray the Kurds. This would hand a strategic victory to three tyrants – the autocrats ruling Syria, Turkey, and Russia. It would also remove the alliance ISIS fears most. Trump’s betrayal thrilled four entities hostile to America (and Israel) and demonstrated that America’s promises to those who shed substantial blood in our alliances are worthless.
This is Trump’s second attempt to betray the Kurds that has become public. General Mattis took credit for reversing the first public betrayal. In retrospect, the word ‘delaying’ may be more accurate. President Erdogan reportedly induced Trump’s most recent betrayal. Turkey’s autocratic leader exposed again how craven and weak Trump is when he bullied and bluffed Trump into betraying the Kurds.
The Republican Party is now so bizarre and pathetic that its House and Senate ‘leaders’ are overjoyed to be able to ‘prove their independence from Trump’ by opposing Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds and his gift to ISIS and the trio of autocrats running Turkey, Syria, and Russia. The Republican ‘leaders’ have been silent, cowardly sycophants on Trump’s indefensible use of government power to attack his political rivals and whistleblowers. While Trump betrays the Kurds, the Republican ‘leaders’ betray America and their oaths of office. Now, Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds gives them a chance to ‘prove’ they are not toadies. Republican Representatives and Senators are tripping over each other in their eagerness to express their love for the Kurds.
Trump, meanwhile, is acting as the “Dark Triad” theorists predict. The Dark Triad of toxic personality traits combines psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism. Trump is the poster boy for the Dark Triad. When people with these toxic traits gain great power, they spiral out of control. Trump’s tweets trying to excuse his betrayal of the Kurds contained Trump’s self-promotion from his former self-awarded title of “very stable genius.” Trump pandered to Trump by self-praising “my great and unmatched wisdom.” Trump’s mission includes recurrently proving the truth of our family rule – it is impossible to compete with unintentional self-parody.
Postscript: Pat Robertson also exemplifies our family rule. He warns that Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds means Trump “is in great danger of losing the mandate of Heaven.” Like you, I missed the ceremony in which G-d awarded Trump “the mandate of Heaven” to rule the ‘Middle Kingdom.’ Perhaps we can see the ceremony soon on Netflix. It will be interesting to hear G-d speaking Mandarin Chinese to Trump. I hope there are subtitles. Who knew Robertson converted to Confucian precepts?
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