By James Durso, RealClearDefense: "Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia, and the Kurds will have to sort as they fight, and the battlefield will be more than the usual chaos with several armies, Russian mercenaries, Iranian-sponsored militias, refugees, and displaced persons moving in every direction amid ruined infrastructure. All in all, it’s a scene Trump thinks the U.S. is wise to avoid."
By CONRAD BLACK, Special to the Sun | October 9, 2019
https://www.nysun.com/foreign/trump-is-seeking-broad-coalition-of-mideast/90862/
Jonathanspyer.com
October 9, 2019
https://www.meforum.org/59543/trump-syria-decision-is-a-boon-for-assad
David Adesnik | Director of Research
Mark Dubowitz | Chief ExecutiveTzvi Kahn | Senior Iran Analyst
American Spectator
October 8, 2019
https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/59532/defining-true-islam
The Jerusalem Post
October 7, 2019
https://www.meforum.org/59533/can-israel-trust-the-us-after-syria-withdrawal
- "Angry At Trump’s Syria-Withdrawal? He Learned His Foreign Policy From Obama," Mark Dubowitz and Tzvi Kahn, Forward
- "Trump’s Capitulation to Erdogan Destroys U.S. Credibility," Eric S. Edelman and Aykan Erdemir, Foreign Policy
- "Trump’s Syria decision is a victory for America’s enemies in the Middle East,"David Adesnik, Fox News
- "Trump Syria withdrawal decision immoral and short-sighted," Bradley Bowman, Military Times
- "Making sense of Iran’s nuclear moves,"Behnam Ben Taleblu, The Hill
- "Turkey Sends Oil-Drilling Ship Into Cypriot Waters… Again," Andrew Gabel and Mikhael Smits, FDD Policy Brief
John Dunford writes: Turkey is preparing to invade Northeastern Syria despite U.S. efforts to de-escalate tensions through a joint security mechanism along the border. […]The Turkish offensive will likely target the Arab-majority city of Tel Abyad in Northern Raqqa Province. It will create an opportunity for ISIS to achieve breakout success in eastern Syria while the U.S. partner force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), fights Turkey along the border. Pro-Assad regime forces could also attempt to exploit the chaos to seize oil fields currently under SDF control. – Institute for the Study of War
O. Peri and Y. Yehoshua write: The efforts to normalize with the Syrian regime and the calls to reinstate it in the Arab League are to a large extent also the result of pressure from Russia, which argues that such a move will advance peace in the country.[13] On the other hand, the U.S. is working to stop rapprochement with Assad as long as he does not commit to a political process in his country. […]The surprising sight of the Arab League secretary-general greeting and embracing the Syrian officials sparked speculation in the Arab media about whether it heralded Syria’s reinstatement in the Arab League. – Middle East Media Research Institute
Michael Weiss writes: In other words ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (yes, he’s still alive) exploited the Kurdish Question before and will exploit again now that all-out war between Turkey and Syria’s Kurds is a foregone conclusion. And so long as the inevitable carnage stays in the neighborhood, we can be reasonably sure that Donald Trump won’t care or will treat this as just the latest manifestation of a regional pathology, and not an unforced error of lousy U.S. policy-planning. – The Daily Beast
By BENNY AVNI, Special to the Sun | October 10, 2019
https://www.nysun.com/foreign/trumps-retreat-in-north-syria-begets-more-war/90864/
A guiding line runs through the unpredictability and seeming chaos of President Trump's foreign policy, summed by his favorite hashtag: #EndEndlessWars. That's what pushed the president to announce, following a phone call with Turkey's Islamist strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the withdrawal from Northern Syria the few dozen American GIs who until now prevented Turkey's invasion of its neighbor.
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