With their mutli-week offensive against the major ISIS-held city of al-Bab going very slowly, Turkey has been courting international help, particularly from the US-led coalition, to get the job done. They seem to have gotten their support from a different source, however.
Today, while Turkish warplanes and artillery were attacking ISIS targets, the Russian military also carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets to the southwest of the city. Between the two nations, they reported some 22 ISIS fighters killed in the attacks.
Turkey and Russia have long been at odds on the Syrian Civil War, and in 2015 Turkey even shot down a Russian warplane. Relations have improved, however, with the two brokering a high-profile ceasefire across Syria, which excludes ISIS, and this may further bolster Russia and Turkey in their cooperation.
Al-Bab, just east of Aleppo, is ISIS’ last significant city in Aleppo Province, with Turkey’s invasion having seized the rest of the ISIS territory therein. Turkey says their offensive will do further east, into the city of Manbij, after Bab falls, though Bab has taken a lot longer than most reports would’ve indicated.
The cease fire excludes ISIS. AND AL-NUSRA. Al-Bab is very significant for Kurds, and not long ago, Turkey clsshed with Kutds on approach to Al-Bab. Then — wuite miraculously, ISIS had acquired some superior intelligemce, and caused major casualties and loss of tanks to Turkey. Since then, Turkey has announced thet it has both audio and video information of US supporting both ISIS and Al-Nusra. Al-Nusra and their allied FSA groups have attacked Turkish supported FSA groups. There is a concerted effort by US to prevent Turkey from twking Al-Bab, as it was planned to be takrn by Kurds, just like Manbij — and create connection between two Kurdish enclaves, Kobani and Afrin. But perhaps more importantly — taking Al-Bab will open path to Raqqa, and Turkey has mire groung forces for that operation than Kurds. Local population in all these areas DOES NOT WANT KURDS who will expell them from homes. This is why they are not eager to assist in getting rid of ISIS. As was Manbij before Kurds “liberated” them, all places, from Al-Bab onward to araqqa region are Arab — not Kurdish. It has been clear that US favored a Kurdish “new demicracy” and facilitated ethnic cleansing in the area.
Al-Bab is the barrier to Raqqa, and this is why ISIS there had so much help. This is why Turkey needs a real ally here. ISIS has reinforcements not just from Raqqa –as expected, but unexpectedly from Idlib. This is where Russia came in, to prevent the connection between ISIS controlled area to Al-Nusra controlled areas in Idlib.
ISIS was always a conduitnof weapons to Al-Nusrs, but there was easyvway to cut it off — when Afrin Kurds were in the area. Now that US is –at leadt it appears — no longer helping Afrin, but is focusing on Raqqa region Kurds — Russian airforce can oprate there. As much as this is offensive on Al-Bab ., it is also a squeeze on Idlib.
The positive news is, the US will tread lightly on Turkey.
Turkey is much too strategically important to the Nato cause to let it wander into the Russian sphere of influence.
More and more it’s looking like US cold war propaganda and hate rhetoric against Russia is failing to do the job.
That leaves the hot war option that we’ve been dreading since the fall of the Soviet Union and the MAD threat it posed. If not, even since the end of WW2 when US aggression throuhout the world began?
Pray tell what is the US going to do to destroy this peace effort by Russia before it becomes too dangerous to endure further.
Will it be a direct affront to Russia that goes beyond the cold war bullsh-t the US has been resorting to since Russia got involved?
Or will the US take a chance on heating it up?
Hold your breathe folks!
luv from Canada.