{"id":65743,"date":"2019-10-08T19:27:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-08T19:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:09:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:09:43","slug":"trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/10\/07\/us-troops-start-pullout-from-along-turkeys-border-in-syria\/\" target=\"_blank\">a planned invasion of northern Syria<\/a>, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Northern Syria is home to Kurdish-led forces that have been America\u2019s ally in fighting the Islamic State for nearly four years. Erdogan, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/06\/turkey-threatens-military-operation-into-syria-against-american-backed-kurdish-forces\/\" target=_blank>sees the Kurds as terrorists<\/a> and a threat along Turkey\u2019s southern border. With Erdogan seemingly intent on launching an incursion into that swath of northern Syria, Trump on Monday moved between 50 and 100 U.S. forces out of the area to other locations in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/07\/how-the-us-troop-withdrawal-from-northern-syria-could-create-an-isis-resurgence\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19271508101333.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US withdrawal in Syria is only a small number of special operators, says Trump administration<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">\u201cTurkey has neither the intent, desire, nor capacity to manage 60k detainees in al Hol camp, which State and DoD IGs [inspector general] warn is the nucleus for a resurgent ISIS. Believing otherwise is a reckless gamble with our national security,\u201d Brett McGurk, Trump\u2019s former envoy for the fight against ISIS, tweeted.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2019\/10\/07\/key-republicans-dems-blast-trumps-surprise-syria-withdrawal\/\" target=_blank>Trump\u2019s decision was roundly criticized<\/a> by some of the president\u2019s staunchest Republican allies in Congress and Democrats. They said pulling the U.S. forces back essentially gives Turkey room to go after the Kurds. Armed by the U.S. and backed by American troops and firepower, the Kurdish-led forces put an end to ISIS\u2019 territorial hold in the region \u2014 at the cost of thousands of Kurds killed in years of fighting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump has boasted about U.S. success in defeating ISIS, but his critics now accuse Trump of abandoning a U.S. ally, setting the Kurds up to be killed. They also worry that if the Kurds end up fighting against Turkish forces, they won\u2019t be able to guard detention centers in Syria that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/04\/07\/us-back-kurdish-forces-foil-islamic-state-prison-break\/\" target=_blank>house captured ISIS fighters<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump supporters say the president\u2019s threat of sanctions could make Erdogan second-guess his planned incursion or perhaps limit it so as not to be slapped with financial penalties that would hurt the Turkish economy. Trump on Monday defended the decision, saying he was fulfilling a campaign promise to withdraw from \u201cendless war\u201d in the Middle East, and he warned Turkey that he would ruin its economy if any American personnel are harmed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey,\u201d Trump threatened on Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, Trump sent tweets saying Erdogan will visit Washington on Nov. 13 and defending Ankara as a big trading partner of the U.S., saying it supplies steel for F-35 fighter jets. In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/07\/19\/turkey-calls-on-us-to-reverse-decision-on-f-35-exclusion\/\" target=_blank>the Trump administration removed Turkey from the F-35 program<\/a> last summer because the Turks refused to cancel the purchase of a Russian air defense system that is incompatible with NATO forces. As part of that process, the U.S. will stop using any Turkish supplies and parts by March 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe may be in the process of leaving Syria, but in no way have we Abandoned the Kurds, who are special people and wonderful fighters,\u201d Trump tweeted. &#8220;Likewise our relationship with Turkey, a NATO and Trading partner, has been very good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTurkey already has a large Kurdish population and fully understands that while we only had 50 soldiers remaining in that section of Syria, and they have been removed, any unforced or unnecessary fighting by Turkey will be devastating to their economy and to their very fragile currency. We are helping the Kurds financially\/weapons!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey\u2019s vice president says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/10\/08\/turkey-says-it-wont-bow-to-us-threat-over-its-syria-plans\/\" target=_blank>his country won\u2019t bow to threats<\/a> in an apparent response to Trump\u2019s warning to Ankara about the scope of its planned military incursion into Syria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fuat Oktay said in a speech on Tuesday that Turkey is intent on combating Syrian Kurdish fighters across its border in Syria and on creating a zone that would allow Turkey to resettle Syrian refugees there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhere Turkey\u2019s security is concerned, we determine our own path but we set our own limits,\u201d Oktay said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A senior administration official said Monday that the U.S. has not yet seen any evidence that an incursion is imminent and so far, Erdogan\u2019s planned visit to the United States is a go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, two senior State Department officials made a point of noting that while the Turks had highlighted the invitation in their readout of the call, the previous night\u2019s White House statement had not included any reference to an Erdogan visit to Washington. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They said the Turkish readout was not incorrect but suggested that the omission of the trip from the White House statement was an indication of Trump\u2019s unhappiness with Erdogan\u2019s plans for an operation against the Kurds.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with a planned invasion of northern Syria, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":101352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":62,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,12,26,62],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2484,472,3065],"class_list":["post-65743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GGYVEZNRFBEOFOTPV4PJNJ77BE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with a planned invasion of northern Syria, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with a planned invasion of northern Syria, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-08T19:27:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T12:09:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert Burns, The Associated Press, Matthew Lee, The Associated Press, Deb Riechmann, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Robert Burns, The Associated Press, Matthew Lee, The Associated Press, Deb Riechmann, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-10-08T19:27:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T12:09:43+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 740,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria - Navy Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-10-08T19:27:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T12:09:43+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with a planned invasion of northern Syria, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/08\\\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"pentagon-congress\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Navy Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria - Navy Times","description":"A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with a planned invasion of northern Syria, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria","og_description":"A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with a planned invasion of northern Syria, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/","og_site_name":"Navy Times","article_published_time":"2019-10-08T19:27:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T12:09:43+00:00","author":"Robert Burns, The Associated Press, Matthew Lee, The Associated Press, Deb Riechmann, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Robert Burns, The Associated Press, Matthew Lee, The Associated Press, Deb Riechmann, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria","datePublished":"2019-10-08T19:27:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T12:09:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/"},"wordCount":740,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Flashpoints","News","Newsletters","Pentagon &amp; Congress"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/","name":"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria - Navy Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-10-08T19:27:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T12:09:43+00:00","description":"A day after President Donald Trump threatened to \u201cruin the economy of Turkey\u201d if it goes too far with a planned invasion of northern Syria, he announced on Tuesday that he\u2019s invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next month.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/08\/trumps-confusing-moves-raise-questions-about-turkey-syria\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Pentagon &amp; Congress","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/","ad_zone":"pentagon-congress"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Trump\u2019s confusing moves raise questions about Turkey, Syria"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","name":"Navy Times","description":"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization","name":"Navy Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","caption":"Navy Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Navy Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19280531670885.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65748,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65743\/revisions\/65748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65743"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=65743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}