Trump's coziness with authoritarians is backfiring spectacularly in Syria

• President Donald Trump's tendency to cozy up to authoritarians has backfired in a major way in Syria. 
• Trump's controversial relationships with autocratic leaders have rarely sparked immediate consequences.
• But his willingness to kowtow to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's desire to go after Kurdish forces has induced a political and humanitarian crisis. 
• "The cost of allying with autocrats like Erdogan and Putin has never been clearer, especially when American troops are caught in the crossfire," one expert on authoritarianism told Insider.
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President Donald Trump's willingness to attach himself to authoritarians has been an unusual and controversial aspect of his presidency, but it's rarely sparked significant consequences. This week, however, Trump's cozy relationships with some of the world's most repressive leaders are coming back to haunt him at a ferocious velocity in Syria. 

Trump capitulated to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, abandoning Kurdish forces — who until recently were closely allied with the US in the fight against ISIS — to a potential slaughter by Turkey's military.

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