Trump’s Turkey debacle

Republican U.S. Senator Mitt Romney says President Trump’s withdrawal of soldiers protecting the Kurds “will stand as a bloodstain in the annals of American history.” The move took the Pentagon by surprise, but it had been high on the wish list for Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Syria also stands to benefit when the Kurds no longer enjoy the protection of the U.S. It’s not clear what it means for Kurdish soldiers or their families. In Wasington and elsewhere, U.S. diplomacy looks increasingly confused and chaotic as the president acts on impulse rather than planning or principle.