The U.S. special envoy for the Syrian conflict pushed back Tuesday on the charge that, had President Trump not pulled back a small number of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria this month, Turkish forces would not have crossed the border to attack Syrian Kurdish fighters.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Jeffrey said the personnel withdrawn from the immediate area of the then-imminent Turkish incursion comprised “two outposts of about 12 men each,” who were there essentially to observe any cross-border firing.
“They were not a defense screen or anything else,” said Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Ankara and Baghdad who was appointed Syria special representative 13 months ago.
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The U.S. special envoy for the Syrian conflict pushed back Tuesday on the charge that, had President Trump not pulled back a small number of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria this month, Turkish forces would not have crossed the border to attack Syrian Kurdish fighters.
>
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Jeffrey said the personnel withdrawn from the immediate area of the then-imminent Turkish incursion comprised “two outposts of about 12 men each,” who were there essentially to observe any cross-border firing.
>
“They were not a defense screen or anything else,” said Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Ankara and Baghdad who was appointed Syria special representative 13 months ago.
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