The New York Times: Contradictory signals from Washington shake the confidence of its allies

The New York Times on Tuesday criticized US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from northern Syria, saying the contradictory signals from the White House were shaking US allies' confidence and endangering lives.

President Trump has approved a Turkish military operation that would drive US-backed Kurdish forces away from the border in Syria.

Trump's decision comes after a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which they discussed the issues of the safe area east of the Euphrates (northern Syria) as well as bilateral and regional affairs.

The United States needs Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria to counter ISIS remnants, but Turkey, a NATO member, considers them Kurdish terrorists allied to separatists inside Turkey.

Safe areas
She said the United States, Turkey and the Kurds had previously agreed to establish safe areas eight kilometers across Syria along the Turkish border.

Under the agreement, the Americans and Turkish troops will conduct joint patrols, while the Kurds will dismantle their fortifications in those areas, which they have set up to defend themselves against any possible Turkish invasion, according to the editorial editorial.

However, Trump eliminated all that when he caved in to Erdogan's pressure, and the White House announced that the president would not stand in the way of a Turkish invasion to expel Kurdish forces from the border region.

The language of the White House announcement made Trump look like he was endorsing a Turkish invasion of Syria, the paper said.

State organization
Even if the Turks do not invade Syria, Trump's decision could erode any confidence the Kurds have in their ally America, and it could threaten the war on IS, according to The New York Times.

Although the US president indicated in Twitter tweets on Monday that he might reconsider his decision to give the Turks the green light for military action inside Syria, there are reports that Ankara has already begun its offensive.

The New York Times, one of America's most influential newspapers, said Trump had apparently acted "recklessly" during a telephone conversation with Erdogan, stating that he surprised officials at the Pentagon and State Department, without being seen by Congress.

According to the editorial, Trump's announcement and tweets have infuriated his Republican colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham.

Fatal error
"The Kurds are an effective element in our successful war against ISIS in Syria. Letting them die is a grave mistake," said former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

By midday yesterday, the Pentagon tried to contain the damage caused by Trump's decision, announcing that it and the president made clear to Turkey that they did not endorse a Turkish operation in northern Syria. The US military "will not support or participate in any such operation," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The president then disclosed a change in his stances, which the newspaper considered more self-defeating.

Trump wrote in one of her tweets yesterday: "As I have stated strongly, and to reiterate what I said, that if Turkey does anything I consider my great wisdom, which is unprecedented cross-border, I will completely destroy the Turkish economy and erased (I have done so before)" .

Conflicting messages
The New York Times editorial scoffed at the statement, saying that what Trump meant to cross borders or destroy the Turkish economy or the rest of the tweet was unclear. Nor is it the first time his administration has sent conflicting messages about America's goals in Syria.

The paper added that the Kurds in Syria must defend themselves against the Turks, which will likely force them to abandon the fighting of the Islamic State and guard about a thousand of its members are now in Kurdish prisons.

It remains unclear whether Turkey will go ahead with the invasion of Syria.Two hundred US troops have been withdrawn from two military bases in Syria, the Kurds have stopped dismantling their fortifications, and joint US-Turkish patrols are no longer combing the border, according to officials the New York Times did not identify.

It may seem contradictory, but in Trump's "acquiescence" to Erdogan, he may have put the United States on a collision course with Turkey, just as he has made himself at odds with the Pentagon and his Republican allies.