The US State Department has issued a statement Friday warning that reports of Turkey attacking the Kurdish YPG in northern Syria are a significant destabilizing event, and would not help Turkey with its concerns about border security.
The statement made it clear the US, at the time, was unclear if Turkey’s attack was true, though Turkey’s Defense Ministry has since clarified the invasion is underway, and that there is no stopping it.
The US has opposed Turkish attacks on the Syrian Kurds for years, and in recent days suggested Turkey should hold off on such operations, instead focusing on ISIS. Turkey has already seized some ISIS territory in Syria’s Aleppo Province, and there is little ISIS territory left.
So from Turkey’s perspective, they’ve already waited out ISIS, and see it as time for their long-anticipated attack on the Kurds. With the US having heavily backed the Kurds against ISIS, this is going to be a major source of tensions between the US and Turkey.
Isn’t that rich? We’re talking about destabilization. Look at those bastions of instability in Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
the US is lying, they planned this all along, it’s a way for the US to not take the blame – and for the story to be ignored in US media.
And the US would know all about “destabilizing events.” I don’t remember the US State dept complaining about destabilizing when Dubya up and INVADED a sovereign nation under the guise of “God told me to do it!” Bush wasn’t the first, nor the last – time to buckle-up.
Not a peep so far in the US edition of CNN. I guess an allied nation invading a disputed nation with US soldiers in the way isn’t quite newsworthy.
We not only have a deep state and many NWO politicians we also have a NWO media that only tells us what they think we need to know
United States now has a president unlike any president we have ever had before . He might stand with the kurds for all the help they have given us in Iraq and Syria . I think Turkey is making a big mistake if they expect Trump to act like our past presidents even if we are allies in NATO . Even thou it has long been the politics in the middle east and the United States to never help the Kurds . The Kurds are for sure the largest ethnic group in the world without any ground any where to be called their Kurd country . Trump does what Trump does You did just see him make Jerusalem the capital of Israel . Something nobody else dared to do .And he just might declare Kurdstan a new country in Turkey Iraq Syria and Iran too . This sure would not bother me one bit
What gives Trump the authority to “declare” a new country for anyone? And this wouldn’t bother you????
Did not Clinton and Bush create new countries out of Yugoslavia . Trump is surely more capable than either of them .
Without getting into details of why that is a poor argument, that is a poor argument.
Trump is as equally incompetent would be more appropriate.
Unfortunately 1. Trump is just cruder and a bit more ignorant and small minded than others. He is NOT so different from most of his recent predecessors.
2. You may not be bothered with complete changes, but the inhabitants surely are.
You are so right I might not care but many of the inhabitants of those states might not like it . They sure did upset the majority of the people that lived in Yugoslavia . But we either have to go for the NWO or be against it . Did you read the comment Dieter made above you . Sounds like he wants a new Arab Union like the E.U. . I personally am against the NWO in the Arab world and the EU . I think we will lose to much freedom .
I will be in favor of a Kurdish state but only in the tight framework of a Levantine (for starters economic; later also political) Union consisting of Turkey, Kurdistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, and Libya. Greece and the states created from the former Yugoslavia may leave the EU and become associates of both EU and LU thus functioning as a link between two regions which have much common history.
Israel will have to destroy its nuclear arsenal.
After many years there will not only be free movement of goods and services but also of people. The need to leave and emigrate to Europe or America will abate dramatically without quotas and other hurdles in our immigration laws. Is that not what Trump wants?
However that seems a far cry from what Trump seems to have in mind.
Merely creating a new state in that region increases the chance of wars breaking out as proven by the breakup of Yugoslavia.
The U.S. can make good on that promise, as supplying the Kurds with all the weapons they need to take down an advanced military on the pretext of arming it against the IS was one of the early Turkey triggers.
They may also want Turkey to attack the Kurds; instability is opportunity.
Turkey has a long border with Syria. Our state does not have any border with Syria or Turkey The Turks can enter Syria, if necessary withdraw, wait, and enter again. Our military does not have the same luxury. It can withdraw to Iraq which is still not “at home”. Furthermore Turkey’s supply lines are much, much shorter than ours. Everything except size of armed forces and materiel is in favor of the Turks over us and the Russians. Even in that case there is an inequality. Although Russia does not have a border with Turkey it has the Black Sea and an invasion through Georgia to threaten Turkey if deemed to be necessary. We can threaten Turkey only with the Mediterranean Fleet which will not be able to get into the Black Sea. Bombing runs? Drones? Again, our supply lines are much longer than those of the Russians’. It would be insane for our government to start a war with Turkey. It would also be patently illegal without Congressional approval and would end NATO.
Ergo long-term strategic wisdom demands: get out of the way of a Turkish-Kurdish war in Syria.
You do not want to become tagged as a paper tiger by the President of China.
True enough.
Both the U.S. and Russia would resort to soft power economic levers against Turkey, not hard power. The U.S. did try to coup his Sultanship though. That’s about as hard as soft power gets.
China has already felt the sting of U.S. financial-fu; simply holding large amounts of U.S. debt as a threat is a limited primitive club. Soft power is very effective applied smart.