Todd Bishop
On October 9, local time, Turkey launched an action against the Kurdish armed forces in northeastern Syria, codenamed Peace Fountain. Turkish fighters have already attacked the northeastern part of Syria. Unlike the previous military operations against the Islamic State (ISIS), this is a contest between the winners on the Syrian battlefield.
The Kurdish armed forces in Syria have achieved remarkable results in the fight against ISIS in the past few years. With the support of the United States, they seized important towns in northern Syria, including Laka, from ISIS, and announced the establishment of “Northern Syria” in March 2016. The Democratic Union, which covers the West Aflin region, the Central Euphrates region, and the eastern Jezira region. At present, the Democratic Commons has a base area of at least 50,000 square kilometers, accounting for a quarter of the entire Syrian territory. In particular, the eastern shore of the Euphrates River is almost the world of democratic federation.
Turkey’s formation of the Russian-Turkish-Italian alliance with Russia and Iran in the process of cracking down on ISIS is already an indispensable part of the settlement of the Syrian situation.
This action is the third military action taken by Turkey against the Kurdish armed forces in Syria in recent years. In 2016, when the Kurdish armed forces just announced the establishment of the “Northern Syrian Democratic Federation”, Turkey launched a military operation codenamed “Earth Raider Shield” in northern Syria from August 2016 to March 2017. The Bab area was controlled by sending troops to Turkey and the connection between Aflin and other Kurdish armed areas was cut off. In March 2018, Turkey launched an “Olive Branch” military operation in northern Syria, basically controlling the strategic town of Aflin. The military action in Turkey is intended to suggest a safe corridor for the Euphrates River to completely separate the Kurdish armed forces in Syria from the Kurdish Workers’ Party in Turkey.
Turkey regards the development and growth of Kurds as a security threat. There are certain realistic considerations for sending troops. However, its military action is a cross-border attack. The Syrian government has always believed that the military presence of the United States and Turkey in northern Syria is a violation of Syria’s sovereignty. Express condemnation. Why did Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dare to declare cross-border military operations again and again?
The US White House said on the 6th that the US military will “do not support or participate” in Turkey’s upcoming military operation in northern Syria, and the US military will withdraw from the relevant regions. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 8th, saying that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called “to discuss in detail the development of the situation in Syria, “particularly concerned about the situation in northeastern Syria.” On the 9th local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Erdogan. The two sides exchanged views on the Syrian issue. Erdogan informed Putin about Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria. In response, Putin called on Turkey to seriously weigh the current situation so as not to undermine the overall efforts of the parties concerned to resolve the Syrian crisis. The leaders of the two countries reiterated that they will abide by the agreement reached at the meeting of the leaders of the Astana peace talks held in Ankara in September this year, and once again clearly recognize the importance of respecting Syria’s sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity.
The opposition of the Syrian government to the Turkish operation is very fierce. The United States and Russia do not support Turkey’s unilateral actions very much, but why can the United States and Russia tolerate Turkey? After the war on terror, can no one stop Turkey’s military actions that want to undermine regional peace? What happened in the end to make Erdogan unscrupulous?
The military action taken by Turkey is ostensibly against the Kurdish armed forces. In fact, only one of Turkey’s opponents is the United States. The Kurdish activities in the Middle East are not what they are today. Neither the Sunni Muslims nor the Shiite Muslims will deteriorate the relationship with Turkey for the Kurds. Turkey regards Kurdish armed forces in Syria as a security threat after the United States supported the Syrian Kurdish armed forces.
The Kurdish armed forces in northern Syria are the agents of the United States who have gained a firm foothold in the Syrian war on terrorism. The United States has paid for the armed forces to arm the Kurdish armed forces. At the beginning of the anti-terrorism, the United States even assured the Syrian Kurdish armed forces that they would not sit down and watch the Turkish attack. Turkey is very dissatisfied with the United States to support the Kurdish armed forces. The Turkish side hopes to establish a “safe area” along the Syrian border in northern Syria, separating the Syrian Kurds from the Kurds in Turkey. Erdogan has repeatedly consulted with the US and hopes to obtain US support, but the US has always been cold and uncertain. . Therefore, since 2016, Turkey has taken military action against the Kurdish. On the one hand, it has actually weakened the Kurdish armed forces, and on the other hand, it has told the Americans that Turkey does not allow sand.
Turkey’s military operations have progressed to the point where the United States must choose whether to meet or withdraw from the Turkish military.
Erdogan had already called Donald Trump before the action was launched in Turkey. Shortly after the call, Trump announced that he would withdraw his troops from northern Syria in order to get rid of the “ridiculous, endless war.” Subsequently, the Turkish army made its way to the north of Syria. Trump said on Twitter, “The United States has spent $8 trillion on combat and maintaining law and order in the Middle East. We have thousands of great soldiers killed or seriously injured, and millions of lives have been left forever. There. Entering the Middle East is the worst decision in the history of the United States…”
Trump had long decided to withdraw troops from Syria. However, in December 2018, Trump announced that the withdrawal of troops from Syria caused an uproar, and many opponents had to temporarily strand. Trump’s withdrawal from Syria on the one hand completed Trump’s campaign promise, and on the other hand, the practice of stabilizing the military’s military relations in NATO.
This is in the middle of Turkey. The announcement by the United States that the evacuation has already foreseen the victory of the Turkish attack on the Kurdish armed forces has won more than half. The withdrawal of the United States is of great significance to Turkey. This made Turkey’s actions to weaken the Kurdish armed forces without any worries, and no longer worried that the Kurdish armed forces would grow to an uncontrollable level.
Although the Kurdish armed forces quickly decided to move closer to the Moscow and Syrian governments. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad welcomed the reconciliation of the Kurdish armed forces with the government. However, with Russia and Turkey leading the Syrian political reconciliation process, Russia’s relations with Turkey are in the honeymoon period.
In dealing with Kurdish armed forces, Moscow tacitly weakened Turkey’s Kurdish armed forces. It is in the interest of the Syrian government to weaken the Kurdish armed forces occupying a quarter of Syria’s land. In the future coalition government and democratic process, the Assad government will have more operational space, and the Russian-led Syrian political reconciliation process will be even more Move forward quickly. The political vacuum after the US withdrawal will be divided by the Turkish, Syrian, and Syrian governments.
Therefore, looking back at the military operations of the past few years and the demands of the parties on the Syrian battlefield, Turkey’s continued military action, in addition to the forced withdrawal of the United States, has weakened the strength of the Kurdish armed forces, and the rest of the parties are happy to see it. to make.
Russia, Syria and Turkey have all gained practical benefits in this process. The war between the winners and the winners of the post-ISIS era is essentially the victory of the Russian-Turkish tri-party to the United States, the re-adjustment of the interests of Turkey and Syria, and the interests of Kurdish.
