Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A dramatically altered landscape: “Analysts said it was clear that Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin were emerging as the winners of the geopolitical puzzle, and the Kurds and the U.S. as the losers. It also looks like ISIS will benefit too and may be able to resurge as stability eludes the region.”
* In related news: “The Turkish military incursion into northeast Syria is compounding an already dire humanitarian situation and forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes, according to human rights monitors. According to U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 160,000 civilians have been displaced since the Turkish offensive began on Oct. 9.”
* Trump has a habit of trying to put out the fires he starts: “President Donald Trump on Monday ordered new sanctions on Turkey amid sustained criticism from Republican lawmakers over his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria to make way for a Turkish operation.”
* Impeachment testimony: “George P. Kent, a senior State Department official in charge of Ukraine policy, on Tuesday became the latest high-ranking witness to be questioned behind closed doors by House impeachment investigators, facing questions about his knowledge of the widening Ukraine scandal.”
* Rudy Giuliani: “Rudolph W. Giuliani’s attorney informed Congress Tuesday that the former mayor will not comply with the House’s subpoena as part of its impeachment probe.” The former mayor’s lawyer added that Giuliani considers the impeachment inquiry “unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate.” * This hardly seems unreasonable: “A senior House Democrat has asked the Transportation Department’s internal watchdog to investigate whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao showed undue favoritism to Kentucky constituents of her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.” * It seems a whole lot of people see Fox News as a lobbying tool: “Kallie Hapgood wanted President Trump’s help in the case against her husband on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, where he’s accused of killing a hotel maintenance worker while on a family vacation. So she turned to his favorite TV show.” See you tomorrow..
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
