>>> AS WE SAID, TONIGHT IN NORTHERN SYRIA FIGHTING
CONTINUES ALONG THE BORDER WITH
TURKEY DESPITE YESTERDAY’S
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SO-CALLED
CEASE-FIRE AND THE PRESIDENT’S
INSISTENCE THAT THE OCCURRED ARE
"HAPPY."
"HAPPY." NBC NEWS CHIEF FOREIGN
CORRESPONDENT RICHARD ENGEL IS
ON THE GROUND THERE FOR US.
>> Reporter: WE’RE TALKING TO
KURDISH LEADERS, WE’RE TALKING
TO KURDISH PEOPLE.
FRANKLY THEY ARE LISTENING TO
PRESIDENT TRUMP, HANGING ON
EVERY WORD, BECAUSE THEY KNOW
THEIR FATE RIGHT NOW IS STILL IN
THE UNITED STATES’ HANDS, AND
THEY ARE DISGUSTED.
THEY THINK THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP
IS TREATING WHAT IS HAPPENING TO
THEM LIKE SOME SORT OF JOKE.
THEY HAVE BEEN INSULTED.
THEY HAVE HAD THIS ENTIRE
CONFLICT BRUSHED OFF AS TWO KIDS
FIGHTING IN A SANDBOX.
THE KURDS HERE RIGHT NOW SAY
THEY’RE FACING ETHNIC CLEANSING.
>> OF THE PRESIDENT’S ACTIONS,
OUR NEXT GUEST PUT IT THIS WAY,
AND WE QUOTE, DONALD J. TRUMP,
TRYING TO BLUSTER HIS WAY
THROUGH THE MOST DISASTROUS
FOREIGN POLICY DEBACLE OF HIS
PRESIDENCY SEEMED TO SPIT ON THE
GRAVES OF MORE THAN 10,000 KURDS
WHO DIED FIGHTING TO DEFEAT THE
SO-CALLED ISLAMIC STATE.
BACK WITH US TODAY IS
CHRISTOPHER DICKIE, FERN FOREIGN
CORRESPONDENT AND JOURNALIST,
PARIS-BASED EDITOR FOR THE DAILY
BEAST.
BEAST. CHRISTOPHER, TELL US ABOUT THE
REACTION TO THIS IN EUROPE
WHICH, LET’S NOT FORGET, WILL BE
IMPACTED BY THIS.
>> THEY CERTAINLY WILL BE
IMPACTED BY THIS.
EUROPE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE FIRST
OBJECTIVE OF ISIS TERRORISTS
ONCE THEY MOVE OUTSIDE THE
MIDDLE EAST, AS IN FACT TRUMP
SEEMS TO KNOW BECAUSE HE SAID,
YOU KNOW, IT’S EUROPE’S PROBLEM,
ALL THOSE ESCAPED ISIS FIGHTERS
ESCAPED TO EUROPE AND THEY’LL
HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.
THERE’S NOT A LOT OF SYMPATHY
WITH TRUMP’S POSITION.
THERE’S A LOT OF SCRAMBLING.
FRANCE IS NEGOTIATING WITH IRAQ
TO PUT ISIS PRISONERS IN IRAQ, I
DON’T KNOW HOW THAT’S GOING TO
WORK OUT.
WORK OUT. THERE’S GENERALLY CONSTERNATION
IN EUROPE ABOUT YET ANOTHER
EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN
FOR AN ALONG TIME AS THE
INSANITY OF THE AMERICAN
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. >> I WANT TO PLAY FOR YOU WHAT
TRUMP SAID ON THE KURDS FOLLOWED
BY REACTION FROM RETIRED
FOR-STAR U.S. GENERAL BARRY
McCAFFREY.
McCAFFREY. >> I WANT TO THANK THE KURDS,
BECAUSE THEY WERE INCREDIBLY
HAPPY WITH THIS SOLUTION.
THIS IS A SOLUTION THAT SAVED
THEIR LIVES, FRANKLY, IT SAVED
THEIR LIVES.
THEIR LIVES. SO WE’VE DONE A GREAT THING FOR
OUR PARTNER.
OUR PARTNER. IF WE DIDN’T GO THIS
UNCONVENTIONAL, TOUGH LOVE
APPROACH, THEY COULD HAVE NEVER
GOTTEN IT DONE.
THEY’VE BEEN TRYING TO DO THIS
FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
>> IT’S SIMPLY ABSURD.
IT’S CRUEL.
IT’S CRUEL. IT MAKES HIM LOOK STUPID.
IT MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE HE
COMPLETELY MISSES THE POINT OF
ETHNIC CLEANSING.
ETHNIC CLEANSING. IT IGNORES THE FACT THAT WE
ABANDONED OUR ALLIES WHO FOUGHT
FOR OUR PURPOSE AGAINST ISIS, IN
THE ARAB AREAS OF SYRIA.
IT’S SIMPLY AN APPALLING
STATEMENT.
STATEMENT. >> CHRIS DICKEY, HOW DO YOU
EXPLAIN THE WORDS FROM OUR
PRESIDENT LIKE "A TOUGH LOVE
APPROACH"?
APPROACH"? >> HE’S DELUSIONAL, THAT’S LIKE
THE TOUGH LOVE APPROACH APPLIED
BY A HUSBAND BEATING HIS WIFE.
LOOK, I THINK WE NEED TO TURN
BACK THE CLOCK A MINUTE TO 2014
WHEN ISIS SEEMED TO BE
UNSTOPPABLE.
UNSTOPPABLE. IT HAD ROLLED INTO IRAQ.
IT HAD ROLLED OVER A THIRD OF
SYRIA.
SYRIA. IT WAS MOVING IN ON THE TURKISH
BORDER AT THE TOWN OF KOBANI.
THE ONLY FIGHTERS WHO STOOD IN
ITS WAY, WHO HELD THEIR GROUND
AGAINST ALL ODDS, WERE EXACTLY
THE SAME KURDS THAT TRUMP JUST
BETRAYED.
BETRAYED. THEY HELD OUT FROM SEPTEMBER TO
JANUARY, EVENTUALLY WITH
SUBSTANTIAL AMERICAN SUPPORT.
BUT EVERYBODY ELSE HAD FLED.
THE IRAQI ARMY HAD FLED.
THE SYRIAN ARMY WASN’T FIGHTING
THEM.
THEM. IN FACT BASHAR AL ASSAD HAD
RELEASED A LOT OF THEM FROM
PRISON IN THE FIRST PLACE.
ALL THAT HAVE HAPPENED AND ONLY
THE OCCURRED HELD OUT.
IF THEY HAD NOT HELD OUT IN
KOBANI, THE ENTIRE COURSE OF
THAT WAR WOULD HAVE GONE IN
FAVOR OF ISIS.
AND WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
TRUMP IS SAYING TO THE KURDS,
YOU GIVE UP KOBANI BECAUSE THE
TURKS WANT IT NOW.
>> AND CHRIS, WHEN YOU WERE HERE
IN NEW YORK, WHAT, NO MORE THAN
THREE WEEKS AGO, OUR
CONVERSATION WAS ABOUT THE
GENERAL CRUMBLING OF ALLIANCES
THAT YOU HEAR ON A FIRST WAVE
BASIS OVER THERE.
IS THIS PART OF THAT PLOT LINE?
>> OF COURSE IT IS.
THIS IS A QUESTION OF WHETHER
YOU CAN TRUST THE UNITED STATES.
YOU GO, YOU FIGHT SIDE BY SIDE
WITH AMERICAN TROOPS, WITH
SUPPORT FROM AMERICAN TROOPS,
PUTTING YOUR OWN LIFE ON THE
LINE, AND THEN THE AMERICAN
PRESIDENT BETRAYS YOU BECAUSE HE
HAS HAD AN EMBARRASSING
CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT
OF TURKEY.
OF TURKEY. WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO STANDING.
I WAS IN ABU DHABI LAST WEEKEND.
I WAS TALKING TO LEADING PEOPLE
FROM ALL OVER THE ARAB WORLD.
ALL OF THEM FEEL THAT IT’S
IMPOSSIBLE NOW TO TRUST THE
UNITED STATES, TO HAVE
CONFIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND THE PROOF IN THAT PUDDING IS