Nicholas Danforth

@NicholasDanfort

Senior Policy Analyst, Bipartisan Policy Center. Mideast Politics. Turkey. Maps. Historical Randomness. Retweets are not endorsements nor necessarily sarcastic.

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Joined November 2012
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    Nov 27

    2 replies 5 retweets 15 likes
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  2. 31 minutes ago

    As far as bad strategies go, let’s also remember Ankara’s proposal was for the YPG to join under the opposition to fight Assad. How would that have worked out?

    Replying to @NicholasDanfort
    The underlying idea that Syrian Kurds bet on the wrong horse is kind of hilariously stupid though. How are they worse off now than they were in late 2014.
    3 likes
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  3. Retweeted
    53 minutes ago
    Replying to

    No. The solution is to help Kurds get the best deal possible from Damascus and preclude any Turkish invasion of Kurdish regions or N Syria.

    2 replies 2 retweets 7 likes
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  4. 1 hour ago

    And now, with the threat of a military conflict between two NATO members on Turkey’s *southern* border suddenly gone...

    Today: A few hours after Turkish fighter jets flew over the Greek island of Kastelorizo in the Aegean, a second pair was recorded over the Greek islet of…
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    1 reply 1 retweet 3 likes
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  5. 2 hours ago

    the speed with which we've switched from a poorly-planned presence in syria to a poorly-planned withdrawal truly is remarkable.

    3 retweets 8 likes
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  6. Retweeted
    3 hours ago

    No, , just unfortunate timing. US govt tried to sell Patriots to for years. State needed congressional approval for negotiating leverage, given Turkish complaints Hill won't authorise sale. Congress expects Patriot sale won't occur if Turks buy Russian S-400s.

    Did Trump cut a deal for Erdogan to buy Patriot missiles in return for US withdrawal from Syria? Jonathan Alterman of ⁦⁩: “It would be disturbing if a strategic gesture was made for commercial reasons.”
    1 reply 5 retweets 9 likes
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  7. Retweeted
    17 hours ago

    Also, before you offer your “we sold out the Kurds” take, ask yourself: a) Would I have totally supported Turkey’s brutal suppression of the Kurds in the 80s & 90s? b) Isn’t it a little condescending to suggest the Kurds blindly trusted us after all the times we sold them out?

    8 replies 9 retweets 30 likes
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  8. Retweeted
    17 hours ago

    Specifically, no one knows if: a) this was actually part of some deal w Erdogan b) Turkey will invade or the YPG will make a deal w Assad first. But please, continue confidently speculating.

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  9. 4 hours ago

    And perhaps c)

    Replying to @NicholasDanfort
    The underlying idea that Syrian Kurds bet on the wrong horse is kind of hilariously stupid though. How are they worse off now than they were in late 2014.
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  10. 4 hours ago

    Seems like a million years ago but: “there is no way Washington would let Turkey buy both [the Patriots and the S-400].”

    My latest “Ankara and US Congress at a decisive crossroads over missile capabilities” with expert comments
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    1 retweet 4 likes
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  11. 5 hours ago

    Look I agree there were clearly people with a wildly unrealistic idea of what US support could do for them. But let’s not pretend there were good options either.

    4 replies 2 retweets 27 likes
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  12. Retweeted
    20 hours ago

    Update: who the hell knows

    1 reply 8 retweets 30 likes
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  13. 5 hours ago

    Basically, why didn’t you all just politely assimilate decades ago. Or at least let ISIS wipe you out in 2014?

    5 replies 41 retweets 76 likes
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  14. 5 hours ago

    I don’t disagree about Trumps legacy but it’s worth noting US officials have spent the last few years repeatedly saying our cooperation with the YPG was temporary, tactical and exclusively focused on ISIS.

    US' Syria pullout further proof American foreign policy will be weighed down by Trump's legacy for decades. No ally, partner, or adversary, for that matter, will easily trust US commitments again. Whoever his successor, all now realize US public will happy vote for know-nothings.
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    3 replies 2 retweets 11 likes
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  15. Retweeted
    23 hours ago

    Are any Iraqi Kurds surprised that the US is leaving Syrian Kurds to Erdogan or is it just foreign commentators?

    5 replies 8 retweets 18 likes
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  16. 16 hours ago

    I somehow suspect many of the people excusing Saudi war crimes in Yemen today would have done the same for Turkey when it was destroying Kurdish villages in the 80s.

    You have also betrayed the Kurds who have fought and died alongside US forces against ISIS. No one will trust us again. Nor should they.
    3 replies 2 retweets 7 likes
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  17. Retweeted
    18 hours ago

    Check out our interactive map! Done in collaboration with the Mapping the Mahjar in the Mashriq: How Migration Shaped Lebanon

    1 reply 16 retweets 28 likes
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  18. Retweeted
    19 hours ago

    Ofc everything is always about America all the time, but worth pointing out that a lot of ordinary Syrians living in places in east and northeast Syria are terrified that either Assad or ISIS will be back after US leaves. Not that fate of Syrians ever mattered to US policymakers.

    4 replies 93 retweets 137 likes
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  19. Retweeted
    Dec 19

    I don’t think Washington “owed” the YPG an indefinite military presence in Syria, but it did owe them a competent decision making process and a well planned withdrawal

    Staying and leaving both had their risks and benefits. Now the White House is poised to get the worst of both
    4 replies 16 retweets 40 likes
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