Letters to the Editor: This isn’t the first time Trump has acted in Turkey’s interest

To the editor: Jonah Goldberg glibly concludes that President Trump was “simply winging it” when he green-lit Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria and betrayed our Kurdish allies. This fails to connect the dots.

Trump, in fact, has consistently aligned our foreign policy with Russian and Turkish interests. Lest we forget, Trump’s first national security advisor, Michael Flynn, was an unregistered paid agent for Turkey.

Moreover, it has been reported that, in 2017, Trump requested then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to pressure the Justice Department to dismiss pending federal criminal charges against a Turkish national with close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The defendant was accused of laundering billions of dollars in an effort to evade sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program.

Tillerson reportedly refused Trump’s request, telling then-Chief of Staff John Kelly it was “illegal.”

This incident clearly foreshadowed Trump’s recent capitulation to Turkey, which has strengthened Russia’s hand in Syria.

Mark E. Kalmansohn, Santa Monica

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To the editor: A century ago, World War I was to be the “war to end all wars.” It did not turn out that way. Instead, we are involved in more and more wars with devastating results.

It’s time for a change, and it seems our president would rather wage economic wars using sanctions as our weapon. It could be more effective and produce much fewer deaths and injuries.

Perhaps Trump is onto something.

George Epstein, Los Angeles

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To the editor: What is wrong with Trump?

He takes a phone call from his friend Erdogan and proceeds to initiate a new human rights catastrophe against our very own allies. And now, his go-to solution in his attempt to placate those who are outraged is sanctions.

He tosses out sanctions as if they were paper towels in Puerto Rico, as if they were superlatives he applies to himself. A stable genius, indeed.

Nancy Kreile, Bonsall, Calif.