Al-Monitor: Is US bailing on Syrian Kurds?
Although US President Donald Trump urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Jan. 24 to “exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces,” Turkey appears committed to extending its military operations beyond the current assault on Afrin.
Two days after Trump and Erdogan spoke, the Turkish presidency announced that, following a call between Erdogan adviser and spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and US national security adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster, “no weapons would be given” to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which would amount to a major American concession and potential turning point in the conflict.
The next day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on US forces to leave Manbij.
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Update #1: New US strategy for Syria could be doomed as America’s allies fight each other, analysts say (SCMP/Washington Post)
Update #2: US takes sides in Turkey-Kurdish clash in Syria (Rick Moran, American Thinker)
WNU Editor: In the war against the Islamic State it made sense for the U.S. to ally itself with the Kurds and for the Kurds to ally themselves with the U.S. to defeat a common enemy. But with ISIS now destroyed, the dynamics of this alliance is now changing back to the status quo. And what is that status quo ..... the U.S. has a long standing policy to not support the Kurds in their aspirations of having a separate state. In short .... if the Kurds want a separate state they must look elsewhere. But in a region where everyone hates the Kurds .... that support will not be forthcoming. And while this may be a massive disappointment for many who believe that the Kurds deserve better (and I am one of those who believes they do deserve something better) .... in the world of realpolitik their value to the U.S. has just diminished.
Update: Hat tip to Jay for this link on the suffering that is now happening in Afrin .... Inside Afrin, the true victims of Turkey's invasion of northern Syria are revealed - refugees, babies, women and children (Robert Fisk, The Independent).
