The Impact of the Kurdish/US Campaign to Take Raqqa: Syria/Turkey's Betrayal/Russia

Atlantic Council

 "The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced in a statement on November 5 that they would be launching Operation Euphrates’s Wrath to isolate Raqqa—the Islamic State (ISIS)’s de facto capital. The operation—backed by the US-led coalition—aims to encircle Raqqa by taking control of surrounding villages and access routes to weaken ISIS and ultimately liberate the city. 1*The short-term focus of this operation, however, has created internal ethnic divisions between Arab and Kurdish groups within the SDF." 

1* Syria's Kurds Announce "Euphrates Rage" There will be Ethnic Cleansing of Arabs

 It also created new waves of displacements among locals, which could be used as a recruiting tool by ISIS. Additionally, it has 2*increased tension between Syrian Kurds and Turkey, which could lead to full-scale military confrontations in the future.

 2 *US Led Coalition Should Stop Turkey's Advances Towards Raqqa

The reported  ongoing planning for imminent significant external terror attacks from Raqqa and the Obama administration’s search for more significant achievements against ISIS have 3* led to the immature announcement of the operation to isolate the extremist group in Raqqa. The United States views the SDF as the only local force capable of executing such an operation in the near term, despite the challenges facing this alliance.

 3* Whose Timeline Will Win In Raqqa? Was the US forced Into a Move on Raqqa?3* The US & Israel's Taking of Raqqa Impeded by Intermeddlers

Turkey opposes any cooperation between the United States and Syrian Kurds. The country is worried that advances by Syrian Kurdish fighters will embolden Kurdish militants in its own southeast, where it has been fighting an insurgency for three decades led by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The United States, focused on its short-term objective of militarily defeating ISIS, is sending mixed signals to all of its allies—neglecting the long-term consequences of such actions and the risk of sparking secondary conflicts. Raqqa’s campaign has led to internal divisions between Arab and Kurdish groups within the SDF and resulted in the withdrawal of Arab forces from the operation. In a statement released on November 8, Liwa Thuwwar Raqqa (Raqqa Revolutionaries’ Brigade)—the main 4*Arab group within the SDF and most popular in Raqqa—announced that it would not participate in the operation. "The brigade refused to participate in the operation because the YPG [the People's Protection Units—the main military wing of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration] did not keep to what we had agreed—that the battle be led by the [Raqqa Revolutionaries’] Brigade and that the fighters all come from Raqqa itself,” Liwa Thuwwar's political office leader, Mahmoud Hadi,said. “But what happened on the ground has unfortunately been the complete opposite to what we had agreed," he added. The Brigade’s move aims to pressure the United States to meet its  statement to let Arab forces take the lead in the operations.

4*Arab ‘element’ withdraws from Raqqa Offensive- Doubting Ethnic Cleansing by Kurds?

 Reported Kurdish forces’ violations against Arab communities, especially during their June 2015 attack on Tal Abyad, have led Arabs to mistrust the Kurdish forces. As a result—and due to Turkey’s hostile position towards the YPG and the Kurdish Democratic Party leader (PYD)—the United States supported and funded the creation of the SDF, a Kurdish-led alliance with some Arab and Assyrian fighting groups. The absence of Arab forces in the fight to isolate Raqqa, where Arabs are the majority, will increase tensions and mistrust in the SDF operation and lead to confrontations with local communities, which will directly benefit ISIS. The SDF’s Raqqa operation also led to new waves of displacements among local communities, where Arabs are the majority, which is playing into the hands of ISIS. On November 11, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported large-scale displacement among locals in the Hamisha district, as well as in other villages in eastern Raqqa province. The SDF-ISIS fighting displacement of locals, and US-led airstrikes—which reportedly killed twenty non-combatants in Hamisha have forced many locals to leave their houses.

Ethnic cleansing was always the plan-

Moreover, there has also been a growing trend where local communities do not welcome people fleeing from ISIS-controlled territories for fear that they belong to sleeper cells for the terror group. Such violations and practices caused the people living in communities under ISIS to feel indifferent towards the operation because they believe this will simply be replacing one enemy with another. In other cases, it has reportedly contributed to pushing people to join ISIS because they are fearful of what might happen once ISIS is kicked out; they see ISIS as “the devil they know.” Thus, ISIS losses against the Kurdish-dominated SDF, which locals in ISIS-controlled areas do not see as friendly, allows the terrorist group to benefit from its defeats and use fear as a recruiting tool. To achieve its short-term objective of driving ISIS out of Raqqa, the United States is sending mixed signals in an attempt to please all of its allies at once. The same day that the SDF announced its Raqqa operation, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, rushed to Ankara for a four-hour meeting with his Turkish counterpart. He assured Turkey that the Kurds will not take on the main role of liberating Raqqa and that Turkish views would be taken into account before any final assault.

 I'm quite certain Dunford lied! Equivalent to the Manbij lie. Betraying Turkey..Turkey isn't buying the US lie! Also, still at a loss why the so called alternative media has not noticed and reported on, save for myself, the fact that the US chose YPG/PKK over Turkey's offer of assistance? (Same as the msm and alt media never mention the fact that Kurdish militias have annexed Syrian and Iraqi territory- why the silence?) Why the US  didn't take Turkey's offer up,  is obvious. Greater Kurdistan aka Israel 2.0. Remaking the middle east. The US could have worked with both Syria and Russia to take Raqqa from ISIS- But they rejected that cooperation too! Again, doesn't fit the agenda. hattip Ally! : US rejects cooperating with Russia or Assad in Raqqa operation  

"The US-led coalition will not work with Russia or the Syrian government to take Raqqa from the Islamic State (ISIS), according to State Department spokesman Mark Toner. Moscow and Damascus have in the past suggested that the United States coordinate the Raqqa campaign with them."

 Speaking of Syria's concerns with Raqqa: New pro-Assad force in the works for east Syria 

"Days after US-backed troops announced the start of a long-anticipated drive toward Raqqa, a recruiting call has gone out in pro-regime circles for the Mobilization Forces of the Euphrates and Jazira."  BEIRUT - Days after US-backed forces announced the start of a long-anticipated drive toward Raqqa, a recruiting call has gone out for a new pro-regime militia ostensibly slated to operate in northern and eastern Syria. A number of pro-Assad media outlets on Tuesday posted an advertisement for the “Mobilization Forces of the Euphrates and Jazira,” the latter term an old designation for the Hasakeh province under the de-facto control of Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). 

 Atlantic Council -Salih Muslim 

 Nonetheless, in a recent interview, Salih Muslim—a co-leader of the PYD—said that Dunford’s statement “was more of a ‘declaration of intent’ on the part of the Americans rather than a firm commitment toward Turkey.” This is not the first time that the United States has made promises to Turkey with regard to Syrian Kurds that it has not been able to keep. It promised Turkey in August that the SDF would allow local Arabs to run the city of Manbij after liberating it from ISIS; however, the SDF still remains in Manbij three months later. The US failure or unwillingness to fulfill its promises in Manbij—which is likely to happen also in Raqqa—led to a number of clashes between the SDF and Turkey backed by its Syrian rebel allies. 

There it is folks the US betrayal of Turkey- (a) Refusing to work with Turkey to clear ISIS, instead choosing their ethnic cleansing Kurdish partners. (b)The US did not ensure that YPG/PKK removed themselves from Manbij and they will not ensure the Kurds will remove themselves from Raqqa because Kurdistan aka Israel 2.0, aka remaking the middle east- Exactly as stated here for years now!   Just in case you're still doubting the US has betrayed Turkey? Turkey again asks US stop arming Kurdish militia in Syria (and PKK in Turkey) 

  “The U.S. says they don’t give arms to the YPG. But we know that they have done since the Kobane [battle between the YPG and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]. We captured those arms from [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK militants in Turkey. So we know that the U.S. gives weapons to the YPG. And we told [U.S. Chief of General Staff Joseph] Dunford not give weapons to them,” Çavusoglu said at a joint press conference with his Bosnian counterpart Igor Crnadak.

 Long time readers here KNOW that the US has backed and armed the Kurds against Iraq, Syria and Turkey. And all the cheer leading for Kurdish militias done by alt and msm was just more of that cheering for the US backed destabilization of all the named nation states under the guise of rooting for a perceived "underdog" And finally from Atlantic Council

The Raqqa operation is a continuation of the US’ balancing act between Syrian Kurds and Turkey. This strategy, which avoids confrontation by sending mixed signals to its allies, has allowed the US to degrade ISIS in Syria, but this has come at the cost of increasing local tensions. The current operation, in the absence of clear roles and agreements among the US allies, will likely increase the frequency and intensity of military confrontations between Turkey and the rebel groups it backs and the SDF as they come into further contact along shared frontlines. This fighting, as well as the lack of a credible alternative to ISIS that enjoys popular support, will benefit radical groups like ISIS. 

 Coincidentally the US's Brand Ambassador  for the Middle East/north Africa remake proclaims.. Al Baghdadi Says Target Turkey and Saudi Arabia.. "I Can See For Miles & Miles"

 A few of so many related posts!

  1. AnonymousNovember 16, 2016 at 8:41 AMThe Kurds have made their final pact with the devil.Delete
  2. PennyNovember 16, 2016 at 12:05 PMThe Kurdish militias have made deals with the devil time and time againDelete

The Kurds’ Proxy Trap? No Meme Kurdish History

From Earlier Today: