Pat Robertson Has Savage Response to Trump Move

President Trump on Tuesday took to Twitter to double down on his claims that he's not siding with Turkey over America's Kurdish allies with his decision to pull a small number of troops from northern Syria, a decision that apparently paves the way for Turkey to attack the Syrian-Kurdish force that has helped the US in its fight against ISIS. But his words for Turkey were a bit more defensive and less harsh than they were Monday. The latest:

• Trump reiterated that "in no way have we Abandoned the Kurds," whom he described as "special people and wonderful fighters" who are getting financial support and weapons from the US. As for Turkey, he wrote the country knows "any unforced or unnecessary fighting ... will be devastating to their economy and to their very fragile currency." The Hill sees it as a softening from Monday, when Trump said he could "obliterate" Turkey's economy if it did anything that he found off-limits.
• Trump offered a defense of Turkey, too, tweeting, "So many people conveniently forget that Turkey is a big trading partner of the United States. In fact they make the structural steel frame for our F-35 Fighter Jet." (Though that relationship ended in July after Turkey bought a Russian missile system.) He continued by saying "they have also been good to deal with" and are an "important member in good standing of NATO."

• In his tweet he also announced President Erdogan will be visiting the White House next month, reports the Wall Street Journal.
• The Guardian's take: "Trump has been publicly coming to terms with policy dilemmas that constrained his predecessor, Barack Obama. The US cannot afford to worsen its already poor relationship with Turkey and cannot contemplate a military clash with a Nato ally. On the other hand, there is considerable US support, particularly in the Republican party, for standing by the Kurds."
• Televangelist Pat Robertson is among the conservative voices reacting harshly to Trump's move. His Monday comments, which were picked up by Mediaite: "The president, who allowed [Jamal] Khashoggi to be cut in pieces without any repercussions whatsoever, is now allowing the Christians and the Kurds to be massacred by the Turks. ... The president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of heaven if he permits this to happen."
• The Washington Post reports there are no indications that Turkey is about to commence its attack, though it notes the country has been unwavering in its communication that an invasion is the plan. It says the Syrian-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces threatens Turkey's national security because of its links to Kurdish militants within Turkey.

(More President Trump stories.)