Free Republic

WASHINGTON — The White House sent out a message aimed at mollifying Turkey’s president on Tuesday, suggesting that the United States was easing off its support for the Syrian Kurds. That message was quickly contradicted by the Pentagon, which said it would continue to stand by the Kurds, even as Turkey invaded their stronghold in northwestern Syria. The conflicting statements appeared to reflect an effort by the administration to balance competing pressures. Turkey, which has been furious over American support for the Kurds, is a NATO ally, while the Kurds have been critical American partners in the war against the...

After a multi-day artillery barrage, the Turkish Army has begun its push into Afrin, a district of Syria which has been governed by Syrian Kurds ever since they defeated al Qaeda and Islamic State terrorists. Turkish officials say they plan to set up a buffer zone extending almost 20 miles into Syria from the Turkish border. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a blistering speech threatening Turkey’s Kurds if they speak up on behalf of their Syrian counterparts and promising victory within “a very short period of time.” That may be a fatal miscalculation, one which could cripple Turkey. Erdogan’s...

Sipan Hemo stated that their “rightful and legitimate” resistance will continue in the face of the attempted invasion of Afrin, where the Turkish state commits civilian massacres and said: “Victory will certainly be ours.” YPG Commander General Sipan Hemo stated that the Turkish media’s job is “to create the foundations for the invasion of Afrin” and that they insisted on portraying the massacred civilians as fighters. Hemo said, “But the truth is, Erdogan is targeting villages and towns and massacring civilians.” The invading Turkish army launched an attack on Afrin on January 19 with 72 fighter jets. The invasion attack...