JERUSALEM POST
Pompeo to ‘Post’: Israel has right to act in Syria, U.S. will stop Iran
by Yaakov Katz
October 18, 2019

Despite the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, Israel retains operational freedom to defend itself and America remains committed to closely watching the Iraqi-Syrian border to help prevent the transfer of Iranian arms into the country, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told The Jerusalem Post on Friday in an exclusive interview. “Our administration’s been very clear,” he said. “Israel has the fundamental right to engage in activity that ensures the security of its people. It’s at the very core of what nation states not only have the right to do but an obligation to do.” READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL McConnell rips Syria withdrawal as ‘a strategic nightmare’ As scattered fighting flares, top Republican in Congress warns that Trump’s pullout of US forces will ’embolden our enemies, and weaken important alliances’…“No US ground forces will participate in the enforcement of this safe zone, however, we will remain in communication with both Turkey and the SDF,” [Pentagon chief Mark] Esper said. A senior Pentagon official said US forces would carry out aerial reconnaissance of the “safe zone” with the goal of watching over prisons holding Islamic State fighters.