...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
will not seek US approval and will act independently if Washington continues supporting Kurdish forces in northern Syria, President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than there are in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really most important...said Sunday amid threats to escalate Ankara’s fresh campaign in the region to a ground operation.
Turkey launched Operation Claw-Sword targeting positions of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria on November 20. The aerial campaign, conducted as a prelude to a looming ground operation, has been strongly opposed by the US as it maintains a military presence in the region and is a key ally of the Kurdish forces.
As Ankara’s pressure campaign on Washington to greenlight its planned invasion of Syria intensifies, Erdogan said that Turkey will take matters into its own hands if the US continues providing "thousands of truck-loads" of military assistance and equipment to the Kurdish force, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported.
"Currently, we want to take a step with Syria and Russia, as a trio. For this, first, our intelligence organizations should come together, then our defense ministers and, then our foreign ministers should meet," Erdogan added, expressing interest in conducting joint operations with the two countries against the SDF.
The Syrian government and its main backer, Russia, have both called for restraint and urged Turkey for de-escalation. However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
Moscow has been distracted by its war in Ukraine, which has also provided Erdogan with the opportunity to emerge as a key global political actor with Russia increasingly reliant on Turkey as a window to the western world which it has largely been isolated by. This may guarantee Erdogan limited opposition from Russia with regard to its operation in Syria.
Kurds in Syria have been Washington’s main allies on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS) since the terror group seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The US has provided ammunition, training, and military support to the SDF since then.
Hundreds of US troops remain in Syria and lead the global coalition against ISIS, frequently conducting joint patrols with the SDF as part of a joint effort to rout ISIS remnants in the region.
Turkey’s ongoing rocket and drone attacks in northern Syria pose a danger to US personnel stationed on the ground.
In late November, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a deadly
Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG) — the backbone of the SDF — as a front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Syria. The PKK is a Kurdish gang fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and is outlawed as a terrorist organization by Ankara, as well as the US and EU.
The Kurdish forces and Washington have repeatedly threatened that a