Defending President Donald Trump’s region-shaking decision to order an airstrike and kill top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Fox News host Pete Hegseth on Friday said America could rely on other Middle East allies if Iraq voted to expel the U.S. military from their country. “If you are not satisfied yet, if you won’t follow through and defend yourself yet, then at what point do we decide it is not in our interest?” Hegseth exclaimed. “We can do some [military action] from further away and work with allies that are still there like the Kurds.” 

Unfortunately for Hegseth, relying on the Kurds as an American ally may be a bit more difficult following Trump’s decision in October to essentially abandon the Kurdish in Northern Syria, paving the way for Turkish forces to invade.