Kentucky’s Second District Congressman says the pause in fighting between Turkey and Kurdish forces in Syria is an important step in restoring some degree of order to the region.
Bowling Green Republican Brett Guthrie voted in favor of a non-binding resolution this week in the U.S. House condemning President Trump’s sudden pullout of American forces from Syria.
The resolution also condemned Turkey for invading Syria shortly after Trump announced the withdrawal.
But Congressman Guthrie says the decision announced Thursday by Turkey to temporarily halt its incursion will allow some of the Syrian refugees in Turkey to return to their native country.
“If they’re not fighting, then it gives us a chance to negotiate a solution, where there needs to be an area, a safe zone in northern Syrian, where Syrians can go home and be hopefully a part of building a better future for that country," Rep. Guthrie said.
NPR reported this week that the invasion by Turkey has led to a humanitarian crisis, with humanitarian organizations estimatingthat at least 100,000 civilians have been displaced.
One former Trump envoy called the sudden withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria "haphazard" and "almost unprecedented."
Turkey is home to millions of Syrian refugees who fled into the country to escape the terrorist group ISIS.
Critics of the president’s withdrawal say it’s a betrayal of America’s Kurdish allies, and could lead to a resurgence of ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
An estimated 10,000 ISIS prisonersare being held by Kurdish forces in Syria, and this week’s developments have led to concerns those prisoners could escape or be released.
Rep. Guthrie says that can’t happen.
“What needs to be a criteria is that we do maintain the ISIS prisoners, and we make sure that as ISIS moves, that they don’t reform and gather geographic territory.”
Guthrie represents a district in Kentucky that, in addition to Bowling Green, also includes Elizabethtown, Ft. Knox, Glasgow, and Owensboro.
