Mr. Bolton, making a visit to Israel, told reporters that American forces would remain in Syria until the last remnants of ISIS were defeated and Turkey provided guarantees that it would not strike Kurdish militias allied with the United States. He and other top White House advisers have led a behind-the-scenes effort to slow Mr. Trump’s order and reassure allies, including Israel.
“We don’t think the Turks ought to undertake military action that’s not fully coordinated with and agreed to by the United States, at a minimum so they don’t endanger our troops,” Mr. Bolton said in Jerusalem, where he was traveling ahead of a visit Tuesday to Turkey.
Mr. Bolton’s comments inserted into Mr. Trump’s strategy something the president had omitted when he announced on Dec. 19 that the United States would depart within 30 days: any conditions that must be met before the pullout.
The remarks also reflected the disarray that has surrounded the president’s decision, which took his staff and foreign allies by surprise and drew objections from the Pentagon that it was logistically impossible and strategically unwise. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned within hours of the announcement, and the Pentagon chief of staff, Kevin M. Sweeney, said on Saturday evening that he was also leaving.
Asked on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” if Mr. Bolton’s comments amounted to an admission that Mr. Trump had made a mistake, Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who at times has been one of the president’s staunchest supporters, said, “This is the reality setting in that you’ve got to plan this out.”
The Pentagon’s skepticism about the plan only heightened in recent days when in response to Mr. Bolton’s memo, Turkish authorities asked the United States for significant military support, including airstrikes, logistics and transportation. Three Defense Department officials said that despite Mr. Bolton’s memo, there had been no planning for any turnover of counterterrorism operations to the Turks.
American forces are beginning the preparations for a withdrawal from northeastern Syria, even as the timetable has become increasingly fluid.
Based on NYT
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