Syrian Kurds poised to take Raqqa
According to the Associated Press, Syrian Kurds are confident that they’ll be able to take the ISIS capital city of Raqqa, Syria with massive US assistance;
Gen. Joseph Votel, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, signaled Thursday that there will be a larger and longer American military presence in Syria to accelerate the fight against IS and quell friction within the complicated mix of warring factions there.
The SDF spokeswoman said their numbers are increasing with more residents of newly-liberated areas from IS joining the ethnically-mixed force, which has been the most effective group on the ground in Syria in the battle against IS.
“We have enough forces to liberate Raqqa with the help of the coalition,” Sheikh Ehmed said, adding that their troops received intelligence that the Islamic State group is moving some of its leaders outside the city and are digging tunnels in preparation for intense street battles — much like those underway in neighboring Iraq where the Iraqi forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, are fighting to rout IS from the western part of the city of Mosul, the extremists’ last remaining urban stronghold in Iraq.
Of course, Turkey doesn’t like the idea of Kurdish troops leading the assault since they consider the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, to be a terrorist organization.
Turkey’s military said Turkish troops and Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces have killed — or “neutralized” — 71 Syrian Kurdish fighters in northern Syria this week. The operations are part of Turkey’s months-long incursion into its war-torn neighbor in a push against IS but also in an effort to restrict the U.S.-backed SDF.
Category: Terror War
Erdogan is trying to silence opposition to his bid to become a dictator and prepared to foment trouple in Europe/Holland. His recent purge is part of his bid. US support for the Kurds is seen by him as a danger to that bid and as support for his enemies. With NATO involved a slow fuze fizzeling away.
Did you see the organized protests yesterday in Denmark with Turkish flags and chants of allah akbar too?
Turkey is prett scum.
Erdogan has his own designs for a Turkish-led Islamic Caliphate.
Bingo.
Erdogan correctly reads the current situation as favorable to re-establishing a Turkey-based Caliphate. It would be seen as a “moderate” alternative to the lunatics of “islamic state”.
The current “caliphate” will likely object. Erdogan would likely see it as a win-win, as he would have to smash through the notional “Kurdistan” to reach them.
End-state is Erdogan the new Caliph of a reconstituted Turkish Empire caliphate, with much more oil and much less Kurds.
Such a state would likely be very popular withg most Sunni, and even some Shia who see Turks as a restraint on Arab Sunni.
Oh this could get -so- very messy….
How is Turkey part of NATO?
They are basically the enemy.
“a larger and longer American military presence in Syria to accelerate the fight against IS and quell friction within the complicated mix of warring factions there.”
Note the “quell friction…” part. This is not, in my opinion, a good thing. I will not be at all reluctant to say “I told you so” when this intervention turns to crap.
“The operations are part of Turkey’s months-long incursion into its war-torn neighbor in a push against IS but also in an effort to restrict the U.S.-backed SDF.”
So they continue to say a big “fuck you” to us and we continue to send them cash. Smart.
How about the US of A removing the YPG from their list of terrorist organization? That would remove the justification of Turkey naming the YPG as a terrorist organization.
The pertinent question isn’t whether, with enough US assistance, ISIS can be tossed out of Raqqa by Kurdish forces. That’s a given.
The pertinent question is whether they can hold it afterwards when we leave – or if we’ll have to leave forces there indefinitely to support them.
My guess is the latter. And I have some issues with that.