Archives

In Syria, Kurdish Fighters Face Trump Pullout, Own Mistakes

Khalil was shopping in the Hasakah marketplace in Syria when
Kurdish military police arrested him last March. He was 19 and had
papers that showed he was in high school, but that didn’t matter. The
Kurdish militia, which feeds troops to the U.S.-led war in Syria, was
way short of volunteers. They ordered him into a minibus and drove
through the northeast Syrian city, abducting others along the way.

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

Feeling betrayed by the United States,
its Kurdish allies in Syria asked the Syrian government on Friday to
protect them from possible attack by Turkey. The
request appeared to help open the way for the forces of President
Bashar al-Assad of Syria, backed by Russia and Iran, to start retaking
the Kurdish-held part of the country near Turkey’s border. That would be
a big step toward Mr. Assad’s goal of reclaiming all of Syria, upended
by almost eight years of war.

Erdogan: New military operation in Syria to 'start at any moment'

Turkey may launch a new military operation in northern Syria at any moment, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding US President Donald Trump had given a positive response to Turkey's plans. Erdogan's remarks on Monday came days after he announced Turkish forces would launch a new cross-border operation against the US-backed Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to the east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.

Officials Say Trump Has Ordered Full Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Syria

President Trump has ordered a rapid
withdrawal of all 2,000 United States ground troops from Syria within 30
days, declaring the four-year American-led war against the Islamic
State as largely won, officials said Wednesday.“We
have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the
Trump Presidency,” the president said in a Twitter post on Wednesday
morning.

US demands security guarantee for Kurdish YPG from Turkey

The protection of allied forces who fought and died battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) in Syria must be guaranteed, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone conversation. 
Pompeo and Cavusoglu talked on Monday as the NATO
allies try to reach an agreement over the fate of US-backed, Kurdish-led
fighters, who fought against the ISIL, following the planned withdrawal
of US troops from northern Syria.

Erdogan: US' Bolton 'seriously mistaken' on Syrian Kurd fighters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday denounced comments by a senior US official urging protection for Kurdish allies as "seriously mistaken".
US National Security Adviser John Bolton held talks in Ankara
with Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and other officials
on the handling of armed groups in northern Syria and the US's planned
pullout of its forces there.

Erdogan: 'No satisfactory plan' with US on Syria safe zone

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he has not yet seen an acceptable plan for the creation of a "safe zone" in northeastern Syria, three weeks after US President Donald Trump suggested the move.
"There is no satisfactory plan that is put before
us concretely yet," Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his AK Party
on Tuesday.

Ivanka Tweet Thanking Turkey's Erdogan for Attending Istanbul Trump Towers Launch Re-Emerges Amid Syria Controversy

As the world reacted to America's sudden abandonment of its most
trusted and effective local allies, a tweet from Trump's daughter Ivanka
resurfaced, detailing a relevant conflict of interest regarding
relations with Turkey."Thank you Prime Minister Erdogan for joining us yesterday to celebrate the launch of #TrumpTowers Istanbul!" Ivanka wrote in April 2012. The construction—made up of two conjoined towers—is one of seven current Trump Towers locations.