Trump reportedly made a deal with Erdogan to pull out of Syria during a telephone call on Dec. 14

American Thinker ^ | 12/23/2018 | Thomas Lifson

[centurion316]

I am on board with Trump getting Turkey to finish up the job with ISIS in Syria. Take whatever you want while you are at it. The one thing that concerns me is where this leaves the Kurds. Trump needed to tell Erodgen that attacks by Turkey on the Kurds would be met with attacks by the U.S. on Turkey. Perhaps he did so.

[mrsmith]

what did Turkey supposedly offer, give USA in this supposed “deal” to get American forces out ?

Let's assume he didn't offer to give up the barbaric practises of the area...

Look at it from Syria's POV.
Kurds hold southern oil, are eager to defend NE Syria from Turks, and want to remove Turks from the Syrian province of Afrin.
This is the best bargaining position they've ever been in with Syria
Large US bases are across the IRAQI border to keep things from getting out of hand, anyway. But the removal of Turkey from Syria will provide a common cause between Kurds and Syria for a long time. It will be a long process.

Be very interesting to see what happens with Syrian and Russian air assets in the coming battle!

[Stepan12]

Interesting article.

[Widget Jr]

Ignore the judgmental conclusions of NBC (and presumably its sources) – “put Trump on the defensive” and “quickly capitulated,” for instance – and notice that the advisers admitted that ISIS is 99% defeated and has no territorial base.

Trump was saying in April he wanted to get out of Syria. ISIS was losing ground from early 2017 onward and hardly controlled any territory by last June. What they have left now can be dealt with by everyone else.

It looks like Mattis and the Joint Chiefs were trying to slow walk getting out, so Trump got out on his own.

[timestax]

[House Atreides]

Which proves, of course, that I’m posting from Russia.

On direct orders from Putin.
*********************************
Yes and something that few people know...Ferris Bueller was ethnically Volga German. We’re on to you Ferris, you Russian troll!

[SaveFerris]

No, no, I’m Peggy!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8L2cI8brzQ

Baby! It’s cold outside!

Yes!

[House Atreides]

President Trump surprised Turkey by taking their offer to finish off ISIS. Best President Ever!
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Don’t think so, the Kurds and their Christian & Arab allies are well on their way toward accomplishing that.

You’re not a fan of the Islamist Erdogan by any chance, are you?

[piasa]

This is coming from Ben Rhodes

[kjam22]

He is bringing troops home from a variety of places to enforce martial law...... it is all over youtube so it must be right

[SubMareener]

So you think that Assad will just let the Kurds keep the part of Syria they have captured, including the oil fields, without their making a deal with him? Well, we’ll see.

[plain talk]

I thought Trump decided to get the troops out of Syria when John Bolton couldn’t explain to him why they were there in the first place.

First -- it was reported that Erdogan of Turkey asked Trump a question that Trump couldn't answer -- namely why are we still in Syria? Then Trump asked Bolton. If you believe the reports etc. Who knows?

I find the report hard to believe that Trump would not know why we are in Syria and would have to ask Bolton.

[stylin19a]

figures...I also just noticed the NBC article is an Associated Press article ?

[hinckley buzzard]

because we always love those “anonymous sources” NBC never seems to run out of.

[familyop]

"And who leaked this?"

Probably Erdogan. It could just as easily have been one of the President's close advisers, too, though--Mattis' Deputy, for example.

Turkey masses troops near Kurdish-held Syrian town
apnews.com">AP, Associated Press ^ | December 23, 2018 | AP, Associated Press

[Excerpt:]
BEIRUT (AP) — Turkey is massing troops near a town in northern Syria held by a U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led force, a war monitor and Turkish media said Sunday.

The buildup comes even though Turkey said it would delay a promised offensive in eastern Syria in the wake of U.S. decisions to withdraw its troops.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...

[trebb]

Yep - and he did allude to some deal being made but this wasn’t a snap decision as the article tries to imply....he made a decision to do the right thing then decided to see what he could leverage from it ....his plan was going forward regardless of any new deals.....which probably also had a hint of a really big stick in the mix.

[AAABEST]

Which proves, of course, that I’m posting from Russia.

On direct orders from Putin.

Funny, but real.

Because I supported pulling out of Syria, I've been accused of being an actual Russian, but one who lives in the USA and is just fooling everyone around him... including all the people on FR who know me in real life, on Facebook. I also fooled the military into enlisting a Russian to fight in American wars...three of them.

The person was serious. I'm pinging him.

[bert]

More important and unmentioned is the secret previous agreement for Saudi Arabia and the GCC to take a strong stand after we rmove our troops from Syria.

Also not noted is American Air power operating from a base in Kurdish Syria. It might still be available at the call of the commander who is a Saudi should it be required. Or, Saudi/UAE forces might move in and occupy the base in due course.