Pentagon Chief looks to focus on Turkey Syria at NATO but has few good options

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to focus on Turkey’s recent offensive into northeastern Syria and the future of the fight against Islamic State when he meets with NATO partners in Brussels this week, but he has limited options in dealing with either issue.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing it’s troops from northeastern Syria, clearing the way for Turkish troops to launch an offensive against Kurdish fighters in the area.
Since then, Trump has said he will keep a small number of troops in parts of northeastern Syria where there is oil. Russian military police started deploying on Syria’s border with Turkey on Wednesday under a deal with Ankara to drive Kurdish fighters from the region.
Last week, Esper said he would press NATO allies “to take collective and individual diplomatic and economic measures in response” to Turkey’s incursion into northeastern Syria, even as critics have pointed out that Trump’s decision enabled the Turkish offensive.
In a speech on Thursday in Brussels before the NATO meeting, Esper is expected to call out Turkey’s actions.
According to prepared remarks, Esper will say Turkey’s actions jeopardize the progress made in Syria.
Statements by the Pentagon criticizing Turkey in the past month have had little impact on Ankara.
Rachel Rizzo, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security think-tank, said Esper has few options to punish NATO member Turkey at NATO.
“As far as NATO-level punishment, I don’t see really what is possible,” Rizzo said. She said Trump’s initial decision to pull out of northeast Syria was seen in Europe as enabling Turkey to carry out the incursion and the latest sign that they could not rely on the Trump administration.
A number of European countries have suspended weapons sales to Turkey.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday decried NATO’s inability to react to what he called Turkey’s “crazy” offensive, and said it was time Europe stopped acting like a junior ally when it came to the Middle East.
Germany’s defense minister has told lawmakers she wants to get the U.N. Security Council to approve a safe zone in northern Syria.