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Turkey, Free Syrian Army 'could support Raqqah attack'
[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
and the Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) could join the U.S. in an "Al-Bab-style" operation to retake ISIS’s Raqqah stronghold, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has said.

He said the FSA, who have been fighting ISIS across northern Syria with the backing of Turkey and are currently mopping up in the town of al-Bab, could be the lead forces in the Raqqah operation.

"There will be an Al Bab-style fight in Raqqah," Yildirim told journalists at a security conference in Munich. "There are Turkish troops in the region supporting FSA fighters."

The premier was talking on Sunday following a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in the Bavarian capital.

Discussing the relationship with the new administration in Washington, Yildirim said Turkey had turned a "new page" with President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s government and said his discussions with Pence had focused on Syria and the potential extradition of U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of orchestrating the July coup attempt.

In Syria, Turkey wants to see the U.S. end its support for the PKK/PYD -- the Syrian affiliate of the PKK, which has waged war on Turkish soil since 1984 and is listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.

"We told them that using PYD/YPG elements to fight ISIS was not the right method of fighting," Yildirim said. The YPG is the armed wing of the PYD.

"It is not correct to use a terror group to fight another terror group. So the job should be done worthily of a strategic partnership, a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
alliance. I think they will take this sensitivity into consideration."

He said the U.S. was considering its ties to the PKK/PYD. "They are in an evaluation process," he added. "We should wait for the result. I guess they will evaluate and take a decision soon."
Posted by: Fred 2017-02-21
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=481749