Gives the finger to Orangutan...

Turkey Tells Trump to Get Lost

KEVIN DRUM

Donald Trump sure has made the rest of the world respect us:

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected a U.S. offer to mediate a cease-fire between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants in northeastern Syria….“The terrorists should drop their weapons and leave the area that we have identified as the safe zone,” he said in a speech Wednesday to the Turkish parliament. He vowed to press forward with the campaign to rout Kurdish-led fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, from a wide swath of territory along the border.

For better or worse, the US has no influence in Syria anymore. Turkey does. Russia does. Syria itself does. But not us.

NBC Politics
President Erdogan says he will refuse to meet with VP Pence, who is due to travel to Turkey to argue for a ceasefire in the ongoing Syria conflict. 

Erdogan rejects Syria ceasefire ahead of Pence, Pompeo visit
Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were due to leave for Ankara Wednesday to advocate for a ceasefire.