Trump has lost the trust of our allies

The president had recently stated that the battle against ISIS had been won. This was not only a lie but in fact this hollow boast is sadly being demonstrated as being shockingly irresponsible and dangerous. By withdrawing U.S. troops from supporting the Kurds, who bravely fought against ISIS, he has in fact abandoned these fighters who are now being slaughtered by the Turks.

Our President seems to have done Russia's bidding again as Russia is supporting Syrian President Assad. In escaping Turkey's forces, the Kurds are now seeking aid from Syria, the very forces they tried to avoid. The U.S. has thus forfeited what trust we still had in this part of the world. This loss of credibility is second only to the dangerous instability in this area, to say nothing of the human misery being wrought on the people of Syria.

This president has failed his oath of office in so many ways. Sadly the Congress has also reneged on its duty to hold the President accountable. The least we can also do is to hold our congressmen and women to account for their selfish, self-protective silence. From the bottom up, we need to elect new blood to represent the people. No presidential candidate can hope to work change unless there is a change of heart in our representatives. If they lose our trust then we lose hope, which is no way to run a country.

Sonia Ettinger

Iowa City