[According to news.com.au](https://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/donald-trump-dumps-on-key-us-ally-saying-kurds-didnt-help-america-with-world-war-ii/news-story/2f09926d68254fe87fb48bb91fe549ac): > Mr Trump issued a brief statement overnight saying that America “does not endorse this attack”. The Independent has that in [more detail](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-syria-turkey-isis-kurdish-forces-war-latest-a9149571.html): > The comment was made in a statement released by the White House, in which he claimed Turkey is committed to ensuring the safety of civilians, in spite of concerns that the country will target Kurdish fighters who helped fight against the Isis insurgency there. > > "This morning, Turkey, a NATO member, invaded Syria. The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea," the statement says. "There are no American soldiers in the area. From the first day I entered the political arena, I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless, senseless wars—especially those that don’t benefit the United States." > > He continues: "Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place—and we will hold them to this commitment. In addition, Turkey is now responsible for ensuring all ISIS fighters being held captive remain in prison and that ISIS does not reconstitute in any way, shape, or form. We expect Turkey to abide by all of its commitments, and we continue to monitor the situation closely." Pompeo also [went on record](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49995494) to say that the US did not approve the latest Turkish offensive beforehand. As the BBC summarized: > In an interview with US broadcaster PBS, Mr Pompeo defended Mr Trump's surprise decision to pull back US forces, adding that Turkey has a "legitimate security concern" and "a terrorist threat to their south". > > He said reports the US had allowed Turkey to launch the offensive were "just false". > > "The United States didn't give Turkey a green light," he said. The BBC also summarized this bit from Trump > The president later told a press conference the Turks and Kurds "have been fighting each other for centuries", and said that Kurdish fighters "didn't help us in the Second World War, they didn't help us with [the D-Day landings in] Normandy". But "later" is relative to an earlier post of Trump, not to Pompeo's statement. So that appears to be the last thing that Trump said publicly (on the matter) *before* the current Turkish offensive began. In the same statement Trump also [compared](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2019/oct/10/donald-trump-says-kurds-didnt-help-us-with-normandy-video) the Turkey-Kurds situation with Israel vs Palestinians. But I'm not quite sure on when this last bit was said, because the Guardian gives [another](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/09/turkey-syria-attack-latest-news-kurds-trump) sequence of events: > Gülnur Aybet, one of the Turkish president’s senior advisers, told CNN: “President Trump and President Erdogan have reached an understanding over precisely what this operation is.” Aybet added that Trump “knows what the scope of this operation is”. > > Hours after the bombing began, Trump issued a statement mildly criticising the offensive aimed at Kurdish forces, which for nearly five years fought alongside the US against Isis. > > “The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea,” the statement said, before noting: “There are no American soldiers in the area.” > > In remarks later, Trump presented the invasion as a historical inevitability, saying Turks and Kurds “have been fighting each other for centuries”. And he downplayed the US debt to Kurdish fighters, saying: “They didn’t help us in the second world war, they didn’t help us with Normandy … but they’re there to help us with their land.” So beside the White House statement, which seems undisputedly released after the Turkish operation began, we also have this Trump press conference that some put after the beginning of the operation, although I'm having doubts that the press would not have pounced on Trump with questions about the actual operation had it been known to them to be ongoing already. YMMV. --- It looks like the Guardian had the correct sequence after all. There's a newer BBC article which gives a more explicit [timeline](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50017839) > Timeline of US statements > > 6 Oct - White House releases statement announcing northern Syria withdrawal after Trump reportedly spoke to Erdogan > > 7 Oct - After criticism from his party, Trump defends exit. "Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out", he tweets. He also threatens to "obliterate" Turkish economy > > 8 Oct - Trump argues Turkey is a strong ally to US and Nato, tweeting, "but in no way have we Abandoned the Kurds, who are special people" > > 9 Oct - Pompeo says US did not authorise Turkish attack, saying: "The United States didn't give Turkey a green light" > > 10 Oct - Trump tells reporters the Kurds "didn't help us in the Second World War. They didn't help us with Normandy, as an example." Later he says "I hope we can mediate" between the Kurds and Turkey. Other options, he says, include US military deployment or "financially doing some very strong things to Turkey".