As US forces decamp to Iraq, Syrian Kurds make last desperate plea for troops to stay

US TROOPS DECAMP: A convoy of more than 100 armored vehicles carrying U.S. troops was spotted crossing from Syria into semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq today in the northern Iraqi province of Dohuk.

The withdrawal of all but a small contingent of U.S. forces who will continue to man a base in far southern Syria is continuing “apace,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan over the weekend.

“We’re talking weeks not days” for the withdrawal to be completed, Esper said, according to a Pentagon transcript of his in-flight news conference. “We’re using either helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft or ground convoys … We’re trying to be very deliberate as we go through this. Job number one, though, remains protection of our forces.”

‘TRUMP BETRAYED US’: In a video posted on twitter Kurds could be seen holding signs and bidding the U.S. troops goodbye. One sign read “Thanks for US People but Trump Betrayed US.”

An AFP photo showed a U.S. soldier wearing a bright green Kurdish patch on his shoulder in an apparent show of solidarity for his former Kurdish partners as he manned a gun atop an armored vehicle.

NOT GOING HOME, YET: Despite President Trump’s stated rationale that his decision to bow to Turkey’s request to establish a buffer zone is based on his desire to bring U.S. troops home and end “endless wars,” Esper confirmed that the current plan is for the U.S. forces to remain in Iraq to conduct cross border operations against ISIS, which is threatening to resurge.

“The current game plan is for those forces to re-position into western Iraq,” Esper told the traveling press. The almost 1,000 troops will have two missions, he said. “One is to help defend Iraq, and two is to perform a counter-ISIS mission as we sort through the next steps.”

PLAN B: But Esper, who heads to a meeting of NATO defense ministers later this week, said U.S. allies are not ready to abandon the fight against ISIS.

“I had a conversation with the NATO secretary general. We both agreed on the importance of continuing the defeat ISIS campaign,” Esper said, while tacitly acknowledging Trump could countermand that plan as well. “Things could change between now and whenever we complete the withdrawal. But that’s the game plan right now.”

On Friday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said NATO would take up the issue at this week’s ministerial. “All NATO Allies and NATO are part of the Coalition to defeat [ISIS], Stoltenberg said. “We must not jeopardize the gains we have made in the fight against our common enemy.”

DESPERATE PLEA: Meanwhile commander of the Kurdish-led forces, Gen. Mazloum Kobani Abdi, in phone calls with Western reporters is pleading with President Trump to leave some American forces behind, and is accusing Turkey of violating its ceasefire and conducting a campaign of ethic cleansing.

“Just spoke to SDF commander Gen Mazloum by telephone from his base in Syria,” tweeted Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin. “Mazloum asks that President Trump change his mind and leave US troops in Syria to continue anti ISIS mission.”

“Gen Mazloum tells me so far more than 500 civilian casualties and more than 400,000 Kurds displaced, says “Turks are still violating the ceasefire and they still shooting,” Griffin tweeted. “Tells me Turks have carried out 15 airstrikes against SDF Kurdish forces since ceasefire. Also tells me his Kurdish forces are still guarding ISIS prisons. ‘We promise Pres Trump to watch these risky people.’”

STILL TALKING, STILL FIGHTING: Esper confirmed to reporters that so far the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have not abandoned the fight, even as they have been forced to retreat in the face of the Turkish assault. “We’re still in contact with the SDF on the ground as well. And they are still, as best we can determine and as best they report, defending the prisons that are in their area of control.”

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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Esper began his day in Afghanistan where me met last night with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. “We discussed the US commitment to the @ResoluteSupport mission & the strength of our partnership,” he tweeted. “We are agreed that Afghanistan must never again become a safe haven for terrorists to attack the US.”

It is Esper’s first visit to Afghanistan as defense secretary and was not announced ahead of time for security reasons. Esper told reporters that he wanted to get a firsthand assessment from U.S. Afghanistan commander Gen. Scott Miller and Afghan leaders before heading to NATO.

He expressed the hope that the peace talks with the Taliban — declared by President Trump after a U.S. soldier was killed in Kabul — could be revived. “I think the aim is to still get a peace agreement at some point, a political agreement. That’s the best way forward,” he told reporters before landing in Kabul Saturday.

READY TO PULL 5,000 TROOPS OUT: Esper revealed why the U.S. was ready to begin gradually withdrawing more than 5,000 of the 14,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan, while waiting to see if the Taliban held up their end of the peace deal.

The U.S. has done an assessment of how many troops it needs to continue its counter-terrorist Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other groups who could threaten the U.S. from Afghanistan. “We’ve always said that it’ll be conditions based, but we’re confident that we can go down to 8,600 without affecting our C.T. operations,” Esper said.

PELOSI ALSO IN KABUL: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was also visiting Afghanistan, leading a barely bi-partisan congressional delegation, which also made a stop in Jordan, where the House members met with King Abdullah II.

“We were pleased that our delegation was able to briefly compare notes with Defense Secretary Esper,” Pelosi said in a press release. “Our delegation emphasized the central importance of combating the corruption which endangers security and undermines the Afghan people’s ability to achieve a stable and prosperous future. We underscored that the women of Afghanistan must be at the table for reconciliation talks.”

Of the nine member delegation, Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, who has announced that he’s retiring after this session of Congress, was the lone Republican.

You may recall that trip to Afghanistan that Pelosi had planned in January was abruptly cancelled when President Trump grounded the delegation’s military plane in a dispute over a shutdown of the federal government and Pelosi’s delay of Trump’s State of the Union address.

THE SUNDAY SHOWS: On CBS and CNN two former top commanders were critical of President Trump’s abrupt decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, clearing the way for Turkey’s assault on America’s Kurdish allies.

On CNN’s State of the Union, retired Gen. David Petraeus called Trump’s decision a betrayal. “This is not a phased, deliberate, planned withdrawal. This is a very sudden exit. And this does not end an endless war. It probably prolongs it, because this gives ISIS an opportunity for a resurgence,” Petraeus said.

“Keep in mind, there’s still 20,000 to 30,000 ISIS fighters in the Iraq and Syria area. We haven’t got Baghdadi yet. Now there’s a chaotic situation in Northeastern Syria. As Turkey is entering, Iran, Russia and Bashar al-Assad’s forces are coming in. We give them a victory.”

“This is hundreds of thousands of families of our partners who are now being displaced. This agreement perhaps gives them time without being shot at directly to move, but, I mean, they’re being forced out into the desert,” Petraeus said.

Asked by host Jake Tapper if the U.S. is sanctioning ethnic cleansing, Petraeus replied. “Well, it certainly is ethnic displacement. And, arguably, it may turn out to be ethnic cleansing.”

Over on CBS’s Face the Nation, retired Gen. Raymond Thomas, the former U.S. Special Operations Commander, was more restrained telling host host Maraget Brennan, the Kurds “have been our great partner up till now,” but added “We knew that this would come to some eventual conclusion, but I think they and we were surprised by how abruptly it came to a halt.”

Asked if the Kurds were essentially being asked to surrender, Thomas replied, “I think they are being asked to survive.”

NATO ENLARGEMENT: The Senate is scheduled to resume consideration of ratifying the NATO treaty to make North Macedonia the 30th member of the alliance. A cloture vote is set for 5:30 p.m. North Macedonia, which changed it name as a condition of joining NATO, is expected to become a member later this year or next, once its accession has been ratified by all member nations.

TWITTER SHUTS DOWN FAKE ‘MARK ESPERANTO’ ACCOUNTS: After President Trump accidentally referred to Defense Secretary Mark Esper as “Mark Esperanto,” in a tweet yesterday, a number of parody Mark Esperanto twitter accounts popped up.

Most only lasted a few hours as Twitter shut them down for violating its rules. Trump deleted the tweet and replaced it with one without the reference to his defense secretary as Mark Esperanato, a mistake presumably created by the autocorrect predictive text function.

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: ‘I haven’t been able to sleep at night’: Captain who served in Syria calls Trump withdrawal ‘immoral’ and ‘un-American’

New York Times: Trump Is Said to Favor Plan to Keep Some U.S. Troops in Eastern Syria

Washington Examiner: ‘No Safe Harbors’: China Plots To Block U.S. Military From Key Ports, Pentagon Warns

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Government Still Uses Suspect Chinese Cameras

Washington Examiner: After Washington Examiner story on California VA hospital banning WWII glamour girls from visiting patients, hospital relents and allows them in

Reuters: China’s defence minister says resolving ‘Taiwan question’ is national priority

New York Times: Erdogan’s Ambitions Go Beyond Syria. He Says He Wants Nuclear Weapons.

USNI News: North Korea Sees Little Reason To Rein In Missile Program

Washington Post: Mitch McConnell: Withdrawing from Syria is a grave mistake

Washington Post: Does Trump understand how grossly he just insulted the president of Turkey?

The Diplomat: Russian Subs Live-Fire Ballistic Missiles in Nuclear Combat Drill

Reuters: Hacking The Hackers: Russian Group Hijacked Iranian Spying Operation, Officials Say

AP: Researchers find second warship from WWII Battle of Midway

Calendar

MONDAY | OCTOBER 21

10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — The Brookings Institution discussion “What is the Impact of Persistent Military Spouse Unemployment?” with Holly Petraeus, former assistant director for servicemember affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Marcus Beauregard, director of the Defense Department’s State Liaison Office; Jen Davis, government relations deputy director at the National Military Family Association; Mike Haynie, executive director of Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families; Elizabeth O’Brien, senior director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Program; and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings. http://www.brookings.edu

11:30 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. — Hudson Institute discussion “Dialogues on American Foreign Policy and World Affairs,” with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism Subcommittee; and Walter Russell Mead, fellow at the Hudson Institute. https://www.hudson.org/events

11:45 a.m. 1800 M Street N.W. — Foundation for Defense of Democracies discussion with former Special Envoy to Defeat ISIS Brett McGurk on “How President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria will impact the region and national security.” Live broadcast at https://www.c-span.org/video

3 p.m. 1763 N St. N.W. — Middle East Institute discussion on “U.S. Policy Priorities for Afghanistan,” with Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla.; and Marvin Weinbaum, director for Afghanistan and Pakistan studies at MEI. https://www.mei.edu/events

5:30 p.m. 2045 Rayburn. — New York University, Washington, D.C. discussion on “From the Executive Branch to Congress: National Security Leaders who Crossed the Divide,” with Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas; Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J.; Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; and Lisa Monaco, senior fellow at the Reiss Center for Law and Security http://www.nyu.edu/washington-dc.html

7 p.m. 5015 Connecticut Ave. N.W. — Politics and Prose book discussion on “Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character,” with author retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis. http://www.politics-prose.com

TUESDAY | OCTOBER 22

7:45 a.m. 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd. — Day one of the Precision Strike Association’s symposium “Flipping the Game: Imposing Cost Through Multi-Domain Precision Strike,” with Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., delivers remarks on “Congressional Perspective: Meeting the Threat” https://www.precisionstrike.org/events

8 a.m. 100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis — National Defense Industrial Association Expeditionary Warfare Conference, with Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Requirements and Capabilities Vice Adm. James Kilby; Deputy Marine Corps Commandant for Combat Development and Integration Lt. Gen. Eric Smith; Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich.; Eric Labs, senior analyst for naval weapons and forces at the Congressional Budget Office; and Ron O’Rourke, naval analyst at the Congressional Research Service. https://www.ndia.org/events

8 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on “Foreign Aid and International Affairs Spending,” with House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.; and House Appropriations ranking member Kay Granger, R-Texas. http://www.csis.org

9 a.m. 901 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses Heritage Foundation President’s Club meeting on the Trump administration’s approach to the foreign policy challenges currently facing the U.S. https://www.heritage.org/events

3 p.m. 1030 15th St.N.W. — The Atlantic Council discussion “More in the Med: Revitalizing NATO’s Southern Strategy for an Era of Great Power Competition,’ with retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones., former supreme NATO commander; Italian Ambassador to the U.S. Armando Varicchio; Alexander Vershbow, fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative; and Lauren Speranza, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event

6 p.m. 1717 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies book discussion on “Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS,” focusing on women who “joined, endured, and, in some cases, escaped life in the Islamic State,” with author Azadeh Moaveni, senior gender analyst at the International Crisis Group. http://www.sais-jhu.edu

WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 23

6 a.m. edt/11 a.m. cet NATO Headquarters, Brussels. — Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg press conference in advance of two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers. Streamed live at https://www.nato.int

8 a.m. 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd. — Day two of the Precision Strike Association’s symposium, “Flipping the Game: Imposing Cost Through Multi-Domain Precision Strike,” with Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, delivering keynote address on “The Emerging Threat and a Modernized Nuclear Triad” https://www.precisionstrike.org/events

8 a.m. 100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis — Day two of the National Defense Industrial Association Expeditionary Warfare Conference, with Deputy Marine Corps Commandant for Installations and Logistics Lt. Gen. Charles Chiarotti. https://www.ndia.org/events

9:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — Brookings Institution discussion on “The Navy in an Era of Great Power Competition,” with Navy Secretary Richard Spencer; and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings. http://www.brookings.edu

10 a.m. 2172 Rayburn. — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing “The Betrayal of our Syrian Kurdish Partners: How Will American Foreign Policy and Leadership Recover?” with testimony from James Jeffrey, State Department special representative for Syria engagement and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS; and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood. https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearings

11 a.m. 300 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. — U.S. Central Commander Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie and UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba deliver keynote remarks to the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference. https://ncusar.org/auspc

11:15 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr., Arl. — National Defense Industrial Association Defense Leaders Forum, with Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson. https://www.ndia.org/events

2 p.m. 2154 Rayburn. — House Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee hearing on “The Trump Administration’s Syria Policy: Perspectives from the Field.” http://oversight.house.gov

2:30 p.m. Dirksen. — Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing on United States policy and assistance in Syria. http://appropriations.senate.gov

THURSDAY | OCTOBER 24

All day. NATO Headquarters, Brussels — Meeting of NATO’s North Atlantic Council at the level of Defense Ministers. Possible Mark Esper news conference https://www.nato.int

8 a.m. 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd. — Day three of the Precision Strike Association’s symposium “Flipping the Game: Imposing Cost Through Multi-Domain Precision Strike,” with Air Force Maj. Gen. David Krumm, director of global power programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. https://www.precisionstrike.org/events

8 a.m. 100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis — Day three of the National Defense Industrial Association Expeditionary Warfare Conference with Rear Adm. Steve Parode, director of the Navy’s Warfare Integration Directorate. https://www.ndia.org/events/2019/10/22/24th-ewc

8:30 a.m. 529 14th Street, N.W. — House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith delivers remarks on the future of U.S. nuclear policy, at a briefing sponsored by the Ploughshares Fund. Also taking part: Kelly Magsamen, vice president for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress; Mieke Eoyang, vice president of Third Way’s National Security Program; and Kennette Benedict, board member at the Ploughshares Fund. https://www.ploughshares.org/issues

9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen. — Senate Armed Services Committee committee hearing on the nomination of Navy Vice Adm. Charles Richard to be commander of the U.S. Strategic Command. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov

10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. — Heritage Foundation discussion on “Recent Business Reform and Opportunities for Trade and Investment in Afghanistan,” with Acting Afghanistan Minister of Industry and Commerce Ajmal Ahmady; and Terry Miller, director of the Heritage Center for International Trade and Economics http://www.heritage.org

FRIDAY I OCTOBER 25

8:30 a.m. 2300 Wilson Blvd., Arl. — Military Reporters & Editors association annual conference, with Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy; Undersecretary of the Navy Thomas Modly; Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Robert Burke; Virginia Rep. Rob Wittman; and others Full agenda at https://militaryreporters.org/2019

9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. N.E Heritage Foundation discussion “Treating the Pathologies of Victory: Hardening the Nation for Strategic Competition,” with retired Air Force Col. Tom Ehrhard; and Dakota Wood, senior research fellow for defense programs at the Heritage Foundation. http://www.heritage.org

12:30 p.m. 1777 F St. N.W. — Council on Foreign Relations discussion on “U.S.-Turkey Relations: The Shifting Nature of Two NATO Allies,” with Henri Barkey, chair in international relations at Lehigh University; Naz Durakoglu, senior policy adviser in the Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; and Gonul Tol, founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies. http://www.cfr.org

2 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. — Heritage Foundation lecture on “Honoring America’s Veterans Through Improved Care and Services,” with Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie; and Kim Holmes, executive vice president of Heritage nhttp://www.heritage.org

TUESDAY I OCTOBER 29

9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nominations of Dana S. Deasy to be CIO of the Defense Department; and Robert John Sander to be general counsel of the Department of the Navy. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings