Does Donald Trump Know What His Syria Policy Is?
American diplomats thought they had negotiated a solution to a seemingly intractable problem. The United States needed Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria to face off against remnants of the Islamic State. But Turkey, a NATO ally, saw those same Kurds as terrorists, allied with separatists inside Turkey.
To prevent a Turkish invasion, the three sides — the United States, Turkey and the Kurds — agreed to five-mile-wide safe zones along the border with Turkey, in Syria. Americans would patrol alongside Turkish forces, and the Kurds would dismantle fortifications in those...