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Pentagon Urges Turkey to Halt Incursion Into Syria

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Friday urged Turkey to halt its military
   incursion into Syria, saying it threatens progress in combating the
   Islamic State group and risks harm to U.S. troops.

   It was the Pentagon's most explicit criticism of the Turkish operation,
   which began Wednesday as a campaign against a Syrian Kurd-led militia
   that has partnered with U.S. forces over the past five years to fight
   the Islamic State.

   President Donald Trump has called the invasion a "bad idea" and held
   out the possibility of the U.S. mediating a settlement. The Pentagon
   had said before the operation began that the U.S. military would not
   support it, but it had not openly criticized the invasion. The U.S.
   pulled about 30 special operations troops out of observation posts
   along the invasion route on the Syrian border.

   In a written statement, the chief Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman,
   said that in a phone call Thursday with his Turkish counterpart,
   Defense Secretary Mark Esper "made it clear" that the U.S. opposes the
   incursion.

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