DENNIS ROSS: Trump's abandonment of alliances makes the world a more dangerous place

Former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross says President Donald Trump's abandonment of alliances makes the world a more dangerous place, and his "betrayal" of the Kurds has left the world distrustful of Americans.

Ross, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says Trump does not like alliances. They require commitment, and commitments are incompatible with his idea of ​​narrow transactions that temporarily serve US interests.

He says that Trump, like isolationists in the 1920s and 1930s, sees no need for allies and does not want to have to fulfill his obligations.

Trump's worldview is that others must take care of themselves, and this applies even to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who have served US interests by bearing the brunt of fighting and death in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.

Let them fight
Ross says that Trump believes that the Islamic State has been defeated, and that Turkey and the Kurds are "natural enemies," so going out of their way and letting them fight is just natural.

He adds that ISIS prisoners are now fleeing Kurdish prisons, and that their dormant cells will exploit chaos and re-emerge as a threat, which means that Trump actually makes the world more dangerous.

By not paying attention to the spaces that are forming - especially in the Middle East - Trump could not understand that the worst forces were filling those spaces.

No wonder then that Russia, Iran and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are now trying to fill these gaps.

A common goal
The article suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei share the same goal of driving the United States out of the region.

But the danger is not only that US adversaries will take advantage of the opportunities created by the withdrawal of Americans, but that there is something more insidious in the theater.

Ross said it was not surprising that Putin had visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last week, and even denied there was any evidence that the Iranians were responsible for the attack on Saudi Aramco.

"Putin was even more like a mafia leader. He offered Saudi Arabia to sell S-400 missiles, which, if bought, would become Russia, not the United States, that would make the Iranians limit their threats."

He points out that Russia's military intervention in Syria and its ability to make life difficult for the Iranians could lend credence to Putin's message, even if there are few signs that he really wants to limit Iranian influence.

Putin's Movements
As for the Trump administration, the record at this point speaks for itself. Attacks by Iranian or Iranian oil tankers, Saudi Arabian airspace, attacks on US bases in Iraq, the downing of an American drone, and the bombing of a Saudi oil facility responsible for producing 5.5% of the world's oil and 50 % Of the daily production of Saudis did not lead to any appropriate US response.

On the contrary, President Trump has declared that the United States does not get oil from the Gulf, so others should be held responsible for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, unlike the policies of his Democratic and Republican predecessors.

Moreover, Trump justified not responding to Aramco's attack by saying it was an attack on Saudi Arabia and not an attack on the Americans.

He adds that after Trump abandoned the Kurds, who will depend on the United States to be his ally? He says that an Arab friend told him that many in the region now say that "if you rely on American cover, you are naked."

Allies and betrayal
He criticizes Trump for not responding to the Iranian attack on Aramco and for giving Erdogan the green light to intervene in Syria. He says the world is living without diplomatic bases.

He says no one knows where tens of thousands of Kurds will be in the safe area Turkey is seeking to establish in northern Syria, and no one knows whether the Kurds will leave the area on time.

The article points out that Trump left the fate of the Kurds to Turkey, Russia, Iran and the tyrant Assad.

Since Americans cannot fill the gaps in the world alone, the United States needs local allies and partners, Rossi says, but it has become more difficult because Americans' lack of credibility makes others wary of allying with them.

Ross concludes that if the United States does not want to act as the world's policeman to prevent gaps, it must find ways to recruit allies and regional partners who will share the burden, only through friends who believe they can ally with the Americans without being betrayed.