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Pentagon pushes back on Turkish incursion in Syria

The Pentagon opposed the Donald Trump administration’s decision to allow a Turkish operation in Syria, a senior administration official told Al-Monitor.
Turkish soldiers stand guard in a border village on the Turkish-Syrian border near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC17F8587730

The Pentagon fought back against President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to remove US troops from northeast Syria to allow a Turkish operation, a senior administration official told Al-Monitor on Monday.

In internal US administration discussions before the White House announced Trump’s decision, Pentagon officials argued that Turkey had used negotiations for a northeast ‘safe zone’ to scout a military operation against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, known as the SDF.

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