The Wall Street Journal says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a victory for his country in Syria, where Ankara got what it wanted there.
She said US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced what he called a "great outcome" in Syria, and felt that he was correct in his announcement if it refers to the interests of Turkish President and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Trump's big success is that Erdogan has agreed to halt his military operation in northern Syria.
According to the newspaper, this means that Turkish and Russian forces will now patrol the border and most of northern Syria, and the Russians will control the balance of power. On the other hand, the Kurds - abandoned by the United States and no longer having good choices - complicate their deal with the Russians and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to survive. If Trump boasts of a "safe zone," it must mean safe for Assad, Turkey, Russia and Iran.
The newspaper pointed out that the only American goal presented here is to facilitate Trump's desire to travel and leave, as described yesterday in remarks at the White House: "Let someone else fighting for the blood-stained sands." US special forces have suffered little casualties in the border area. She noted that Trump is continuing what she called "baffling leniency" with Erdogan by lifting the sanctions recently imposed.
She said Congress could and should try to do more if it could muster a bipartisan majority. If members of Congress still want the United States to exercise leadership and maintain alliances, they will have to raise their voice and form inter-party alliances to attract Trump's attention.
One of the things the Senate should start issuing is a copy of the resolution passed last week by the House of Representatives, which condemns Trump's abrupt withdrawal. The other option is to direct the administration to impose sanctions on Turkey when it deploys Russian S-400 missiles, or harms US interests. Trump may use the veto, but the world knows that the president's desire to back down is not America's.