According to US defense officials familiar with the situation, President Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria was made following a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This talk came following Erdogan’s threat last week to invade Kurdish
eastern Syria, where US forces are deployed. Officials say that Erdogan
essentially warned the US forces to “get out of the way” of the
invasion.
US officials had been warning Erdogan against the invasion before that
call. Immediately following the call, Erdogan claimed to have been given
Trump’s blessing to go ahead with the invasion. It’s not clear, but the
implication seems to be that Trump has agreed to get out of the way.
Other reports indicate that there have been debates of US policy in Syria, with respect to Turkey, for awhile, with some arguing that the US alliance with the Syrian Kurds was always temporary, and that the US alliance with Turkey is a long-term priority.
Now, it seems the US is trying to finish withdrawing from Syria before
Turkey gets there, while Turkey’s Defense Ministry says that they are “intensely preparing” for the invasion, which they view as a “counter-terror” operation against the Kurdish YPG.
Defense Officials: Trump Decided to Leave Syria After Call to Turkey’s Erdogan
DM: Turkey intensely preparing to attack eastern Syria
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
