Official Syrian Conflict Thread

[Secure Da Bag]

That area is currently under SDF control

That map with blue is areas that is anticipated where the Turks and their proxies will try to take over.

Which is why the Kurdish led groups have to make a deal with the devil they know (Assad) rather than the devil that wants to go no holds barred and eliminate em from the border (Erdogan).

I'd like US forces to stay so the Kurds can continue to hold the blue and yellow areas in their entirety and repel Turkish forces until an agreement with Assad can be made. I wouldn't even mind the US staying as a backup force for the next few years. Either way, it would require the US to stay much longer than 30 days, in my scenario.

Though I wonder if Assad would back the Kurds and their currently held territory just to spite the Turks.

 

[Birnin Zana]

I'd like US forces to stay so the Kurds can continue to hold the blue and yellow areas in their entirety and repel Turkish forces until an agreement with Assad can be made. I wouldn't even mind the US staying as a backup force for the next few years. Either way, it would require the US to stay much longer than 30 days, in my scenario.

Though I wonder if Assad would back the Kurds and their currently held territory just to spite the Turks.

Assad and the Kurds have a mutual interest: keeping Turkey out.

Assad wants Syrian territory back. The Kurds, at this point, want to ensure they have a future in the country in the long run. Linking up together against Turkey gives them a chance to achieve each sides’ interests.

Furthermore Assad doesn’t like Erdogan and considering how Turkey is still in Afrin (correct me if I’m wrong), there are no guarantees that Turkey will give up said Kurdish territory if it took it over. Nor will there be any guarantee that the Kurds will be around as a result of a large Turkish campaign.

They have to make a deal. Unfortunately for the Kurds, they have very little leverage now. Their fate rests on Assad’s decision-making the rest of the way.

 

[FAH1223]

Assad and the Kurds have a mutual interest: keeping Turkey out.

Assad wants Syrian territory back. The Kurds, at this point, want to ensure they have a future in the country in the long run. Linking up together against Turkey gives them a chance to achieve each sides’ interests.

Furthermore Assad doesn’t like Erdogan and considering how Turkey is still in Afrin (correct me if I’m wrong), there are no guarantees that Turkey will give up said Kurdish territory if it took it over. Nor will there be any guarantee that the Kurds will be around as a result of a large Turkish campaign.

They have to make a deal. Unfortunately for the Kurds, they have very little leverage now. Their fate rests on Assad’s decision-making the rest of the way.

Turkey has their eyes set on Manbij. Hasakah area has these tribes allied with the regime and they fought with the SDF vs ISIS.

 

[thatrapsfan]

Assad and the Kurds have a mutual interest: keeping Turkey out.

Assad wants Syrian territory back. The Kurds, at this point, want to ensure they have a future in the country in the long run. Linking up together against Turkey gives them a chance to achieve each sides’ interests.

Furthermore Assad doesn’t like Erdogan and considering how Turkey is still in Afrin (correct me if I’m wrong), there are no guarantees that Turkey will give up said Kurdish territory if it took it over. Nor will there be any guarantee that the Kurds will be around as a result of a large Turkish campaign.

They have to make a deal. Unfortunately for the Kurds, they have very little leverage now. Their fate rests on Assad’s decision-making the rest of the way.

Its basically back to the 90s in a weird way Despite all the upheaval and madness, in broad strokes itll be back to business as usual. The regime in solid control, while sheltering PKK as a trump card against Turkey.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Give it a couple more years and this type of fighting going to move south to Western Africa. France already in Niger, Chad and Mali under the guise of anti-terrorism and peace keeping.

 

[FAH1223]

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Syria’s Kurds, Feeling Betrayed by the U.S., Ask Assad Government for Protection


Syria’s Kurds, Feeling Betrayed by the U.S., Ask Assad Government for Protection
Dec. 28, 2018
Turkish-backed Syrian fighters gathered in the area of Sajur near Manbij on Friday.Bakr Alkasem/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters gathered in the area of Sajur near Manbij on Friday.Bakr Alkasem/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s most powerful Kurdish militia has called on President Bashar al-Assad’s government to send forces to protect it against an attack by Turkey, the first sign of shifting political alliances in eastern Syria since President Trump announced that he would withdraw American troops.

At issue is an expanse of territory in the country’s north and east that the United States, in partnership with local Kurdish-led militias, took from the Islamic State. That put about one-quarter of Syria’s territory, including valuable agricultural land and oil reserves, under the control of those militias backed by the United States and supported by about 2,000 American soldiers.

But the growing clout of Syrian Kurdish fighters angered Turkey, which sees them as a security threat and has vowed to attack them in the near future. Kurdish control of the region is also opposed by the government of Mr. Assad as well as its Russian and Iranian backers, who want the territory to fall back under the control of Damascus.

For the most part, the other powers in Syria’s multisided war have avoided attacking the area for fear of provoking the United States. But Mr. Trump’s surprise announcement last week that he would pull American troops out of Syria cleared the way for a possible scramble by those competing forces to take advantage of the resulting vacuum.

The People’s Protection Units, or Y.P.G., called Friday on the Syrian government to send troops to the city of Manbij to ward off a possible attack by Turkey. The call by the Syrian Kurdish militia was notable in that a United States ally was calling on an enemy of the United States to protect it against another American ally.

The Kurds see Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw troops as a betrayal.

Through their alliance with the United States, Syria’s Kurds gained unprecedented military and political power during the war. As the Islamic State fighters were pushed back, the Kurds often filled the political gap left behind, establishing councils to run local affairs.

But aware that the United States could eventually withdraw, they had also begun talks with the Syrian government about reconciling.

Abdulkarim Omar, a foreign relations official with the Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria, said by phone on Friday that the talks continued and that the only issue that had been agreed upon so far was the Syrian army deployment near Manbij after the Americans withdraw.

When asked if that agreement had been coordinated with the United States, he said: “You can ask the Americans.”

But much remains uncertain for the Syrians living in those areas, especially since the two parties to the agreement described it in different ways. The Kurds said that the Syrian army would only take over border areas to protect against a Turkish attack but would not deploy inside the city itself.

But the Syrian army said on Friday that its troops had entered Manbij and hoisted the Syrian flag. The Syrian army made no reference to the Kurds, but spoke instead of ”the complete commitment of the Syrian Army in assuming its responsibilities to impose sovereignty to each inch of the Syrian territories.”

That appeared to leave little room for the Kurds to run their own affairs.

Residents of the city, however, said that Syrian troops had not in fact entered the city. The American-led coalition in Syria also said on Twitter that it had seen “no indication that these claims are true.”

“We call on everyone to respect the integrity of Manbij and the safety of its citizens,” the coalition said.

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[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

 

[FAH1223]

Turkey now isn't going to attack Kurdish YPG/SDF positions if the Syrian army is with them... one would think

 

[FAH1223]

 

[FAH1223]

 

[88m3]

Assad can always gas them.

 

[88m3]

Trump threatens to 'devastate' Turkish economy over Syrian Kurds

• 30 minutes ago

Related Topics

• Syrian civil war

Image copyrightEPA
Image captionTurkish-backed forces are poised to launch an offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria
US President Donald Trump has threatened to "devastate Turkey economically" if it attacks Kurdish forces in Syria following a planned pullout of US troops.

In two tweets on Sunday, Mr Trump said that he didn't want the Kurds to provoke Turkey either.

US forces have fought alongside a Kurdish militia in northern Syria against the Islamic State (IS) group.

Turkey, however, regards the People's Protection Units (YPG) as terrorists.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken angrily about American support for the group and vowed to crush it.

Mr Trump's comments on Sunday followed further criticism of his abrupt decision to withdraw US forces from Syria.

• War-weary Syrians in Manbij wait to learn fate
• Trump rewrites US-Syria policy
• After the caliphate: Has IS been defeated?

A senior figure in Saudi Arabia's royal family, Prince Turki al-Faisal, told the BBC it would have a "negative impact" that would benefit Iran, Russia and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is currently in the Saudi capital Riyadh as he tours the Middle East to reassure US allies in the region.

What did Mr Trump say?
The president defended his decision to withdraw troops, saying any remaining IS fighters could be attacked from an unspecified "existing nearby base".

He did not say how Turkey's economy would suffer if it attacked the YPG. Mr Trump also mentioned the creation of a "20-mile safe zone", which the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher says hints at the kind of solution Mr Pompeo is trying to negotiate.

Skip Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump
End of Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump

The president also said that Russia, Iran and Syria had been the biggest beneficiaries of US action in Syria and it was time to bring American soldiers home.

Skip Twitter post 2 by @realDonaldTrump
End of Twitter post 2 by @realDonaldTrump

President Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin responded in a tweet, saying Turkey expected the US to "honour our strategic partnership".

"Terrorists can't be your partners and allies," he said.

President Trump shocked allies and faced strong criticism at home last month when he ordered US forces to immediately begin withdrawing from the approximately 30% of Syria controlled by the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

What has Mike Pompeo said?
Over the weekend, Mr Pompeo said he had spoken to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu by phone and was "optimistic" that an agreement could be reached with Turkey to protect Kurdish fighters. He did not give details.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Mr Pompeo said the US recognised "the Turkish people's right and Mr Erdogan's right to defend their country from terrorists".

"We also know that those fighting alongside us for all this time deserve to be protected as well," he added.

Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionMike Pompeo is on a politically sensitive visit to the Middle East
In Riyadh, the secretary of state is expected to discuss Iran and the conflicts in Yemen and Syria, US media report, as well as seeking an update on the investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Mr Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Arabia's rulers, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul three months ago.

How many US troops are in Syria?
About 2,000 US military personnel are reported to be deployed in northern Syria.

Ground troops first arrived in autumn 2015 when then-President Barack Obama sent in a small number of special forces to train and advise YPG fighters.

Media captionWas Trump right to say IS is beaten?
The US did this after several attempts at training and arming Syrian Arab rebel groups to battle IS militants descended into chaos.

Over the intervening years the number of US troops in Syria has increased, and a network of bases and airfields has been established in an arc across the north-eastern part of the country





lol???

 

[Secure Da Bag]

U.S. troops killed in Syria suicide attack claimed by ISIS

U.S. troops were among those killed in an attack in northern Syria Wednesday -- the same day that Vice President Mike Pence said ISIS, which claimed responsibility for the attack, "has been defeated."

The U.S.-led coalition in Syria, Operation Inherent Resolve, said a tweet that "U.S. service members were killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria today." A U.S. military official also confirmed to CBS News senior national defense correspondent David Martin reports by Kurdish media outlets that at least two Americans were among the dead in the city of Manbij, not far from the Turkish border, after an explosion hit a coalition convoy.

The U.S. military has not said how many Americans were among the bombing victims, but at least one report said as many as four U.S. service members were killed. If true, Martin notes that it would be the single largest loss of U.S. life in Syria since American forces were deployed there in 2015.

 

[FAH1223]

graphic

Spoiler