"In no uncertain terms, reporting throughout this story is not true," National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said. But the officials said Trump, who had previously accepted such advice and convinced the Turkish leader not to attack the Kurds and put U.S. troops at risk, ignored the script. the second official said Erdogan asked Trump, telling him that the Turks could deal with the remaining IS militants. With Erdogan on the line, Trump asked national security adviser John Bolton, who was listening in, why American troops remained in Syria if what the Turkish president was saying was true, according to the officials. Bolton stressed, however, that the entire national security team agreed that victory over IS had to be enduring, which means more than taking away its territory.

Source: Fox News December 21, 2018 15:04 UTC