U.S. and Turkey Negotiate Plan for their Troops to Jointly Patrol Safe Zone in Syria by Karen DeYoung – Washington Post
The United States and Turkey are negotiating a plan for their troops to jointly patrol a safe zone about 20 miles wide along Syria’s northeastern border with Turkey, according to officials from both countries.
The proposed arrangement, including withdrawal from the zone of Syrian Kurds, who have been crucial U.S. allies in the fight against the Islamic State, marks a step back from initial Trump administration hopes that coalition allies or local security would secure the area.
The patrols would be an additional task for U.S. forces in Syria, whose numbers are due to be cut by more than half, to about 1,000, in the coming months. Britain and France, whose forces continue to participate in the U.S.-led counterterrorism mission against Islamic State remnants, have rejected an American request to contribute to what will be a buffer between the Kurds and Turkey. Ankara considers the Kurds to be terrorists.
The border issue is one of several conflicts that have seriously disrupted the U.S.-Turkish relationship and put the two NATO allies on a collision course…