American Betrayal

In fall 2019, President Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the northern Syrian border, effectively abandoning longtime allies the Kurds, and opening the door for Turkey to commence ethnic cleansing. NBC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel immediately dispatched to the frontlines where he was able to tap into extensive contacts to document the invasion and its aftermath. As the White House attempted to distract or deflect international criticism—with the President insisting that “everybody is happy”—Engel and his unit indefatigably gave us reports of war footage and interviews with Kurdish soldiers, a school teacher, and foreign policy experts showing an alternative reality. But more affecting is the story of the beleaguered Kurdish people, their tenacity, and the devastation of being pushed out of Rojava, a “stable, pro-American and peaceful” territory. American Betrayal masterfully attends to both the big picture and to the humans trapped in it. For offering a nuanced historical primer, and for interrogating policy as much as featuring the human costs of rash policy, American Betrayal receives a Peabody Award.