Instead, in the course of the conversation Trump reshaped US policy in the Middle East, abandoning a quarter of Syrian territory and handing Ankara the job of finishing off Islamic State in Syria. “Trump asked, ‘If we withdraw our soldiers, can you clean up ISIS?’”, a Turkish official told Reuters. When Trump made clear he would not back down, Mattis and a senior official coordinating the fight against Islamic State, Brett McGurk, both resigned. The Turkish military has already carried out two incursions into north Syria, backed by pro-Turkey Syrian rebels. In 2016 they targeted Islamic State and Kurdish fighters, and earlier this year took control of the YPG-held Afrin region.

Source: Egypt Independent December 28, 2018 12:22 UTC