{"id":106757,"date":"2019-10-24T10:16:42","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T10:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/24\/uss-esper-has-sharp-words-for-turkey-over-syria-invasion\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:16:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:16:47","slug":"uss-esper-has-sharp-words-for-turkey-over-syria-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/10\/24\/uss-esper-has-sharp-words-for-turkey-over-syria-invasion\/","title":{"rendered":"Esper has sharp words for Turkey over Syria invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BRUSSELS \u2014 After spending four tumultuous days engulfed in the chaotic ramifications of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper lashed out Thursday at Turkey for its military assault across the border <\/a>on Syrian Kurdish fighters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the German Marshall Fund, Esper said Turkey’s “unwarranted” invasion into Syria jeopardizes gains made there in recent years as the U.S.-led coalition and allied Syrian Kurdish forces battled the Islamic State group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey, he said, is \u201cheading in the wrong direction,\u201d and is getting closer to Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTurkey put us all in a very terrible situation,\u201d he said, adding that Ankara needs to return to being the \u201cresponsible ally\u201d it has been in the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His comments come on the heels of President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement Wednesday that the U.S. is lifting sanctions on Turkey after the NATO ally agreed to permanently stop fighting Kurdish forces in Syria. And he spoke just a day after he was in Iraq to discuss the withdrawal <\/a>and the Islamic State threat with Iraqi leaders and his military commanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is defending his decision to withdraw about 1,000 American troops from Syria, largely abandoning the Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled IS alongside the U.S. for the last several years. Trump has declared victory, saying the move is saving lives, but it also cedes control of a large swath of the border to Turkey, Russia and the Syrian government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has agreed that 200 to 300 U.S. troops will remain at the Al Tanf garrison in southern Syria. And Esper has said the U.S. is still discussing a plan that would leave another small residual force in eastern Syria, near oil facilities that are under the control of the SDF. Those troops would help secure the oil from IS. <\/p>\n\n\n\t