Tag: Kurds

Closing Thought–14Oct19

By now the whole world and even FOX News watchers know that Turkey is invading Northern Syria in search of the Kurds.

First, Kurds?

The Kurds are mostly Sunni Muslims who share a common language, customs and cultural traditions. But they don’t share a nationality.

https://www.newsy.com/stories/a-brief-explainer-on-the-kurdish-people/

And the Kurds DID assist the Allies in WW2…..

Image

The #Kurds DID fight on the Allied side in WW2. They helped break the siege after the 1941 pro-Nazi Coup d’état in Iraq & were part of the (pro-Allied) Iraq Levies. In 1942 Kurds made up 25% of the force. By 1943, 10 of the 44 companies of Iraq Levies were Kurdish.
@Akil_N_Awan

Now that you have been brought up to date on the Kurds….

My problem is that Turkey has invaded a sovereign nation in this case Syria……I do believe that this is frowned upon by most international treaties.

Like treaties the US has signed over the years Trump is null and voiding most of them in his narcissistic rampage through our foreign policy.

I believe that this invasion is a violation of the United Nations Charter Article 2…..

  • The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
  • All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
  • All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
  • All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

I wish I could say that Turkey is the sole violator…but that would be a LIE.

Now we wait to hear what the UN will have to say and/or do…..

What about NATO…since Turkey is a NATO memeber and Syria were to attack them…..the US would be compelled to enter into this conflict….

  • Collective defence means that an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies.
  • The principle of collective defence is enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
  • NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time in its history after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States.
  • NATO has taken collective defence measures on several occasions, for instance in response to the situation in Syria and in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
  • NATO has standing forces on active duty that contribute to the Alliance’s collective defence efforts on a permanent basis.

All the confusion in and around Syria made me thonk of a song from my past…..

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Breaking News: Syria

The Middle East just took a step closer to a full blown war….instead of the hunt for a “safe zone”…..

NATO ally has invaded a sovereign nation, Syria, in pursuit of a people they say are terrorists….the Kurds….

In a meeting the scales are weighted…..Syria has ageed to defend the Kurds from Turkish aggression…..

This might be a last-minute, desperation deal—but now Syrian Kurds have some protection. They said Sunday the Syrian government has agreed to send army forces to the nation’s northern border to try to curb Turkey’s assault, the BBC reports. Russia brokered the deal over three days between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and President Bashar al-Assad’s government, a Kurdish intelligence official tells the Washington Post. What the Kurds gave up in response is unclear, but Mazloum Abdi, leader of the SDF, described it as a necessity.

“We know that we would have to make painful compromises with Moscow and Bashar al-Assad if we go down the road of working with them,” he writes in Foreign Policy. “But if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people.” Abdi expressed appreciation of America’s “generous support,” but said “Turkey would never attack us so long as the US government was true to its word with us. We are now standing with our chests bare to face the Turkish knives.” Indeed, Turkey attacked as President Trump ordered most or all US troops in the area to pull out.

This situation is leading to an old stand-off…..NATO vs Russia……Syria has help…Russia and Iran…..NATO has Turkey……

This should test the strength of the NATO charter.

On the other front in this….American troops…..

US officials had already made a big deal of withdrawing from northern Syria, but President Trump on late Saturday has finally ordered a full withdrawal from the area, covering about 1,000 troops that were still in potential combat areas.

Among the troops withdrawing were the personnel in a US base at Ayn al-Issa. Turkish forces were approaching the area, and had cut off US supply lines by seizing the highway. Keeping the base at that point seemed no longer feasible.

That the Pentagon is reporting this new order covers 1,000 troops in northern Syria is interesting, as just days ago the US claimed to have only 15-100 troops left there, when they came under fire from Turkish artillery. Even before that, Trump claimed the US had only ever had 50 troops there in the first place, as to downplay the pullback.

It is not clear from the reports where these 1,000 troops are going, though so far there is no indication that the US is actually leaving Syria. Rather, it is likely they’ll just move deeper south, as to give Turkey more room to operate.

With Turkey moving its troops deeper into Syria, and Syria’s Army advancing into the area to resist them, the fight could get very complicated very quickly. The US clearly doesn’t want to get directly involved, though these slow, incomplete pullouts mean the US is also determined to keep a toehold in the country.

(antiwar.com)

The news will be daily around this situation…..I will be watching.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Trump’s Syrian Decision

Holy crap!

Trump promised to bring the troops out of Syria when elected….he was elected and he did so….now the MSM is goin g batcrap crazy condemning the president for his promise kept.

The Neocon press is getting all butt hurt over the decision…..

While Washington should never leave American troops in harm’s way a day longer than national security interests require, President Donald Trump’s decision to pull back or withdraw U.S. troops from the Syrian border is morally wrong and strategically short-sighted.

His decision is wrong because the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include a significant contingent of Kurds, have courageously fought alongside the U.S. to dismantle ISIS’s so-called “caliphate.” Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to crush the SDF due to longstanding concerns regarding the Kurds. By pulling U.S. troops back from the Syrian border or withdrawing the troops altogether, Trump is giving Erdogan a green light to attack the SDF.

The SDF has taken heavy losses in the fight against ISIS because the U.S. mainly provided the air power, while the SDF provided the ground forces. Gen. Joseph Votel, who recently retired after serving as the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said: “The SDF have been exceptional partners.” He estimated the group suffered nearly 11,000 casualties in the fight against ISIS. While ISIS and its ideology are not defeated, the SDF’s sacrifices likely spared the U.S. the need to deploy tens of thousands of ground troops.

https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/10/08/trump-syria-withdrawal-decision-immoral-and-short-sighted/

That says it was immoral…this article calls it giving aid to our enemies in the Middle East……

Thousands of Syrian Kurdish fighters gave their lives to help America defeat the Islamic State, but President Trump just decided to abandon the Kurds to their worst enemy, Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This is good news for the Islamic State, which can mount its comeback more effectively if the Kurds are distracted. It is also good news for the Islamic Republic of Iran, which wants to turn Syria into a base for attacking Israel, something that will now be a lot easier.

Trump’s decision came out of the blue last night, in the form of a brief announcement from the office of the White House press secretary. Top national security officials had been working for months on an agreement with Turkey to prevent it from attacking the Kurds. That agreement appears to be dead.

The White House said Trump’s decision came after a phone call with Erdogan earlier on Sunday. This is actually the second time Trump has attempted a sudden reversal of his Syria policy after a phone call with Erdogan. Last December, the president said he was going to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria — they numbered about 2,000 at the time — and let Turkish forces deal with any remaining problems caused by the Islamic State.

https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/10/07/trumps-syria-decision-is-a-victory-for-americas-enemies-in-the-middle-east/

I am sick of Israel being used by the Neocons to keep fighting and keep our troops to protect someone other than the USA.

The troops in Syria say they feel betrayed….

A U.S. special forces member serving with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria said Turkey is inflicting atrocities as it invades northeastern Syria. 

“I am ashamed for the first time in my career,” the unidentified soldier, who has been involved in the training of indigenous forces on multiple continents, told Fox News Wednesday.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/465143-us-soldier-in-syria-i-am-ashamed-for-the-first-time-in-my-career

Plus…..https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/trump-blasted-by-us-veterans-for-abandoning-kurdish-allies/

Then there are some that see the whole Syrian decision a bit differently……

Trump’s move has been called an “abrupt shift” that would “abandon” the Syrian Kurds who make up the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). For an abrupt shift, it has been a long time coming: Trump’s Syria troop cut in December 2018 was a preview of his intent, which he reiterated this week: “I campaigned on the fact that I was going to bring our soldiers home.”

As to abandoning the Syrian Kurds, the U.S. intention for the region’s Kurds was plain in 2017 when Washington advised the Iraqi Kurds to cancel an independence referendum but stay in Iraq’s federal system. Likewise, the Syrian Kurds were encouraged to open negotiations with the Assad regime to secure limited local autonomy, and it sure must be working as the SDF sells the Assad regime oil and natural gas, violating the sanctions on Syria in the process, but getting $378 million a year in oil revenue alone. And these are the “good guys”…

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2019/10/10/trumps_troop_pullback_in_syria_is_part_of_a_consistent_policy_114788.html

Then the GOP has not taken Trump’s decision well…his enabler in the Senate Graham has made a threat to Turkey…..

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican ally of President Donald Trump, has vowed to lead efforts in Congress to make Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “pay a heavy price” over his military operation against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.

“Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration,” Graham said on Wednesday, shortly after Ankara announced the start of the incursion. 

“This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS,” the senator added, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State (IS) group.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/trump-ally-vows-make-erdogan-pay-heavy-price-over-syria-offensive

Shame that this GOPer, Graham, is not this brave with other issues.

Further Reading:

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/eastern-mediterranean/syria/calling-halt-turkeys-offensive-north-eastern-syria

This situation is as convoluted as most issues dealing with Trump….I am pleased he brought some of our troops out of Syria…granted there is a better way of doing such a thing…now Trump needs to figure out how to bring more of our war weary troops home.

It is Friday Morning……

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Closing Thought–10Oct19

Before I begin the mind numbing geopolitics…I would like to wish John Lennon a Happy Birthday…..born 09 October 1940…he is sadly missed…..https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/john-lennon-birthday-2019/

We need to move on……

By now we all are aware of the events unfolding in Syria with the Turks and the Kurds.

Trump basically gave Turkey a green light to attack the Kurds in Northern Syria……..but he has a unique reason for turning his back on an ally…..

President Trump angered critics including fellow Republicans with bizarre remarks Wednesday downplaying the importance of the alliance between US and Kurdish forces against ISIS, and of alliances in general. The president defended his decision to allow a Turkish offensive in northern Syria by pointing out that Kurdish fighters did not assist the US in military operations like the D-Day landings. “They didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us with Normandy for example,” Trump said. “They’re there to help us with their land, and that’s a different thing.” Business Insider notes that Normandy is around 2,500 miles from the Kurdistan region, and isn’t part of the US. “With all of that being said, we like the Kurds,” Trump added.

Asked whether he felt abandoning the Kurds sent a worrying message to other US allies, Trump replied: “Alliances are easy,” adding that it will be easy for the US to form new ones. He also said America’s “alliances” have “taken tremendous advantages of us.” Trump’s own alliances with some Republican lawmakers appear to be weakening. “At request of this administration the Kurds served as the primary ground fighters against ISIS in Syria so US troops wouldn’t have to,” but Trump then “cut deal with Erdogan allowing him to wipe them out,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio. Rep. Liz Cheney said she couldn’t understand why Trump “is leaving America’s allies to be slaughtered and enabling the return of ISIS.” Cheney and other Republican lawmakers described news of the Turkish offensive as “sickening.”

I got a history lesson today…I am so pleased (sarcasm)….I just love a good ad lib…and this was NOT one of those.

Please tell this person to STOP trying to re-write history….someone correct the BS…..

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Trump Threatens Turkey

The news about the US troops withdrawal from Northern Syria has the MSM going batcrap crazy…. Since the surprise announcement from the White House that said U.S. troops will be withdrawing from areas of Kurdish-held northeast Syria to avoid a planned Turkish assault, an onslaught of U.S. politicians spoke out against the decision. Members of Congress from both parties used the same talking points to argue for a continued U.S. presence in northeast Syria. ………https://news.antiwar.com/2019/10/07/washington-loses-its-mind-over-announcement-to-move-troops-in-syria/

The blow back to the negative news by Trump was more to shut up the critics than anything else….his Twitter message had a couple of things that were disturbing….

As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over…

First, “in my great and unmatched wisdom”?  WTF?  Does he believe that he has god-like vision?

Second, his statement about the destruction of the economy of Turkey “(I’ve done it before)”….just when did he do this thing?

All that aside…Trump warned Turkey has taken his threat as lightly as I took his messianic vision…..

Turkish forces have begun their long threatened military offensive against the Syrian Kurds. Starting Monday night, Turkish warplanes began carrying out airstrikes, starting with a Kurdish base in Hasakeh Province.

Syrian state media reported the strike was at al-Malikiyah. It is being presented as part of Turkey unilaterally creating a “safe zone” in northern Syria. The safe zone was originally meant to be a joint US-Turkish effort, but Turkey has been complaining about US reticence.

The White House position now is a bit less clear. On the one hand, officials are saying the US won’t be involved in or support Turkey’s offensive, and that they intend to hand over responsibility to the region to Turkey. On the other hand Trump is threatening to “obliterate” Turkey’s economy over the invasion, cryptically adding (I’ve done it before!) to his Tweet.

(anitwar.com)

Apparently Turkey missed the threatening Tweet from our Beloved Supreme Leader……or maybe they just chuckled and did what they wanted…..so far…what has Trump’s tough talk accomplished?

This is NOT the first time that the US has turned its back on allies…think Vietnam…..

Our short sighted view of history is fed by the MSM in their corporate-centric reporting.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Kurds–Screwed Again

Stop me if you have heard this one before.

The US has a history of using the Kurds and then turning their back on them with disastrous results…..think Iraq….to help fill in the blanks here is a piece of history……https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-04-14-1991104040-story.html

Looks like Trump is holding with our pathetic tradition of using the Kurds and then throwing them to the wolves, so to speak…..this time it is in Syria…..you remember Syria from a year ago, right?

The White House said Sunday that Turkey will soon invade northern Syria, renewing fears of a slaughter of Kurdish fighters allied with the US in a yearslong campaign against ISIS. For months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to launch a military assault on the Kurdish forces in northern Syria, many of whom his government considers terrorists. The Kurdish forces bore the brunt of the US-led campaign against ISIS, and Republicans and Democrats have warned that allowing the Turkish attack would send a troubling message to American allies across the globe, the AP reports. The announcement came after a call between President Trump and Erdogan, the White House said.

US troops “will not support or be involved in the operation” and “will no longer be in the immediate area,” in northern Syria, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in an unusual late-Sunday statement that was silent on the fate of the Kurds. It was not clear whether that meant the US would be withdrawing its 1,000 or so troops completely from northern Syria The White House statement Sunday said Turkey will take custody of foreign fighters captured in campaign against ISIS who have been held by Kurdish forces supported by the US. In December, Trump announced he was withdrawing American troops from Syria but was met with widespread condemnation for abandoning Kurdish allies to the Turkish assault.

The statement does not make it clear if U.S. troops will fully withdraw from Syria or if they will just relocate. The statement also says, “Turkey will now be responsible for all ISIS fighters in the area captured over the past two years.”

Seems just a continuation of the policies of the US towards the Kurds……use them to achieve a goal then thrown them to the wolves….a policy that has been employed more than once.

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Are The Kurds Screwed Again?

In the “Way Back Machine” we travel to 1991……The dust from Desert Storm is beginning to settle…..Kuwait is back in the hands of a restrictive monarchy and their oil pumps are on and pleasing the West…..Saddam is still sitting on the power throne in Iraq…and the US takes its victory lap this time using a new resource…the 24 hour news cycle…..the Kurds are starting to flap their independence wings thinking the US has their backs….after all look what they did for the Kuwaiti royals.

Short synopsis…they were screwed by the US and paid a high price for lack of support.

2003 the Kurds were turned to to fight Saddam once again……and when he was killed they were used to fight s new enemy….ISIS…..

That was Iraq….how about Syria?

Northern Syria has a large Kurdish population along the border with Turkey…..and there is the problem….Turkey claims them as terrorists and has been trying to rid themselves of the Kurdish population….and now the war in Syria has given them the opportunity to do what they have been wanting to do for decades…..eliminate the Kurdish problem.

The Kurds in Syria as the Kurds in Iraq are US allies and have been helping with the fight against ISIS….the US has funded and armed these allies and by all accounts have been a huge asset in the fight.

By now most know that the president has stated that he will be pulling the troops out of Syria…..but why did he make this decision that seems like a knee jerk reaction?

This action will leave the Kurds in Syria vulnerable to the Turkish onslaught to come…..

Did Trump make his decision after a phone call to Erdogan?

According to US defense officials familiar with the situation, President Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria was made following a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This talk came following Erdogan’s threat last week to invade Kurdish eastern Syria, where US forces are deployed. Officials say that Erdogan essentially warned the US forces to “get out of the way” of the invasion.

US officials had been warning Erdogan against the invasion before that call. Immediately following the call, Erdogan claimed to have been given Trump’s blessing to go ahead with the invasion. It’s not clear, but the implication seems to be that Trump has agreed to get out of the way.

Other reports indicate that there have been debates of US policy in Syria, with respect to Turkey, for awhile, with some arguing that the US alliance with the Syrian Kurds was always temporary, and that the US alliance with Turkey is a long-term priority.

Now, it seems the US is trying to finish withdrawing from Syria before Turkey gets there, while Turkey’s Defense Ministry says that they are “intensely preparing” for the invasion, which they view as a “counter-terror” operation against the Kurdish YPG.

(antiwar.com)

Are the Kurds screwed again?

Of course they are.

Turkey is calling for genocide after talking to Trump on the phone?

Turkey said Kurdish militants east of the Euphrates in Syria “will be buried in their ditches when the time comes”, after President Donald Trump began what will be a total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.

Trump’s decision to pull out completely was confirmed by U.S. officials and is expected in the coming months. The move stunned U.S. lawmakers and allies and upends American policy in the Middle East. For NATO ally Turkey, however, the news is likely to be welcome.

(reuters.com)

“Now we have Manbij and the east of the Euphrates in front of us. We are working intensively on this subject,” state-owned Anadolu news agency on Thursday reported Defence Minister Hulusi Akar as saying during a visit to a Qatari-Turkish joint military base in Doha.

“Right now it is being said that some ditches, tunnels were dug in Manbij and to the east of the Euphrates. They can dig tunnels or ditches if they want, they can go underground if they want, when the time and place comes they will buried in the ditches they dug. No one should doubt this.”

This does not sound like Turkey intends on stopping with the elimination of ISIS…..to me sounds like an Ottoman Armenian solution.  (if you do not know what that means then read a damn book)

Hopefully it is a coincidence that the Turkish statement and the phone call were so close together….but I have NEVER believed in coincidence.

Are The Kurds Screwed Again?

Kurds Screwed Again!

The US has aa long history of screwing the Kurds of Iraq…..in the 1990’s after the first Gulf War the US turned their backs on the Kurds after promising them they would not be alone and Saddam gassed them and the US turned their backs….

In 2003 when the US decided to invade Iraq yet again we went to the Kurds for support in their fight and the Kurds stepped up and then when ISIS was a viable enemy the Kurds stood up and fought them in their long war.

And now with Iraq more or less calming down…Saddam gone, ISIS all but destroyed nd the Kurds are asking for some autonomy and what did the US have as an answer?

With a growing split between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) since a failed secession attempt, the Pentagon has announced that they are not including any funding in their budget to pay for Kurdish peshmerga salaries anymore.

The US long funded the peshmerga, a force of paramilitary fighters armed by the US but loyal to the KRG. That funding came to an end in September, about the same time as the Iraq-KRG split, which came with an assurance that Iraq’s central government would start paying the salaries.

Indications are that Iraq never actually paid the peshmerga, but either way the Pentagon seems to no longer be interested in picking up the slack. They are, however, still planning to continue training and arming them.

Iraq’s determination to preclude the KRG from ever again trying to secede likely means they want to leave the peshmerga as weak as they can, and with Iraq overtly cutting revenue sharing into Kurdish territory they likely can justify continued cuts.

Kurds can be proud of their ally that has stood by them for decades (that is sarcasm)….this is what the US does we use up our allies until they become enemies and then we complain about their lack of respect.

You would think people would learn how untrustworthy the US really is……..

Time To Pick a Side

2003 the US invaded then occupied Iraq and this lead us down the long road to the formation of ISIS and the prolonged war to eradicate the vermin…..in all that time we could depend on the Kurds to have our back in this fight.

Now that ISIS is all but defeated they are no longer the military presence they one were Turkey, a NATO ally, has taken it upon themselves to eliminate a bane of theirs, the Kurds.

They began in Northern Syria and have moved into Northern Iraq…..

Turkey’s invasion of Syria is focused on Afrin, for now, but officials have promised to extend it to Manbij, and ultimately across the entire Syrian border. Apparently that’s not enough, as Turkey is also attacking Iraq again.

Turkish media is reporting that warplanes carried out at least eight different airstrikes across northern Iraq on Tuesday, destroying several shelters across the far north of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Officials have yet to confirm why these targets were attacked, or who they think they killed, but generally speaking strikes made by Turkey are aimed at the Kurds, and in northernmost Iraq, that generally means the PKK.

(antiwar.com)

And what is the US doing about this attack on a reliable ally?  So far not much….but it is time to pick a side and stick with it.  We turned our backs on the Kurds in the past will we do it again?

The Syrian Kurds have called the US to task……

The US has struggled to figure out exactly what their position on the Turkish invasion of Syrian Kurdistan is. Kurdish officials know what they expected the US to do, defend them as an ally, and the fact that they aren’t is causing a lot of disquiet.

Key Kurdish politician Aldar Khalil said the US needs to meet its “obligations” toward the Kurdish forces who fought along side them against ISIS, and do something to repel the Turkish invasion.

(antiwar.com)

Turkey, of course, insists that as a fellow NATO member, the US owes them support, and should withdraw from all Kurdish territory. So far the US isn’t doing either, but playing this middle ground isn’t satisfying anyone, and has both the Kurds and Turks believing the US is siding against them, at least somewhat.

Time to buck up and pick a side or go home and let the events control the outcome.

Fighters To The Right, Fighters To The Left

If you are a foreign policy wonk then you already know about the Turkey-US mash up….if not then maybe I should try to catch you up a bit….https://lobotero.com/2018/01/26/time-for-turkey-to-go/

The Turks have had a hard on for the Kurds for decades…..they have gone to great lengths to kill all Kurds possible…..and so far Turkey has made little progress in ridding themselves of their Kurd problem…..so now that Syria is pretty much rid of the ISIS blight they have once again given the Kurds their full attention.

Turkey has warned the US and the US has warned Turkey…..this little war will be good for no one involved….a report by a group known as the International Crisis Group has issued a paper……

The battle is likely to prove indecisive and costly for both sides. It is already a tremendous headache for Washington, their mutual ally, and putting huge strain on North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)-member Turkey’s relations with the U.S. Unless all involved adjust their strategies, including a return to a broader peace process in the PKK’s decades-old insurgency in Turkey, it may also prove a sign of worse to come.

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/eastern-mediterranean/syria/no-winners-turkeys-new-offensive-syria

There is one aspect of this little war that few have considered, at least those that are reporting on this war……

A new video emerged online showing a number of international “volunteers” who have recently arrived in northwestern Syria. While Syria has been attracting foreign fighters for some time, the new arrivals have shown up with an eye toward joining the Kurds in their fight against invading Turkey.

The men talk of fighting the “Turkish fascist state,” and it’s unsurprising that this is the case. Turkey and the Kurds are, after all, both massively polarizing issues internationally, particularly across Europe.

Turkey’s Erdogan government has long styled the Kurdish YPG as terrorists on par with ISIS, but has also run afoul of most of the governments in Europe, picking diplomatic fights on a regular basis using excessively hostile rhetoric.

This new Turkish War against the Kurds could rapidly expand across 25% of Syria, and with it, there is the potential to attract another massive influx of foreign fighters, whether Turkish nationalists keen to fight the Kurds, or those who sympathize with Kurdish ambitions for autonomy and see Turkey as a major regional aggressor.

(antiwar.com)

Making the world safe…..one war at a time.