WASHINGTON ¨C Donald Trump¡¯s special envoy for the Syrian conflict said the administration made clear ¡°at every level¡± that it opposed Turkey¡¯s invasion of northern Syria and that the resulting offensive has undermined the fight against Islamic State.
¡°Turkey launched this operation despite our objections, undermining the D-ISIS campaign, risking endangering and displacing civilians, destroying critical civilian infrastructure, and threatening the security of the area,¡± Ambassador James Jeffrey told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, using an acronym for the coalition to defeat the Islamic State. ¡°Turkey¡¯s military actions have precipitated a humanitarian crisis and set conditions for possible war crimes.¡±
Despite the setback, Jeffrey said the U.S. will work with Turkey and ¡°local partners¡± to continue the fight against Islamic State. Lawmakers of both parties have warned that Trump¡¯s abrupt decision to begin withdrawing about 1,000 U.S. troops gave Turkey a green light to invade, which will prove disastrous for regional stability and deadly for U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters that fought against Islamic State.
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