NEW: Trump claims Kurds are 'no angels' and that PKK is 'more of a terrorist threat than ISIS' as he praises Turkish offensive
Donald Trump has hailed his decision to withdraw US troops in Syria, paving way for a Turkish offensive, as “strategically brilliant”, declaring that the Kurds he had abandoned were “much safer now” and were anyway “not angels”.
At one point on Wednesday, the Turkish president suggested he would not even see Pence and Pompeo, but his communications director later confirmed the meeting would go ahead. The claim was untrue. There are reported to be hundreds of US troops still in the border area, where they have come under fire from Turkish-backed forces. US commanders were quoted by Fox News as describing their extraction as “extremely dangerous”. The president seemed unaware or in denial of the precarious and volatile situation in the region for US troops and the Kurdish inhabitants.
At one point, the US president declared the Kurdish insurgents in Turkey , strongly linked to Kurdish forces in Syria, were “more of a terrorist threat than Isis”. His remarks closely mirrored Ankara’s talking points, but were starkly at odds with US intelligence and defence assessments which identify Isis as a direct threat to US security.“Syria may have some help with Russia, and that’s fine. It’s a lot of sand,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of sand over there.
Related: Erdoğan’s calamitous Syrian blunder has finally broken his spell over Turkey | Simon Tisdall A day after the US withdrew much of its 1,000-strong force in north-eastern Syria, Russian and Syrian soldiers were inside the city of Manbij, with both countries’ flags seen flying from some government buildings and military convoys.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump claims Turkish incursion into Syria 'has nothing to do with us'President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Turkey's invasion of northern Syria 'has nothing to do with us' and added that former US allies -- the Kurds -- are 'not angels.'
Read more »
Rudy Giuliani Pushed Trump to Remove Turkish Opposition Leader From U.S.: ReportThe attempt to remove Gülen was halted when staffers told the president it was a terrible idea, that it could be illegal, and that it would certainly be politically damaging
Read more »
Marine who fought with Kurds blasts Trump move in Syria as betrayalAndrew Milburn, a US Marine colonel who retired in March as the deputy commander of US special operations forces in the Middle East, tells NBCNews that 'Trump definitely could have stopped' the Turkish invasion of northern Syria from happening.
Read more »
Trump dismisses Turkey's invasion of Syria, says Kurds are 'no angels'President Trump says Turkey's invasion into Syria is 'not our problem,' and he wishes Russia and Syria 'a lot of luck' as US troops pull out of northern Syria.
Read more »
Here’s What Has Happened in Syria in the Week Since Trump Abandoned the KurdsISIS, Russia, Iran, Syria, and Turkey are happy. America’s allies are not
Read more »