All eyes on Pompeo as CIA chief arrives in Ankara

Though Turkish hopes for a closer US alliance are soaring as CIA Director Mike Pompeo meets with top Ankara officials, it's unlikely that the US administration will agree to weaken its ties to the Kurdish groups it depends on badly in Syria.
Mike Pompeo waits to be sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSX1LZ
Mike Pompeo waits to be sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency in US Vice President Mike Pence's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, Jan. 23, 2017. - REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Amberin Zaman
@amberinzaman

CIA Director Mike Pompeo arrived in Turkey today for a working visit hailed in the Turkish media as a new page in the country’s acrimonious relations with the United States.

“He’s coming for Raqqa,” declared pro-government Star, referring to the US-led coalition’s plans to liberate the Syrian city the Islamic State calls its capital. “He’s coming for the Free Syria Army [FSA],” opined Yeni Safak, another pro-government newspaper. Hurriyet claimed Pompeo’s first trip to a foreign country after being named CIA director was decided during a Feb. 7 phone call between US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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