Kayyem: 'We Have Completely Abandoned The Kurds'

Trump on Turkey — President Donald Trump, left, followed by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, leaves the podium after speaking about the ceasefire in Syria with Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington. The president was also joined by White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien.

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

October 23, 2019

Updated August 07, 2023

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he is lifting all sanctions on Turkey. Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem joined Boston Public Radio to discuss this decision and how it affects the Kurdish-Turkish conflict.

"We have completely abandoned the Kurds, letting the Turks and Syrians stabilize a border that will clearly include the death of lots of Kurds, because that's what the Turks want," she said. "This is exactly what Donald Trump and Turkey wanted."

Kayyem said that lifting the sanctions on Turkey was part of Trump's plan in the long run.

"This was the story line all along," she said. "This satisfies the economic interests of Russia, Turkey and Trump."

Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.