SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/TURKEY: “National security adviser John Bolton left here in frustration Tuesday [1-8-19], with the U.S. and Turkey locked in a political standoff that threatens President Donald Trump’s plans for a troop withdrawal from Syria. Bolton left Turkey without seeing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who then publicly called earlier comments the top Trump aide had made about Turkey’s role in neighboring Syria a ‘serious mistake.’ It was a rocky conclusion to Bolton’s overseas trip, which he undertook to explain Trump’s plans for Syria to key U.S. allies. The contretemps also illustrated the risk for Bolton in conducting diplomacy abroad — a role that is not traditionally part of a national security adviser’s portfolio, but one he seems to relish.”
–Elise Labott, “Bolton leaves Turkey on sour note over Trump’s Syria plans,” Politico, January 8, 2019 6:35 pm