US President Donald Trump has come under accusations that his foreign policy regarding Turkey and Syria is being influenced by his personal business interests.
In late 2019 the US ordered troops in Northern Syria to withdraw. They had been in place and had been working alongside Kurdish forced to defeat ISIS in the region. The Kurds have since carved out an autonomous enclave in the region known as Rojava. The Kurdish people, spread across Northern Iraq, Iran, South-Eastern Turkey and Northern Syria, are without a homeland – but have been involved in a long running, both peaceful and violent, struggle to achieve independence.
Since the US withdrawal from Rojava the Turkish state has moved in with a ground invasion and a large scale aerial bombardment of the region. Many say that the Turks fear the Kurds will use the enclave as a base for operations in Turkey.
It has now been questioned though as to why Trump favoured removing US influence in Rojava when such a move would have little strategic or military benefit. Leading some to claim the choice was made due to Trump's personal business interests in Turkey and that the retreat is a geopolitical win for both ISIS and Russia.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told Insider:
"It's hard to explain Trump's actions in Syria through the prism of what's best for American national security … So, we're searching for other explanations. What we know is that the president has business interests in Turkey."
The senator then went on to demand Trump release his tax returns, something that has been demanded for years, even before Trump was elected. The senator went on to say:
"The American people deserve to know the extent of the president's business interests overseas so that we know whether he's making foreign policy decisions in the best interests of the country or in the best interests of his family, bottom line."
In a 2015 interview with right-wing Breitbart, often blamed for 'fake news', Trump did state he wanted little to do with the conflict in Syria or to meddle in Turkish affairs as he said:
"I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul … It's a tremendously successful job. It's called Trump Towers — two towers, instead of one, not the usual one, it's two."
We also know that Turkish business magnate Aydin Dogan owns the Trump building in Turkey and that he invested $400 million in the Trump project. Something Ivanka Trump has tweeted about:
Thank you Prime Minister Erdogan for joining us yesterday to celebrate the launch of #TrumpTowers Istanbul!
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) April 20, 2012
Likewise, Mehmet Ali Yalcindag, Dogan's son-in-law, who is the president of the Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK), has a business relationship with the Trump organisation. He said in an interview last year that he hoped business people would alleviate tensions between Turkey and the US regarding politics in the Middle-East.
Jared Kushner Trump's son-in-law is also believed to be in frequent direct communication with the son-in-law of Erdogan, Berat Albayrak, who married the Turkish president's daughter in 2004. Kushner took a five day tour of Turkey with the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, to promote expanded trade between the US and Turkey when others in the US were calling for sanctions after Turkey bought a new weapons system from Russia. John Bolton who was formerly Trump's defence secretary, has also said explicitly that he believes Trump's actions regarding Northern Syria are due to a "a personal or business relationship" within the country. Bolton has just released a book revealing his time assisting the Oval Office.
What is clear though, is that until Trump reveals his tax returns and business interests, almost nothing will be known as to the extent of his personal involvement in Turkey. Turkey is the world's leading jailer of journalists and has been seen under the rule of President Recep Erdogan to be heading down an authoritarian and Islamist route.
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