We do.
Posted on 01/24/2018 8:38:00 AM PST by Texas Fossil
WASHINGTON — The White House sent out a message aimed at mollifying Turkey’s president on Tuesday, suggesting that the United States was easing off its support for the Syrian Kurds.
That message was quickly contradicted by the Pentagon, which said it would continue to stand by the Kurds, even as Turkey invaded their stronghold in northwestern Syria.
The conflicting statements appeared to reflect an effort by the administration to balance competing pressures. Turkey, which has been furious over American support for the Kurds, is a NATO ally, while the Kurds have been critical American partners in the war against the Islamic State.
For its part, the White House disavowed a plan by the American military to create a Kurdish-led force in northeastern Syria, which Turkey has vehemently opposed. Turkey, which considers the Kurdish militia a terrorist organization, fears the plan would cement a Kurdish enclave along its southern frontier.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
But the US must make a plan for when Turkey is no longer part of NATO. It is coming.
-—But the US must make a plan for when Turkey is no longer part of NATO. It is coming. -—
Could be...but I have my doubts...
Turkey is far too valuable goepolotical landmass to leave NATA
Guess we will see.
Trump the negotiator will not close the sell today with Erdogan. This is about the Islamist wet dream of the Neo-Ottaman Sultan.
And the pipeline.
The US must make a plan for when The US is no longer part of NATO.
Maybe before Turkey "leaves" NATO.
I don’t see that happening.
We do.
Maybe a US concession on training/equipping a 30,000 man Border Security Force in the main Kurdish controlled area, will be enough of an incentive for Erdogan to call off his (likely eventually genocidal) assault in Afrin. But maybe Erdogan is too thirsty for conquest, after tasting blood.
There could be non-public “sticks” accompanying the public “carrot” as well, like a big drop of anti-tank Javelins and LAWs into Afrin, or doubling the size of the Border Security Force in retaliation, and giving them 10,000 anti-tank weapons. We will probably never know for sure.
The USA is probably the only country who could/would exert enough leverage on Turkey to call off their assault. Russia could declare a no fly zone, but it was they who gave Turkey the all clear to enter.
Headshake
Lots of Photo Ops. We’ll see.
The new prince is still working through a lot of things.
It is long past time to kick the Turks in the face.
They have been the 2nd largest military in NATO.
We do not end that lightly.
“They have been the 2nd largest military in NATO.
We do not end that lightly.”
I remeber all of the talk about how Saddam and Iraq would be a huge challenge to the US in 1990. Turkey wouldn’t be as easy but it’s well within our capabilities.
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