A letter President Trump wrote earlier this month warning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to not “be a tough guy” or a “fool” in his actions against the Kurds was reportedly thrown away by the Turkish president.
In a letter dated Oct. 9th, Mr. Trump attempted to convince Mr. Erdogan to stop his offensive on the Kurds by offering to “work out a good deal.”
“You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy - and I will,” Mr. Trump wrote. “History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen.”
The BBC reported “President Erdogan received the letter, thoroughly rejected it and put it in the bin.”
The British news network said Mr. Trump’s mixture of threats and banter angered Mr. Erdogan, and he launched an attack against the Kurds that same day.
Mr. Trump withdrew U.S. troops from northern Syria earlier this month, leaving American-allied Kurdish fighters vulnerable to a Turkish offensive.
Despite Mr. Trump saying Wednesday the fight is “not our problem,” Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday seeking a cease-fire.
Both the House and the Senate condemned Mr. Trump’s removal of troops from the region.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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