Donald Trump is said to have believed that Turkey was bluffing before its invasion of northern Syria last week.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had been threatening to invade its neighbour for more than two years, but Trump and his officials thought he would never go through with it, reports news site Axios.
Turkey launched an offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria on Wednesday last week (local time), shortly after Trump ordered US troops to leave the border area.
- US President Donald Trump announces sanctions against Turkey
- Syrian forces deployed near border with Turkey
- Islamic State women, children flee from Syrian camp after 5-day attack from Turkish soldiers
According to Axios, Trump had been warned by Erdoğan on October 6 that a military operation was imminent. Despite this, Trump shortly afterwards announced that US troops would be withdrawing from the region, in a move that many said "abandoned" its Kurdish allies.
According to Axios, which cited sources who had been in the room while the US President spoke to Erdoğan either on the phone or in person, Trump had called Turkey's bluff various times since 2017.
According to one source cited, when Erdoğan spoke to Trump about the Kurdish forces on the border - which Turkey views as terrorists - Trump said something along the lines of: "If you do a border crossing and come into conflict with our guys, they are way better equipped and you don't want to do that".
Up to now, Turkey had not followed through on its threats, and some senior administration officials through it never would do so, Axios reported.
Since the US military left the region, Kurdish forces have struck a deal with Bashar al-Assad's government. According to CNN, Syrian troops are now moving northwards towards the border to confront Turkish forces.
The new alliance between the Kurds and the Syrian government, further complicates things in the region, as Assad's government - which is backed by Russia - is the enemy of the US.
The shift is being called a major turning point in the eight-year civil war.
The US has also imposed sanctions on Erdoğan's government, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Turkey's actions "endanger civilians and threaten the security of the entire region".
Newshub.
