After years of piecemeal US military operations vaguely advancing ill-defined goals, the American position in Syria, and its vast collection of allies and enemies is so inscrutable that the State Department tried, and failed, to clarify what the US position actually is.
President Trump is being described as downright confounded about what to do about the Turkish invasion of Syria earlier this week, which sees the NATO member nation sending troops into Afrin District to attack the US-backed Kurdish YPG forces there.
In the immediate term, the US can, and largely has, chosen to ignore this and urge calm, though with US troops embedded in Kurdish territory elsewhere in Syria, including Manbij, Turkey’s talk of expanding the invasion would quickly put them in the line of fire.
It’s not as if this problem is a sudden surprise. Turkey’s been threatening the Kurds for years, and has been complaining about the US backing the Kurds more or less constantly in that same period of time.
Publicly, the US has long dismissed Turkish concerns, backed the Kurds, and assumed the situation would blow over. Now that it’s come to a Turkish invasion, US officials don’t appear to have any particular strategy on how to deal with this growing war.
Arm the Kurds let Turkey experience massive losses to it’s militias and military hardware. Create a frozen conflict in which Turkey has to come to terms Syria is a sovereign nation. Erdogan is only mad because the Sunnis and ISIS didn’t get the job done and how is he going to support the people trying to remove Assad if the Kurds control his borders. Now Russia risks losing its own influence with NATO invading Syria via Turkey all under the guise of securing Turkeys borders. Well played Erdogan keep the Iranian, Russian influence out of the region. If America leaves does Assad and Russia just leave that part of Syria uncontested. May end up Turkey fighting against Syria with no help from America, let it play out.
What a slurry of contradictions. First, punish Turkey for its invasion, while claiming you’re in support of Syrian sovereignty, (when previously defending US violation of Syrian sovereignty). Then cheer-leading supposed Russian loss of influence by cheering Turkey for invading Syria on behalf of NATO, and then complimenting Erdogan for such a “well played” move. Then suggesting that it would be good if the US left Syria so Turkey would fight Syria directly!
Your argument begins with bemoaning Turkish aggression in Syria and ends with a celebration of Turkey violating Syrian sovereignty! WOW!
Please get some help with your writing ‘cowboy’. Your comments are unbearable often enough for their eager toadying to US imperialism.
Cliches tell us cowboys shoot first and ask questions later. Cowboy is a testament to this cliche, his comments are usually reactionary and contradictory.
Looks like a duck….
Now he’ll tell you to drink some Putin juice. That’s his “go to” move.
LOL – you nailed it wars r u.s.!
Cowboy seems to be saddled with the presumption that anybody that is critical of US Empire and wishes to see a balance in international law has ‘earned his ruble’.
Wrong about the russkie thing cowboy, I get paid in dollarinos! Just keeps shooting blanks!
Too bad your daddy didn’t shoot blanks…
I guess since people started realizing America isn’t the only country in Syria dropping bombs and nation building and Turkey is right now proving the point I’ve been making that every nation looks out for there own interests, now we have a new batch of Russians posing as ordinary Americans ready to spin what’s going on over in Syria and try there best to distract from the carnage they create and inflict. Earn your ruble, spin the facts, and complain about my grammar while offering nothing of substance to the conversation for that you can go chug a big cup full of Putin Juice…
As usual you didn’t address, or refute, anything he said.
Address what his rant about my perspective calm down toys r us I know you hate an alternate point of view but, I’m not going anywhere so get used to it.
Your perspective was a bunch of contradictions which spinworthy pointed out and you didn’t refute.
Please stop giving advice. it may even make things worse.
Poor Donnie, in way over his head and still 3 years left in his term.
7 years total.
In the current term, he has 3 years remaining. A second term has yet to be decided.
I don’t see him running again. he will be the target now and an extra $20 on the payslip isn’t going to shield him at all.The MIC will find a newer friendlier seemingly liberal option
But this isn’t a problem for DC as the Afrin area is now a a new Libya ” where us military can operate out of with impunity, Which the Syrian’s can’t reclaim.
Well, there’s no US interest at stake. Trump wasn’t a fan of NATO originally so this bizarre idea that “allies” have to support each other no matter what probably doesn’t make a whole lot sense to him, except of course when it comes to israel. Plus the US has long ago stopped promoting peace.
In the end the US will probably come up with some meaningless statements urging restraint while arming both sides of course, since DC as a whole doesn’t amount to more than the sales team of the weapons mafia.
It does serve to distract folks from the Israeli Buffer zones they are making in Syria. Their militias have now taken an area 4 times the size of the Golan Heights for “Security” reasons.
Interesting. Haven’t heard about this.
What a surprise. Notice how old Trump has become in a year.
The Kurds are just one more faction the CIA and Pentagon armed trained and financed only to see them vector off on their own agenda. American military no longer controls them and Turkey doesn’t want them on their southern border.
Pretty stupid development but it was put into motion by H Clinton and Obama so Trump is in more of a clean up position.