Aug 5, 2017 2 min read

President Donald Trump has made a deal with the devil in agreeing to end the CIA’s arming and training of rebel factions in Syria. And by “devil,” I am referring to none other than Vladimir Putin.

Since his inauguration six months ago, Trump has done his best to orient American foreign policy in a pro-Russian direction. This particular move gives a green light to Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and his Kremlin masters to continue their all-out assault to eliminate those who oppose his rule by mass murder. In the United Nations Security Council, Russian and Chinese vetoes prevent any meaningful action against the brutal regime in Damascus. The only peace that will come to Syria now is the silence that only death can bring. That is when Assad and Putin declare victory.

Sadly, human rights and support for those struggling for basic freedoms in the world now take a backseat in this administration to pleasing and appeasing Moscow. Trump’s firing of 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria, after Assad gassed innocent children, amounted to nothing more than meaningless bravado.

What do the Russians have on Trump that he so blindly does their bidding? Perhaps Special Counsel Robert Mueller will tell us someday, provided he, like FBI Director James Comey, is not fired by Trump. After all, why would White House lawyers be researching Trump’s pardoning powers if no crimes have been committed?

Rather than great, this president should concentrate on making America stand for something again.

Carl Haberl

Washington