Posted on 02/13/2017 11:49:42 AM PST by Texas Fossil
Speaking during his visit to Bahrein in a joint press meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Turkish President Erdogan commented on his army’s Euphrates Shield operation in the north of Syria.
Erdogan said, “The step we took [in al-Bab] is locked onto a target. After this if we can take joint steps with coalition forces we will go towards Manbij and Raqqa. There we will form a safe zone in which we will allow for mainly our Arab and Turkmen brothers and sisters to settle into.”
Turkey has been a long-time supporter of forming safe zones in Syria. Until now the idea had not been seriously considered by any of the other major powers invested in the conflict. Recently, however, Donald Trump said that he would “absolutely do safe zones in Syria” which has in turn reignited the discussions of how this could be implemented.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected the proposal for safe zones in the country in an interview recently where he said, “it [safe zones] won’t [protect civilians], it won’t. Safe zones for the Syrians could only happen when you have stability and security, where you don’t have terrorists, where you don’t have [the] flow and support of those terrorists by the neighbouring countries or by Western countries. This is where you can have a natural safe zone, which is our country. They don’t need safe zones at all. It’s not a realistic idea at all.” Russia is also cold on the idea.
Erdogan’s intention of placing “mainly Arabs and Turkmens” in his proposed safe zone will also not go down well with the Kurds, Armenians and Syriacs that live in the region, particularly in Manbij where a multi-ethnic assembly is administering the town after it was taken back from the Islamic State group last year by the multi-ethnic Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
And it includes resettlement of Turksmen into strip of Syria adjacent to Turkey, currently occupied by the Kurds.
Erdogan really does think he is the ruler of the world.
Everything Erdogan does is aimed at annihilating the Kurds.
The Armenians weren’t enough.
He is going after the Kurds.
He has already done it. They are occupied in Raqqa and the Dog has his Terrorist surrogate attack the Rojava are in 3 different points.
Erdogan only lies, when his lips move.
He is pure evil.
Erdogan was the key player, along with Obama’s State Department, in the destruction of Syria and Iraq.
With the departure of Obama, the loss of Aleppo, and an apparent rapprochement between Trump and Putin, he is looking to salvage what he can.
Mainly, he reserves the right to kill Kurds.
This sounds like it came right from the United Nations
You know, the organization that doesn't believe in borders
doesn't believe in Culture
but, is willing to move against the Kurds and their border !
Safe zones is carving out a place where the islamist rebels can consolidate power protected by NATO. (a defensive alliance out of Europe)
Its the same old goal of removing Assad, repackaged. And many of our senior military and political leaders support it.
Yep, with the Turkish military top officers removed, nothing is in his way.
He will be elected Dictator when he steals the upcoming “election”.
Well, guess we will soon see how far Trump allows the “Dog to run before he jerks his chain.
It is Syria’s border, but Kurds have protected it since the SAA army retreated to other battles.
We are supporting the Kurds who have done a good job with no heavy armor.
I do not believe our military will abandon them to be slaughtered by Erdogan. Even if Turkey is currently a NATO ally.
We will soon see what the Trump reaction is.
Well the “senior” leaders are wrong about what should be done.
Assad is a very bad man. But ISIS is far worse.
All of this is about Saudi money talking.
Pull Al Qaeda out of Syria and exterminate ISIS, and Syria and Iraq will themselves be “safe zones”. No need to carve out enclaves where Al Qaeda can be safe.
Yep
You can bet there won’t be any Christians, and maybe no shiites either, in any of his “safe” zones.
And there are a number of Ancient Christian communities in Northern Syria. Dating back to the time of Christ. Some still have fairly large Christian element.
Yes, Erdogan is and arrogant Islamist vermin who has long been associated with “real” Islamist Terrorists. al Qaeda, Nusra & ISIS.
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