Eli Lake, Columnist

Trump’s Latest Unreliable Ally in Syria

The president’s plans for withdrawal mean the U.S. will have to cede more power to Turkey.

January 8, 2019 at 7:00 AM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

He has his own agenda.
Photographer: Federico Gambarini/DPA

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Amid the shifting contours of President Donald Trump’s Syria policy, one constant has been the role of Turkey.

When Trump announced last month the withdrawal of 2,000 U.S. special operations forces from Syria, he did so after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump’s plans undermined the previously stated policy of senior U.S. officials.