Wait just a minute! The US mouthpieces from every department tell us the US is "fighting ISIS"And Turkey? They are fighting ISIS, an organization that has attacked the nation state of Turkey.Turkey is also fighting the PKK/YPG - In both instances, the fight against ISIS &YPG/PKK, Turkey is found to be at "cross purposes' with the US. So many claim they are allied with the US in Syria, these persons must wonder how it is the US suggesting the two nations are now at "cross-purposes"? That claim -Turkey/US unquestioningly/unequivocally allied- is not made here at all. Not for years now. That ship sailed. The US and Turkey have been at cross purposes for a long while now.. So finally the msm is catching up to this blog! And it only took two years! Will wonders never cease? (And yes my disillusionment with alternative voices has only grown over the many years of running this blog!)Voice of America
GAZIANTEP, TURKEY —
Fighting between Turkish-backed rebels in northern Syria and the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), earmarked by the United States to retake Raqqa from Islamic State (IS) militants, is escalating dramatically.The intensifying clashes are complicating Washington’s bid to use Kurdish-led forces to launch a full-scale assault on the jihadists’ self-proclaimed Syrian capital, and are maneuvering the U.S. and Turkey into ever greater cross-purposes in Syria, fear Western diplomats and analysts.
-These aren't Kurdish 'led' forces- These are Kurdish Forces. Period!-Turkey offered to partner with the US on Raqqa- The US rejected the Turkish offer choosing instead to align with their Kurdish proxies as they annex Syria territory
"The U.S. has been supporting the SDF (which =YPG/PKK) with weapons and airstrikes and has deployed hundreds of special forces and military advisers to assist the Kurdish forces (omitting spin of led)
U.S. war planners hope that by pressing IS in Raqqa simultaneously as Iraqi forces are attacking Mosul, the terror group’s last remaining major urban stronghold in neighboring Iraq, the jihadists’ resources and manpower will be stretched thin, weakening their ability to defend either city and hastening their fall"
roflmao! Hastening the fall of ISIS. Sure, to create one continuous Kurdish territory from Iraq to Syria- phooey on the fighting ISIS nonsense
"Speaking at a NATO forum in Istanbul Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan upped his criticism of the U.S. for its use of the YPG, which Turkey insists is inseparable from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with which Ankara is locked in a vicious counter-insurgency fight in south-east Turkey that has seen widespread rights abuses, according to monitors.U.S. officials prefer to view Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its YPG military wing as separate from the PKK"
US officials "prefer to view" YPG/PKK as separate. Preferring it doesn't make it soPrefer as in preference -a practical advantage given to one over others.I too have many preferences... I would prefer to have a bit more savings- See my daughter more often- Live in a newer home- I have many preferences but reality, existing as it does, means the US preferring to view YPG as separate from PKK does not make it so! Unless the US is out of touch with reality? Which is not the case. They just want the masses to be out of touch with reality and believe the lying spin put forth to deceive
"Euphrates Shield already appears to have gone a long way to undermine the hopes of the Kurds to link all four of their cantons along that run along the Turkey-Syria border - an offensive move, the Kurds say, aimed at denying their legitimate aspirations for self-determination".
They say these are their 'legitimate aspirations' but what about the displaced ? What of their aspirations? Are their's less legitimate. Was all the environmental/general destruction/mayhem and blood shed worth the Kurdish militias claimed legitimate aspirations? I'll wager many, many persons including Kurds would answer no to that question!
“As Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield progresses toward al-Bab, the spate of fighting between Turkish-backed rebels and the YPG is increasing,” according to analysts at Stratfor, a U.S.-based global intelligence firm.
Last paragraph:
As events unfold around al-Bab fears are growing that a Turkish-backed assault on the town could also spark a clash between Russia, Assad’s patron, and Turkey. There have already been reports that Assad’s Russian-supplied air defense radars have locked in on Turkish warplanes as a warning that Damascus won’t tolerate a rebel assault on the town.
The US would surely enjoy seeing Turkey and Russia in conflict- Will that happen?We shall see.. Definitely a volatile situation
More US/Turkish/Russian/Syrian Confrontation. Via Proxies with or without Manpads?
Ansar Al Islam (Syrian "rebels") have US Approved Anti-Aircraft Missiles or Manpads
US Led Coalition NOT backing Turkish Move on Al-Bab: ISIS leaves 8 Villages for Kurds
The Impact of the Kurdish/US Campaign to Take Raqqa: Syria/Turkey's Betrayal/Russia