Mark Esper: Turkey's invasion of Syria is 'heading in the wrong direction'
https://nypost.com/2019/10/24/mark-esper-turkeys-invasion-of-syria-is-heading-in-the-wrong-direction/One year ago people with incredible wisdom voiced concern:
Syria’s Changing Power Grid: What Turkey Wants
By Steven A. Cook, CFR Expert
December 21, 2018
The U.S. withdrawal from Syria removes the main obstacle to a Turkish campaign to eradicate Syrian Kurdish forces and could lead to a more dangerous phase of Syria’s civil war.
President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday announced that the approximately two thousand U.S. forces in northeastern Syria will leave immediately, now that the forces of the so-called Islamic State have been defeated. Trump’s announcement set off a scramble within the U.S. government to develop a plan for withdrawal, as well as a mixture of alarm and criticism from lawmakers of both parties. The regional jockeying for power will be intense; Russia, Iran, and the Syrian regime stand to gain the most.
Syria’s Chessboard
The president’s announcement betrays Washington’s primary partner on the ground, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control nearly one-third of Syria. It leaves other regional allies, especially Israel, more vulnerable to Iran and Hezbollah, which have a presence in Syria. Without the United States in Syria, regional actors will depend on Russia to achieve their interests...…….
https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/syrias-changing-power-grid-what-turkey-wants