(Ivor Prickett | The New York Times file photo) Kurdish fighters with the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during a battle against the Islamic State group in Raqqa, Syria, on Oct. 12, 2017. In a major shift in U.S. military policy in Syria, the White House said on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, that President Donald Trump had given his endorsement for a Turkish military operation that would sweep away American-backed Kurdish forces near the border in Syria.