 This week Donald Trump is learning the hard way that actions have consequences and with every action you take There's going to be a reaction and it was evident that in the event the US Moved out of northern Syria Turkey was going to invade and Donald Trump announced that in spite of the risks, he'd be moving out of northern Syria and Turkey did exactly what we expected them to do Invade and now there is a lot of death and destruction as a direct result of Donald Trump just making a decision seemingly on a whim So as Darren Butler and Orhan Koskin of Reuters report Turkey pounded Kurdish militia in northeast Syria for a second day on Thursday forcing tens of thousands of people to flee and Killing at least dozens of people in a cross-border assault on US allies that has turned the Washington establishment Against President Donald Trump the offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces SDF led by Kurdish YPG Militia which began days after Trump pulled US troops out of the way and following a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan Opens one of the biggest new fronts in years in an eight-year-old civil war that has drawn in global powers The SDF said Turkish airstrikes and shelling had also killed nine civilians in an apparent retaliation by Kurdish Led forces six people including a nine-month-old baby were killed by mortar and rocket fire into Turkish border towns Officials in southeastern Turkey said the international rescue committee said 64,000 people in Syria have fled since the campaign began now because I like to put human faces to crises like this because I think it's a Good way of showing how certain things affects human beings in a really concrete way I want to play a clip from CNN International Where they kind of show you the chaos that's unfolding and how many people are currently trying to flee the area This is about a day and a half old But nonetheless it still kind of gives you a sense of what's going on and the terror that a lot of people are feeling We're here on the road out of the town of Ras al-Ain and as you can see it is a chaotic situation The streets roads just choked full of cars filled with families Desperate to get out of here none of them understanding Exactly what is going on what has happened? What the intention of this Turkish military strikes are we saw at least six Big plumes of black smoke with our own eyes at least one building that appeared to be on fire And these people are now fleeing to try to get to safety But they don't know exactly where safety might be and let's just take a talk and chat to these people quickly Salam alaikum marhaba, how are you? Where are you? I'm sorry, I'm sorry Are you afraid? They're saying that they're frightened for the children and you can imagine why look at the sky. It's thick with black smoke There have been strikes for the last couple of hours Can in front of him in for jarad can Oh So they're saying there were many different explosions She's a there were many Explosions that was coming from shelling artillery. They're now trying to get out But the army went through here a lot And they don't know where they're going or where they might be able to sleep tonight Clarissa Ward, CNN outside Ras al-Ain, Syria So people are scared Thousands are fleeing and now people are dying and we are seeing a Confrontation between the Kurds and Turkey and as the Reuters article pointed out it's drying in global powers So let me just stress here that this is a very complex Issue that requires nuance. This isn't just Pro-war anti-war, you know if you're anti-war then pull out if you're pro-war stay in This goes deeper than that This is an issue that is tricky, right? Because if you are against war if you are against war because you think that it's immoral because it causes death and destruction Then it makes sense to want to pull out But it's kind of counterintuitive to suggest that maybe we should stay there if that means technically we're an occupying force That's there illegally to begin with but you know someone who I really respect Noom Chomsky actually argued that US troops should stay in Syria in order to protect the Kurds And if you're anti-war and acknowledged that we shouldn't be involved in every single country Then it seems counterintuitive to support this it seems like a little bit contradictory for an anti-war advocate like Noom Chomsky to say this But here's the thing you have to think why do we not like war to begin with? Because whenever there's a war there's a guarantee that there will be death Destruction and human suffering. It's all about human beings. We don't want sentient beings to suffer and that's why we are against war and What I usually say because you know what a lot of people do is they make the case for war on humanitarian grounds And that's really difficult to argue against because people don't understand that humanitarian wars don't exist Right if they did then I would be advocating for us to be Peacekeeping forces to protect the Rohingya and Uyghurs, but that's just not a reality like most times when the US military Intervenes in a country. We always make matters worse. So if there's a humanitarian crisis, we end up leading to more Destruction and death but in this instance in this unique complex instance the US's presence Even if it was illegal was actually stopping death and destruction Which means that we have to think more deeply. We can't just be you know anti-war and pro-war in this instance We have to be driven by a desire to protect human life And in this instance if we have evidence that withdrawing troops from northern Syria would lead to a possible Genocide and what's happening now that I think that the humanitarian and us even if we are instinctively anti-war Should do what protects life and that means staying in northern Syria while Maintaining the position that we should get out as soon as possible But not do it in an idiotic way like Donald Trump and not even try to set up some type of long-term Continuancy plan so because I personally am guided by a desire to protect human life I am gonna have to side with Chomsky here I think that you know to prevent genocide from happening to prevent what's happening now from happening the troops should have stayed there I'll be it temporarily until we figure something else out, but it doesn't matter, you know, that's kind of That's all said and done right it doesn't matter what we want because Donald Trump already made the decision It was a hasty decision that was essentially I'm assuming anyways influenced by a phone call He had with type air to one and now we're to a point where you know We're looking at even more death and destruction because he pulled out You know what was largely viewed as the anti-war move is going to lead to more war, you know, which which is weird It's it's why this situation requires, you know more nuance and more deep thinking here now Donald Trump tweeted We have one of three choices send in thousands of troops and win militarily hit turkey very hard financially with sanctions Or mediate a deal between turkey and the Kurds. So think about what this has led to he is Vocalizing his intent to possibly escalate With the NATO ally and this isn't just going to be like a dispute between the United States and turkey Like this will draw in global powers If you think that Israel and Saudi Arabia and Russia won't be involved then, you know, you're naive So the situation now is Worse than anyone could have imagined. I've been a longtime advocate of saying we need to get out of all these countries But that doesn't mean that we just do it willy-nilly without a plan and we do it idiotically like you can't just withdraw And you know Not expect any negative repercussions Now it's going to be the case that a lot of ISIS fighters could be freed As the Kurds have to turn their attention to turkey and now this could involve a dispute between the United States and turkey It's it's a disaster staying there was a better option than Conflict with turkey potentially, which is why, you know anti-war individuals are sympathetic towards this position that may be staying in at least temporarily until we figure out a better plan and get UN peacekeeping sources there Was the preferable move and now it's just a complete disaster. It's a clusterfuck And a potential nightmare situation. It's already a nightmare scenario, right? But it could get worse if global powers start really Having a proxy war here um So I'll leave that there. We are looking at, you know a situation where we're far worse off And donald trump may escalate with turkey now and you know, he can argue that He's doing it because he wants to protect the Kurds, but we all know that donald trump doesn't care about genocide He vetoed the bill that would have ended the united states' complicity in the yemeni genocide Saudi arabia is genocide in yemen, so he doesn't care But now we have this manchild Potentially navigating, you know a really huge conflict now We don't know how this is going to play out, right? But i'm just telling you pay attention Because if you're anti-war then we may get more war now because of what donald trump did So it's not good enough to just say i'm a non interventionist. I'm anti-war. He needs to understand How to navigate foreign policy He needs to have a coherent ideology politically and a strategy and know about the complex geopolitical issues going on in these regions So that way he can stop Why we all care about stopping wars to begin with stop death and destruction. That's the goal So if he's not going to do that then being anti-war effectively is pointless So we'll just you know, we'll pay attention to this and watch but um I'm not optimistic now. This looks like it's it's turning into a horrible situation