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Article snippet: Members of MORE, on Sunday defended the decision to withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria ahead of a Turkish military operation as well as a delay in sanctions against Ankara that have sparked bipartisan criticism. Esper said the presence of U.S. troops near Turkey’s border with Syria would not have prevented Turkey’s advance into Syria. “I think they were fully committed,” Esper said of Turkey on “Fox News Sunday.” “We are not going to go to war, another war in the Middle East, against Turkey. ... That’s not what we signed up for.” Esper also pushed back against host MORE’s characterization of U.S. troops at the border as a “tripwire.” “I’m not one to ... classify them as a tripwire and sacrifice them, if you will,” he said. He insisted the White House remains committed to working against the Turkish offensive. “I would say what we’ve been saying. ... We are doing everything we can to get the Turks to stop this egregious behavior,” he said. Esper, meanwhile, confirmed on CBS's "Face the Nation" that the U.S. had withdrawn more forces than the 50 troops near the border between Turkey and Syria, saying the U.S. had pulled another 1,000 amid Ankara's advance. “And so we find ourselves as we have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies, and it's a very untenable situation,” Esper told host Margaret Brennan. Mnuchin also defended a delay in sanctions against Turkey on ABC’s “This Week.” Trump warned of the sanctions if Ankara treated Sy... Link to the full article to read more