Brett McGurkVerified account
@brett_mcgurk
Payne Distinguished Lecturer @Stanford. Foreign Affairs Analyst @NBCNews/@MSNBC. Former Presidential Envoy. Served under Bush, Obama, Trump. Dad. @CarnegieMEC.
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Today was my last day at the State Department. I wish my former civilian and military colleagues well as they work under extremely difficult circumstances to protect the interests of our great country. It was a privilege to serve alongside them.
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Raqqa. the Islamic State's capital for three years before US & SDF forces drove it out, is back under Syrian government control - witnesses. Military vehicles driving around.
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It either shows Erdogan defying a clear warning from the President of the United States (doubtful), or it shows a President who was totally unprepared and impervious to the real-world consequence of making national security decisions without considered thought or consultation.
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Given the predictable consequences now unfolding before the entire world, if it’s true that Trump warned Erdogan not to invade northeast Syria, release the transcript of the call. Let’s see.
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Even two days into the attack, ALL of our western allies in the UN Security Council stood in solidarity to condemn it. The US was notably absent. Why?https://twitter.com/ukun_newyork/status/1182352751273086977?s=21 …
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The US military was hailing the joint cooperation with Turkey in this very stretch of border just one day before Trump spoke with Erdogan. Trump clearly never backed up this effort.https://twitter.com/us_eucom/status/1180429514561769472?s=21 …
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US forces then immediately withdrew from the border. US officials in Syria had to inform the SDF they were on their own. This despite the SDF having removed all defenses from the border region (at US request) on assurance that Turkey would NOT attack.
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Here is the statement from Sunday night with no warning whatsoever. That’s called a green light.
pic.twitter.com/uf5I2Ni5r3
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Trump administration officials are working overtime to say he never gave the green light to this disastrous gift to ISIS, Russia, and Iran. I don’t envy them. But it’s demonstrably false:
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The UN has warned that reported summary executions of civilians in northeastern Syria carried out by pro-Turkish fighters could amount to a "war crime" and that Ankara could be "deemed responsible"http://u.afp.com/JDmp
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Video scenes from Manbij
#Syria this morning. US troops out of base, Russia comes in. Putin & Assad making most gains out of US withdrawal &#Turkey operation:pic.twitter.com/PyjYbdVfwaShow this threadThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo -
Russians are in abruptly abandoned US military facilities in Manbij, the town where ISIS planned and launched terror attacks into Europe. Erdogan long threatened to attack Manbij after ISIS was defeated there. Will he do so? No, because Putin will say no.https://twitter.com/bakerluke/status/1184030965812879360?s=21 …
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Worth emphasising the scale of the disaster Trump has wrought in the week since his call with Erdogan. 1. Revived Isis. 2. Cemented Assad’s grip on Syria. 3. Handed Russia yet another geopolitical windfall. 4. Betrayed the Kurds. 5. Immeasurably harmed US power. Thread 1.
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Spent two days at a conference in UAE where the split screen of Trump’s shambolic withdrawal from Syria and Putin’s state visit here and across the Middle East is searing perceptions of a new balance of power in the world.pic.twitter.com/TS31zmnqBJ
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NEW: Turkish-backed proxy forces with ties to extremist groups are deliberately releasing detainees affiliated with the Islamic State from unguarded prisons, two U.S. officials tell
@ForeignPolicy https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/14/turkish-backed-forces-freeing-islamic-state-prisoners-syria/ …@laraseligmanThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo -
Here is what I wrote ten months ago in the
@washingtonpost about the risks of these groups entering NE Syria. Most presidents would have wanted a serious expert and intelligence briefing before taking that call. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-said-hed-stay-in-syria-to-beat-isis-instead-hes-giving-it-new-life/2019/01/17/a25a00cc-19cd-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html …pic.twitter.com/U3QQ49xOAU
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Question: did Trump not understand the well-known nature and makeup of the forces Turkey would be bringing into NE Syria? From the infamous WH statement last Sunday green-lighting Turkey’s attack, clearly not.
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“Videos posted on social media showing at least one execution-style killing have called into question the discipline of the soldiers engaged in Turkey’s near week-long effort .... and almost certainly constitute a war crime.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkish-led-forces-film-themselves-executing-a-kurdish-captive-in-syria/2019/10/13/22e11198-ed9c-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html?outputType=amp#click=https://t.co/5Xj6HLtrZk …
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“Although ‘the Turks gave guarantees to us’ that US forces would not be harmed, Syrian militias allied with them ‘are running up and down roads, ambushing and attacking vehicles,’ The militias, known as the Free Syrian Army, ‘are crazy and not reliable.’”https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-orders-withdrawal-of-us-forces-from-northern-syria-days-after-pentagon-downplays-possibility/2019/10/13/83087baa-edbb-11e9-b2da-606ba1ef30e3_story.html …
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@brett_mcgurk foreshadowed this in a Jan 18 op-ed: "To maintain stability, the SDF may have no choice but to reach accommodation with Damascus to come under the umbrella of the Syrian state. This unfortunate outcome may be necessary to avoid a strategic and humanitarian debacle"https://twitter.com/John_Hudson/status/1183503854584958978 …Show this threadThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo -
Bottom line: it’s shameful to leave partners to their fate and the mercies of hostile actors with no thought, plan or process in place. I wish my former SDF colleagues the best as they find new patrons. We won a war together. That’s something nobody can take away from us.
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MrRevinsky 
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