Aftermath of an airstrike near Hassa. Washington Post/AFP.
Turkey has launched air and artillery strikes at Kurdish positions in Northern Syria. Washington Post. The attacks targeted Afrin, which is located in the Kurds Northwestern Syrian enclave. The Turks say that they are targeting PKK terrorists, the YPG and ISIS. The United States has backed the YPG and supported creating a 30,000 strong force in the region. None of the various factions in Syria are happy about the attacks including Syria, Russia and the United States. The Syrians have threatened to shoot down Turkish airplanes while the Russians have pulled advisers out of the area. It is believed that the Turks are trying to derail a potential agreement between the United States, Russia, the Syrian government and the Kurds concerning reconciliation with the Syrian government.
My Comment:
Bad news out of Syria. The Turks are doing their best to make the situation in Syria worse. I have often said that the only way that ISIS could make a comeback in the country is if the various other factions start fighting each other. Having the Turks and Kurds in an all out brawl will create an opening for ISIS and perhaps the former al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Nusra, make a comeback as well.
The region being targeted is the Kurds Northeastern enclave. This enclave was separated from the main Kurdish areas by Turkey's original offensive that took the area between al-Arimah and Azaz. Turkey did not tolerate an united front of Kurds across their border and now it seems they will not tolerate the Northeastern enclave as well. I'm worried that they, along with their Turkeman rebel allies, could push the Kurds out of the enclave entirely, or at least cripple their powerbase there.
Why do this? The most valid reason is that the Turks fear that the enclave will serve as a base for the PKK communist terror groups. As terror groups PKK is one of the worst in the region, though is obviously overshadowed by ISIS. They are one of the only secular terror groups that I know of that has convinced people to commit suicide bombings. The PKK is a genuine threat and not one that the Turks are likely to tolerate.
That being said I feel their main problem with the Kurds has always been racism. The Kurds have always had the temerity of having their own culture and beliefs and the Turks won't tolerate that. A united Kurdish statelet in Syria is a threat to Turkish supremacy and they won't have it. The PKK may be terrorists but they are a secondary goal at best. It's really about suppressing the Kurds.
This is an extremely dangerous game as Turkey is risking pissing off their allies and possibly war as well. The United States is not going to like this at all. We want the Kurds to be in a powerful position so they can counter ISIS and be used as a staging area for US bases. This attack on the Kurds puts that at risk and if the war continues it could endanger US lives as well. We have accomplished a lot in Syria but now the Turks are risking it all for stupid reasons.
Turkey has never been a good ally for the United States. I've mentioned this a thousand times before, but ISIS was a de-facto ally of Turkey until they turned on them and started to conduct terror attacks in their territory. But Turkey had no problem with ISIS until that happened and didn't see anything wrong with buying ISIS oil and letting recruits travel into Syria via Turkey. America should probably re-evaluate our relationship with Turkey.
We aren't the only ones that will have a problem with Turkey's actions. The Russians will also be upset. They have been selling weapons to the Kurds and they had some advisers in the area. Thos advisers have been pulled out but they have to be angry that their plans are being disrupted by the Kurds as well. For once we have something in common with the Russians in that the Turks have pissed us both off.
Most seriously the Syrians themselves may be angered. Though their main forces are tied up in an massive offensive against the last remaining rebel groups in Idlib, they could resist an invasion by the Turks. The Turks obviously outclass the Syrians but they could still cause some damage. If it happens though it would greatly prolong the war and cause the rebel groups to have a second wind. They won't ever be strong enough to win at this point but they could cause the war to continue for years and years.
It would be a shame if that were to happen as it seems like we might be closing in on a solution to the war. If a reconciliation can happen between the Kurds and Syrian government than the war is basically over. There are still ISIS and rebel holdouts in control of some territory but at least we would ensure that there wouldn't be a second war between the Kurds and Syrians. A federal solution would really be the best thing for everyone in the region besides Turkey. Let's hope that Turkey fails in derailing the plan and that they don't continue this assault.
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