AS HOUSE REVOLTS ON SYRIA PULLOUT PRESIDENT DIGS IN · meeting in Detroit on Thursday morning, a...

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,483 © 2019 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019

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WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump faced off against both par-ties in Congress on Wednesday inan extraordinary confrontationover his decision to abandonAmerica’s Kurdish allies as thevast majority of House Republi-cans joined Democrats to con-demn his policy in an overwhelm-ing vote.

Mr. Trump found himself in-creasingly isolated after with-drawing troops from Syria andclearing the way for a Turkish of-fensive against Kurds who hadfought alongside the UnitedStates. The president all butwashed his hands of the conflict,

saying that it “has nothing to dowith us,” generating witheringcriticism from Republicans andleading to a stormy clash withSpeaker Nancy Pelosi.

Bereft of supporters and underpressure from an impeachmentinquiry, Mr. Trump spent much ofthe day defending his decision andlashing out against rivals. He dis-missed the Kurds, who until lastweek shared outposts with Ameri-can soldiers, saying they were “noangels” and fought for money. Andhe berated Ms. Pelosi as a “third-grade politician” or “third-rate po-litician,” depending on the ver-sion, prompting Democrats towalk out of a White House meet-ing.

“I think now we have to pray forhis health,” Ms. Pelosi told report-ers afterward. “This was a veryserious meltdown on the part ofthe president.” She said Mr.Trump seemed “very shaken up”by the cascade of criticism.

Mr. Trump said it was the otherway around. “Nancy Pelosi needshelp fast!” he wrote on Twitter.

PRESIDENT DIGS INON SYRIA PULLOUTAS HOUSE REVOLTS

Republican LeadersBreak With Trump

Over His Stance

By PETER BAKER and CATIE EDMONDSON

President Trump had a heatedexchange with Nancy Pelosi.

T.J. KIRKPATRICK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A12

ISTANBUL — A raft of newAmerican sanctions. An embargoon European arms sales. The in-dictment of a state-owned Turkishbank. Threats to isolate Turkeywithin NATO. A rise in global sym-pathy for the Kurdish cause. Andthe Syrian Army back in northernSyria.

The problems keep escalatingfor President Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan of Turkey, whose invasion ofKurdish-held northern Syria lastweek unraveled already tense re-lations with American and Euro-pean partners and radically re-shuffled the battle lines and alli-ances of Syria’s eight-year-oldwar.

But as challenging as Mr. Erdo-gan’s predicament appears fromthe outside, analysts say, it is onlylikely to buttress his standing athome, as the fighting fans an al-ready heightened state of nation-alist feeling.

It also masks the near-fulfill-ment of one of the president’smost important foreign policygoals: Breaking the strangleholdof a hostile Kurdish militia on avast stretch of the border, and thefracturing of the United States’ al-liance with a group that Mr. Erdo-gan considers an existentialthreat to the Turkish state.

All of that has made it harder forthe opposition to unite against Mr.Erdogan, or even to criticize him,and it has bolstered the presi-dent’s narrative that he and Tur-key are the victims of an interna-tional conspiracy.

“Americans, Europeans, Chi-nese, Arabs — all united againstTurkey,” the front-page of Sozcu, anewspaper usually fiercely op-posed to Mr. Erdogan, said onWednesday. “Bring it on.”

In the last few weeks, the Turk-ish national soccer team hasbacked Mr. Erdogan’s campaignby giving military salutes at twointernational matches. Pop sing-ers have expressed their supporton social media. Even the head ofTurkey’s largest art fair emailedits international mailing list tocondemn the “black propaganda”of international media coverage ofthe military operation.

“Overall, this operation hasbeen a success,” said Ozgur Un-luhisarcikli, an analyst who headsthe Ankara office of the GermanMarshall Fund of the UnitedStates, a Washington-based re-search group.

Turkey has long opposed the in-fluence of a Syrian Kurdish mili-

As the World Chides Erdogan, He FindsSupport at Home

By PATRICK KINGSLEY

The town of Ras al-Ain in northeastern Syria after being shelled in a Turkish operation against a Kurdish militia on Wednesday.LEFTERIS PITARAKIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Continued on Page A13

CLEVELAND — The nation’sthree largest drug distributorsand two manufacturers haveagreed with multiple states on aframework to resolve thousandsof opioid cases with a settlementworth nearly $50 billion in cashand addiction treatments, accord-ing to three people familiar withthe negotiations.

The agreement would releaseAmerisourceBergen, CardinalHealth and McKesson Corpora-tion, which together distributeabout 90 percent of the country’smedicines, along with Johnson &Johnson and Teva, the Israel-based manufacturer of genericdrugs, from a rapidly growing listof over 2,300 lawsuits that theyface in federal and state courts.

Although the states haveagreed in principle to the frame-work, cities and counties acrossthe country have not yet fully em-braced it, said lawyers for a com-mittee that represents thousandsof municipal governments. Theyare seeking more informationabout how money will be distrib-uted, whether it will be directed torelief measures or end up in gen-eral funds for state legislatures,and “when they could expect thefinancial support to start,” thelawyers said in a statement.

All the parties are under ex-treme pressure to reach a deal byMonday, when opening state-ments are set to begin in Cleve-land in the first federal trial to de-

Drug Giants Nearing Settlement Of Opioid Cases for $50 Billion

By JAN HOFFMAN

Continued on Page A21

The last time a Democraticpresidential nominee was tryingto unseat a Republican incum-bent, he arrived at the podium atthe Democratic National Conven-tion to tout his military service,his strongest credential: “I’mJohn Kerry and I’m reporting forduty.”

Now, Pete Buttigieg, a formerNavy intelligence officer whoserved in Afghanistan, is taking anotably more modulated and tar-geted approach as he seeks hisparty’s nomination, reflectingboth the experiences of a post-9/11generation of veterans and thesensibilities of a nation that large-ly reveres them, even as it is in-creasingly wary of military ad-ventures abroad.

In the Democratic debate Tues-day night, Mr. Buttigieg, the may-or of South Bend, Ind., did not somuch brag about his military ex-perience as leverage it to outflankhis rivals in a heated exchangeover President Trump’s decisionto abandon the Kurds in northernSyria.

He listened as Beto O’Rourkepraised his military service — and

later told the former Texas con-gressman not to lecture him ongun control, a subject he often dis-cusses in the context of the weap-ons he carried in Afghanistan.

“I don’t need lessons from youon courage, political or personal,”Mr. Buttigieg said.

The strong showing in the Ohiodebate was in no small part relianton Mr. Buttigieg’s background as

a service member and his abilityto unpack questions about foreignpolicy and military interventionbetter than his opponents thatnight. His experience as a vet-eran, paired with his criticism ofAmerican conflicts over the lasttwo decades, has the potential toappeal to a broad cross section ofmoderates and liberals alike.

A View Outside the Wire Lifts Buttigieg OnstageBy JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Pete Buttigieg in Afghanistan in 2014. He used his service to out-flank rivals in an exchange over Syria during Tuesday’s debate.

VIA PETE BUTTIGIEG CAMPAIGN

Continued on Page A16

General Motors and the au-toworkers’ union, confronting aperiod of flagging sales afteryears of record profits, reached atentative contract deal onWednesday that could end thecompany’s longest strike in half acentury.

The four-year agreement pro-vides for a signing bonus of morethan $8,000, as well as wage in-creases of 3 percent in some yearsand lump-sum payments of 4 per-cent in others, according to peoplefamiliar with the terms. They saidit also included a path to perma-nent employment for temporaryworkers.

The United Automobile Work-ers, in announcing the agreement,said it had “achieved major wins.”It plans to lay out the terms to rep-resentatives of its G.M. locals at ameeting in Detroit on Thursdaymorning, a chance for the leader-ship to frame the victories it feelsit won.

G.M. confirmed the accord in aterse statement. But it was notclear how some of the most con-tentious matters — like narrowingpay gaps between long-term em-ployees and more recent hires,and G.M. commitments to domes-tic production — had been re-solved.

The stakes were high for bothsides. G.M. must plan around asales slowdown in the UnitedStates and China, and the need forbig investments in electric vehi-cles and self-driving cars. And theautoworkers were intent on get-ting a bigger share of the gains thecompany has made since its bank-ruptcy a decade ago.

The walkout has left a mountingeconomic toll since it began onSept. 16. It has cost the union, itsmembers and G.M. itself hun-dreds of millions of dollars in lostdues, wages and revenue, and hasidled truckers and suppliers thatserve the automaker.

The local leaders could decideThursday to end the strike imme-

G.M. AND UNIONHAVE 4-YEAR DEAL

Tentative Accord on Payand Temp Workers

By NEAL E. BOUDETTE

Continued on Page A21

PERSISTENT The Democraticdebate showed the pack won’tyield to the leaders. PAGE A14

WASHINGTON — The WhiteHouse’s trenchant declaration toHouse impeachment investiga-tors last week was unequivocal:No more witnesses or documentsfor a “totally compromised kanga-roo court.”

But just a week later, it has be-come clear that PresidentTrump’s attempts to stonewall theDemocrat-led inquiry that has im-periled his presidency and en-snared much of his inner circle arecrumbling.

One by one, a parade of Trumpadministration career diplomatsand senior officials has offered acascade of revelations. Those ac-counts have corroborated and ex-panded upon key aspects of thewhistle-blower complaint thatspawned the impeachment inqui-ry into whether the presidentabused his power to enlistUkraine to help him in the 2020presidential election.

The latest disclosures came onWednesday, when a former top

aide to Secretary of State MikePompeo offered an inside accountof what he said was a demoralizedState Department, where careerdiplomats were sidelined and oth-ers apparently were pressed touse their posts “to advance do-mestic political objectives.” In sixhours of voluntary testimony, theformer aide, Michael McKinley,told impeachment investigatorsthat he quit his post as Mr. Pom-peo’s senior adviser amid mount-ing frustrations over the Trumpadministration’s treatment of dip-lomats and its failure to supportthem in the face of the impeach-ment inquiry, according to a copyof his opening remarks.

On Thursday, Democrats areset to hear from Gordon D. Sond-land, the United States ambassa-

A Blockade Crumbles as Witnesses Agree to TalkBy MICHAEL D. SHEARand NICHOLAS FANDOS

Continued on Page A18

Ex-Pompeo Aide Latestto Testify in Inquiry

on Impeachment

Pugs compete at a racetrack in Ham-burg, Germany, including one namedfor the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. PAGE A6

INTERNATIONAL A4-13

Elvis Lives! And Wins Races!On her second album, Laetitia Tamkoshifts away from the style that broughther an international audience. PAGE C5

ARTS C1-8

Finding a New Voice, AlreadyThe undergarment company has in-spired other brands, but will millennialsstand for being squished? Above, de-signs from Heist Studios. PAGE D1

THURSDAY STYLES D1-8

Spanx’s Shapewear Revolution

Under fire for plans to cut millions offfood stamps and school meals, theTrump administration is extending thecomment period. PAGE A20

NATIONAL A14-21

Cuts in Food Aid Are DelayedAn easing of tensions between theUnited States and China has done littleto reduce the uncertainty that threatensthe global economy. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-8

Volatility Despite Trade Truce

The City Council is expected to approvean $8 billion plan on Thursday to re-make the jail system by 2026. PAGE A24

NEW YORK A24-26

Closing Rikers IslandIn confronting a wave of racist abuse atmatches across Europe, officials couldconsider banning certain stadiums andclubs. On Soccer. PAGE B9

SPORTSTHURSDAY B9-12

Soccer’s Nuclear Option

An insular community finds anonymityand increasing profit on the internetretailer’s sales platform. PAGE A26

Amazon’s Hasidic SellersAfter a devastating typhoon, the coun-try wonders if even the costliest floodcontrols can ever be enough. PAGE A4

Japan’s Ever-Rising Storm BillA dispute has arisen over who wrotethe signature lyric to Lizzo’s biggesthit, “Truth Hurts.” PAGE C1

Squabble Over Song’s Origins

John Lithgow PAGE A29

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A28-29

TESTIMONY Republicans fear anunseasoned envoy will bolster theimpeachment inquiry. PAGE A19

Late EditionToday, mostly cloudy, cooler, windy,high 59. Tonight, partly cloudy,breezy, low 50. Tomorrow, sunshineand patchy clouds, less wind, high60. Weather map is on Page A22.

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