Local international relations expert weighs in on air strikes in Syria

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Michael C. Desch, the Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at the University of Notre Dame, was live in studio on Wednesday to weigh in on the political and defense aspects of the air strikes in Syria.

Desch is the founding director of the Notre Dame International Security Center.

On Tuesday, Desch released the following comments on President Trump’s decision to remove some of the U.S. forces from Syria.

"Many Republicans are criticizing President Trump for his decision to move the handful of U.S. forces remaining in northern Syria from the Kurd-controlled border area with Turkey. While they may be right that the decision was taken hastily and without sufficient coordination with our Kurdish allies, Trump's critics have not engaged two important reasons for the U.S. draw-down:

First, despite what Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz think, no war can or should last forever. Second, in their concern for leaving our Kurdish allies against ISIS in the lurch, they ignore that fact that our long-standing NATO allies the Turks also have vital interests in northern Syria that the Kurd state-within-a-state threatens.

Realpolitik is a cold-blooded business, and sometimes there is no perfect solution to the conflicting ends we'd like to achieve, but it is simply naive that we can remain forever at war in the region without having to face the consequences."