Turkey-Kurd conflict puts our troops in danger

Manbij, in northern Syria, has been a flashpoint since the Kurds took it from ISIS two years ago. Two weeks ago the clock starting ticking on Manbij.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is warning of military action against a key U.S. ally in the disputed Syrian city of Manbij, as bilateral tensions threaten to resurface between the NATO partners.
“We will do what is necessary,” was Erdogan’s message to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when they met Wednesday in Ankara, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu who also attended the meeting.
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Turkey’s pro-government Sabah newspaper reported Wednesday the Free Syrian Army is seeking a green light from Turkey to move against the YPG in Manbij "in 20 days if Ankara instructs us,” said Adnan Abu Faisal, the FSA military assembly leader. "The FSA has sworn to bury the PKK in their own pits and return the area to real owners,” he added.

Now we are the Great And Powerful United States, so obviously Turkey and its jihadist allies are bluffing, amirite?
They wouldn't dare to endanger our troops.

A U.S. patrol came under fire in the Syrian region of Manbij, allegedly from Turkey’s local proxy forces.

American officials with Operation Inherent Resolve confirmed to Military Times that coalition forces exchanged fire with an unknown armed group on Oct. 15 near Manbij — a region in northern Syria that has stoked tension between the U.S. and Turkey, both NATO allies, over the past year.
...The Syrian Kurdish journalist Hosheng Hesen posted a video of the skirmish on his Twitter account. He wrote a caption stating that the video shows a clash between U.S. troops and armed rebel factions sponsored by Turkey.

Or maybe not.
OK, so some bad apples are making trouble. Surely our NATO ally Turkey wouldn't do anything to endanger our brave troops.

The Turkish army shelled on Sunday positions held by the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria, east of the Euphrates River, in a new spike in tension along the borders.

Ankara considers the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia an extension of its own insurgent groups, which it refers to as “terrorists and separatists,” and sent its military into Syria two years ago to drive the group and Islamic State militants away from its borders in northwestern Syria.

Recently, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to expand the military operations to clear the borders from “terror.”

Right. I think it's time to GTFO of Syria.

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any time they thought we wouldn't notice. Sometimes even if we looked right at them. Then they'd promise, "We'll be good!" And next thing you know, they sneak off and bomb the Kurds again. I can't see how the presence or absence of our troops would mean squat to them. They shot down a freaking Russian plane that drifted a bit too close for comfort.

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divineorder's picture

home? /s

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.