FOREIGN POLICY/KURDS/MIDDLE EAST/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TURKEY: “President Trump threw Middle East policy into turmoil on Monday [10-7-19] with a series of conflicting signals after his vow to withdraw American forces from the region touched off an uprising among congressional Republicans and protests by America’s allies. Defending his decision to clear the way for a Turkish military operation against America’s Kurdish allies in northern Syria, announced in a White House statement on Sunday [10-6-19] night, Mr. Trump said it was ‘time for us to get out’ and let others ‘figure the situation out.’ But his move touched off a broad rebuke by Republicans, including some of his staunchest allies, in some of the sharpest language they have leveled against a Trump foreign policy decision. And in response, the president pivoted sharply and said he would restrain Turkey.”
–Peter Baker and Lara Jakes, “Trump Throws Middle East Policy Into Turmoil Over Syria,” The New York Times online, October 7, 2019