Trump Threatens to Destroy Turkey’s Economy after Greenlighting Invasion of Syria

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump warned Turkey Monday against going too far in Syria, one day after giving Ankara a green light to invade its southern neighbor, sparking panic among Washington’s Kurdish allies.

The Pentagon pulled back about two dozen of its forces from Syria’s northern frontier after Trump’s surprise announcement late Sunday that US forces “will no longer be in the immediate area.”

But amid an outcry from the region and strong opposition at home from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, Trump appeared to reverse himself, though without drawing any specific red lines that might protect Kurdish allies.

“If Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!),” Trump tweeted.

Meanwhile, the region has been on edge for weeks over expected Turkish military operations across the border, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Monday could “come any night without warning.”