A couple months ago I posted this essay about three armies of sworn enemies all competing for the Syrian city of Al-Bab.
Since then the Kurds have opted out of the race, but the Syrian government and Turkish-backed rebels have pressed forward.
I'll have to make this one fast.
Last week I warned about this approaching danger.
Today it all started to blow up.
The Syrian city of al-Bab is not very large. It's not very pretty. It's not particularly noteworthy in any way, but one - it happens to be strategically located in late 2016.
I'll admit that I didn't see this one coming.
I'm going to post this on Orange State just to get a reaction.
One thing all liberals can agree on is that the Syrian Kurds are the good guys, and the jihadist terrorists in Syria are the bad guys.
So when Turkey and their jihadist allies launched a full-scale assault on our Syrian Kurdish allies, you would think that Washington would be outraged.
You may not know that Syria isn't all about Russia! Russia! Russia!
For instance, the pro-regime change Syrian Network for Human Rights had something interesting to say today.
From the late 16th Century to the early 20th Century, Ottomans and Russia fought 12 wars, of which Ottomans only won two of them outright. Three were fought to draws, while Russia won all the rest.
I'm no fan of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but at the same time I also recognize the strategic position Turkey occupies in the world. Erdogan is a dictator, but at the same time you don't destroy relations with a NATO ally for vague and mysterious reasons.
Yet, that appears to be exactly where things are heading.
From the Frankfurter Allgemeine
F.A.Z. exklusiv
Türkische Regierung erwägt Referendum über Todesstrafe
In einem Interview mit der "Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung" hat der türkische Außenminister Mevlüt Cavusoglu über die Möglichkeit einer Rückkehr zur Todesstrafe in seinem Land gesprochen. Ein Referendum könnte entscheiden.
Turkish government considers holding a referendum on the restoration of the death penalty.
On the same day that Putin and Russia were being denounced in Philadelphia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to meet Vladimir Putin for talks in St. Petersburg.
