‘WELL DONE, MR. PRESIDENT’: “I applaud President Trump’s decision to leave a small contingent of American forces in Syria as part of an international stabilizing force,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, after the president relented and agreed at the urging of Graham and a bipartisan consensus in Congress to keep 200 U.S. troops in Syria past the end of April.

“With this decision, President Trump has decided to follow sound military advice,” said Graham in a statement last night. “For a small fraction of the forces we have had in Syria, we can accomplish our national security objectives. Well done Mr. President.”

The White House announced the troops would stay shortly after the president got off the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time,” said press secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement. Sanders provided no further details, apart from saying Trump and Erdogan agreed to “continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone” in Syria.

“A safe zone in Syria made up of international forces is the best way to achieve our national security objectives of continuing to contain Iran, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, protecting our Turkish allies, and securing the Turkish border with Syria,” said Graham in his statement.

WHAT WILL THE TROOPS DO? The American special operations troops will continue to advise the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes members of a Kurdish militia that Turkey considers terrorists, furnishing logistical support and intelligence, including providing overhead surveillance and calling in airstrikes when necessary.

It appears most of the U.S. troops will remain in the areas of northeast Syria liberated by the U.S.-backed SDF, although some will remain in the south at al-Tanf, a remote outpost along the Iraqi border.

THE BIGGER MISSION: The real purpose of leaving 200 of the 2,000 U.S. troops behind is to persuade allies Britain and France to keep their troops on the ground, to serve as a bulwark against Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime. In their discussions with allies at last weekend’s Munich Security Conference, members of the U.S. congressional delegation were told if the United States leaves, they would leave too.

“This will ensure ISIS does not return and Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew. This also ensures Turkey and SDF elements that helped us defeat ISIS will not go into conflict,” said Graham.

NO HARD FEELINGS: Both Graham and the object of his recent frustration, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, seemed ready to move on after last weekend’s tense exchange in Munich over Trump’s pullout plan, which Graham called the “dumbest fucking idea” ever.

“I always think of Sen. Graham as an ally and we have shared interests. He is a problem-solver and I am very confident we will come together with solutions for Syria,” Shanahan said Thursday while standing next to Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders.

FULL HONORS FOR TURKEY: Shanahan will be rolling out the red carpet and much more when he welcomes Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to the Pentagon this afternoon.

The River Entrance Parade Field is soggy but is cleared of snow, thanks to yesterday’s 50 degree temperatures, and the Pentagon is planning a “full honors parade” to greet the Turks. It will include several hundred ceremonial military units and the firing of cannons. Such pageantry used to be a regular feature of welcome ceremonies, but full honors have become rare in recent years.

THE FATE OF TURKEY’S F-35s: The warm welcome for Turkey’s defense minister comes at the same time a chill has descended on relations between Washington and Ankara over Erdogan's increasing coziness with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the NATO ally’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defenses, which are not only incompatible with NATO systems but could end up giving Russian engineers access to sensitive U.S. missile defense technology.

The spending bill President Trump signed last week, averting another government shutdown, contained a provision blocking the transfer of F-35s to Turkey, pending a report from the Pentagon and State Department on the status of the S-400 purchase.

Turkey is not just a customer of the Lockheed Martin jet, it’s also a partner in the production. At last weekend’s Munich conference, Vice President Mike Pence, without mentioning Turkey by name, issued a not-so-veiled warning. “We've also made it clear that we will not stand idly by while NATO allies purchase weapons from our adversaries. We cannot ensure the defense of the West if our allies grow dependent on the East,” he said.

“The acquisition of the sophisticated S-400 system from an adversary is just the latest example of how the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become an ally no more,” comments Frank Gaffney of the conservative Center for Security Policy. “Now that it’s being cut off from access to our military hardware, will Turkey come back into the fold – or become an even bigger problem for Europe and for us?”

“[T]he smart money says he’s gone for good,” says Gaffney of Erdogan. “It behooves NATO formally to recognize that reality – instead of ignoring, and thereby enabling, it.”

Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Kelly Jane Torrance (@kjtorrance). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.