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President Donald Trump has justified his abandonment of Syrian Kurdish allies in part because the Kurds “didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us with [the D-Day landings in] Normandy.” To be fair to Trump, the Kurds are also guilty of failing to help the United States defeat the imperial Japanese army. That said, if Trump wants to get technical, the Kurds did oppose Reza Shah in Iran, whom US and British forces ultimately ousted for his Nazi sympathies. And, when US, British, and Soviet forces occupied a corridor in Iran to help supply the Soviet Union, the local Kurds assisted. But let’s not allow facts to get in the way.
But, since Trump has established ‘Normandy rules’ as the new precedent, it’s time to render the verdict of history and give other American allies fair warning. Remember, I’m a historian by training and get paid to predict the past. I provide the following with both humility and with my great and unmatched wisdom:
: The Taiwanese failed to support the Americans against the British during the Revolutionary War. Therefore, it shall be the position of the United States to abandon them to any Chinese invasion.
Why is the United States spending billions of dollars maintaining the armistice between North and South Korea? After all, last I checked, the South Koreans were absent when we liberated Grenada from the Soviets and Cubans.
The Israelis demand a qualitative military edge to protect them against existential threats. But, where were the Israelis when the British burned the White House in the War of 1812?
Estonia may be a member of NATO and expect to share in collective defense, but when Mexicans were besieging the Alamo, did the Estonians come to Davy Crockett’s defense? Estonians should understand that they are at fault for bordering Russia for centuries.
I mean America’s traditional allies no ill–will, but the Trump doctrine demands historical accountability, and so, for the sake of warnings to American allies, I happily provide it.
Since Trump has established ‘Normandy rules’ as the new precedent, it’s time to render the verdict of history and give other American allies fair warning.
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