Manbij Again

Submitted by gjohnsit on Sat, 02/25/2017 - 1:42pm

The bloody 3.5 month siege of al-Bab by Turkish-backed forces, that ended with the defeat of ISIS this week, went on so long that most people have forgotten the original reason why Turkey invaded Syria - to fight the Kurds.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared his nation's forces will liberate the Syrian town of Manbij from the Kurdish YPG and hand it back to local Arabs.
Ankara accuses the YPG of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which is fighting the Turkish state and is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and much of the international community.
Any move, however, against Manbij threatens to put Ankara and Washington on a collision course. “It would put Turkey against American-supported forces who are fighting with America against ISIS,” says political columnist Semih Idiz, of Al Monitor website. “ISIS is a major target for America at the moment and that would really be a disaster, as far as Turkish-American relations are concerned.”

The Syria Kurds, who lost around 300 fighters taking Manbij from ISIS last summer, are not backing down in the slightest.

The commander of Kurdish fighters in Syria's Manbij city has told Al Jazeera that his forces will fight to defend any move by Turkey to take over the area...
Abu Amjad said: "If Erdogan wants to come to Manbij, it's his business, but we will defend our city with all the strength we can find. As Syrian people, we'll resist any interference in our internal affairs."

Needless to say, this puts everyone involved in a situation they don't want to be in.

The United States should act in order to fulfill its promise to make Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) forces leave Syria’s Manbij in line with Ankara’s request or Turkey would have to reconsider an operation there, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık said Feb. 22.
“One of the crucial aims of Turkey is to end the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party] - PYD presence in Manbij. If the United States does not do so, Turkey will have to re-evaluate this operation,” Işık said on Feb. 22 in a televised interview.

Considering the impressive gains by the Kurds against Raqqa, the level of U.S. influence over the Kurds right now is questionable.

Obviously ISIS would have the most to gain from an outbreak of fighting between Turkey and the Kurds.
The Assad government would be next in line to benefit, because the Turkish-led offensive threatens it's sovereignty and it feels threatened by the Kurds autonomy.
Any conflict between NATO countries would be unprecedented.

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Submitted by gjohnsit on Sat, 02/25/2017 - 2:33pm

greece

Turkish and Greek warships recently faced off in the Aegean Sea near contested territory that brought them to the brink of war back in 1996.

The recent trouble took place after a Turkish naval vessel carrying Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar visited the area, prompting Greece to send ships to shadow the Turkish boats. Athens accused Turkish fighter jets of violating its airspace a record 138 times in one day.

The standoff did not result in a military confrontation. As Turkish political columnist Semih Idiz of Al Monitor website says, both sides have experience at containing tensions over territorial disputes.

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Submitted by Not Henry Kissinger on Sat, 02/25/2017 - 4:59pm
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about the relative performances of the two armies against ISIS, the Turks, purged of a big chunk of their officer corps, relying on outmoded strategies, and suffering a severely demoralized rank and file, could very well get their asses kicked by a Kurdish force that is rewriting military text books with their ultra light, highly mobile tactics.

Not to mention the Kurds are fighting for a homeland, while the Turks are fighting to not get shot by Erdogan.

Assuming the Russians and Americans keep Turkey's air force grounded (which is in both big powers' interests), the Turks could be in for a very rude awakening by continuing their Syrian adventure.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Wed, 03/01/2017 - 8:45pm
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@Not Henry Kissinger Turkey shouldn't be in Syria and neither should we. Obama's schizophrenic approach to Syrian "liberation" by arming Al-Qaeda and other "moderate rebels" has accomplished only one thing but brilliantly accomplished: death and destruction for millions. Why? First start with Killary who was probably deprived of playing with soldiers when she was a kid, so took the pastime up in earnest as soon as she could.

What have the American people gained from all this? A much larger national debt plus much riches for the MIC. Anybody here in the States feel safer now that we're kicking ass in Syria? If you answer yes, go directly to TOP.

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