So does his friend.
Posted on 02/17/2016 7:37:30 AM PST by Trumpinator
World | Wed Feb 17, 2016 10:19am EST
Kurds' advance in Syria divides U.S. and Turkey as Russia bombs
ISTANBUL | By Daren Butler
The rapid advance of U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, taking advantage of Russian air strikes to seize territory near the Turkish border, has infuriated Ankara and threatened to drive a wedge between NATO allies.
Washington has long seen the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its YPG military wing as its best chance in the battle against Islamic State in Syria - to the chagrin of fellow NATO member Turkey, which sees the group as terrorists and fears it will stir up greater unrest among its own Kurdish minority.
Russian bombing has transformed the five-year-old Syrian civil war in recent weeks, turning the momentum decisively in favor of Moscow's ally President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian army has come within 25 km (15 miles) of the Turkish border and says it aims to seal it off altogether, closing the main lifeline into rebel territory for years and recapturing Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war.
Meanwhile, the YPG has exploited the situation, seizing ground from other Syrian opposition groups in the area.
Washington says it does not believe the Kurds are coordinating directly with Moscow. But the YPG's advance may represent a masterstroke by Russia, which could benefit from any discord between NATO allies Turkey and the United States.
"Now this is the YPG's dilemma: Will it continue with America or Russia? The consequences of this strategic choice will influence Syria's future, as well as the ongoing clashes in Turkey," said Metin Gurcan, an independent security analyst and retired Turkish military officer.
Turkey has shelled YPG positions inside Syria for four straight days. .....
Turkey also portrays the Kurds as a pawn of Russia.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Great....now we’re on both sides....
I vote we support the Kurds and the Sov, er, Russians.
Turkey is PO’d ‘cause their supply lines to ISIS are being cut.
You win wars by destroying the other side’s logistics. Keep ‘em cut and screw Turkey!
The world is upside down. America has been an accomplice to Turkey. Turkey has supplied the barbaric, jihadist Sunni “rebels”. In less than four months it has been the Russians who have fundamentally changed the dynamic in the region. Christians, women, non Sunni peoples and decent secularists now have real hope. History will show that the Russians made a beneficial difference. Sadly America under Obama will be recorded at best a bumbling failure and at worst accommodating to the criminal jihadists. Rational people in the region have every reason to prefer Putin over Obama.
Turkey scr**** us in the Gulf War. They can go to hell.
So does his friend.
Russian airstrikes along the Syrian-Golan border heating up.
I feel so dirty supporting what russia is doing but it is what it is
“Close your eyes and think of England.”
And what happens if the Russians give YPG artillery which can be used to return fire? Manned by Russians?
Apparently Turkey was doing well until around 20 years ago. Ataturk’s mistake was that he never banned Islam in the country.
Oops, they're already there.
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