Tom O'Connor, Newsweek: Turkey Is Launching the Next Middle East War With Attacks on Kurds in Iraq and Syria
The U.S. and Turkey have offered conflicting statements as to whether Washington had agreed to allow Ankara to expand its war against Kurdish fighters operating alongside U.S. Special Forces in Syria. Meanwhile, new Turkish airstrikes targeted other Kurdish fighters in Iraq on Wednesday, signaling a new phase of conflict in two nations still reeling from being partially overtaken by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).
Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, initially told Al Jazeera on Monday that his government had reached a general agreement with the U.S., one that would allow Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies to expand an offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters across northern Syria. The U.S. has trained and equipped a number of these Kurdish groups, including the People's Protection Units (YPG), in order to fight ISIS as part of the larger Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
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WNU Editor: Some are speculating that this victory by the Turkish-backed Syrian rebels over the Kurds is a sign that they should not be taken lightly .... Syrian rebel victory in Afrin reveals strength of Turkish-backed force (The Guardian). There is also speculation that Turkey will now confront U.S. forces in Syria .... After victory in Afrin, a Turkey-US confrontation looms in Syria (Middle East Eye). Considering the current atmosphere in Turkey and in Syria .... and this easy victory in Afrin .... I will not be surprised if such a confrontation does occur.
