Marcus is puzzled over Turkey and Syria

(Marcus)

He thinks we should leave the "civilized world" and move to a nice, warm island where we can concentrate on finding ripe coconuts, good bananas, the odd lobster and where the doings of the
Fundament of Borgistas will not so oppress us.

He raises the following points:

- The Turks describe their Indian Reservation in NW Syria as being a "no-fly" zone for their favorite non-IS rebels.  These include the Nusra front.

- The US anti-IS czar, General (ret.) Allen USMC says it is not a no-fly zone.

- Who is going to defend this Indian Reservation?

- The Turks have now graciously given us access to four air bases that we built and maintained on their territory.  We did this because they were once something like NATO allies of the United States.

- The Turkish Deputy PM has once again insulted a woman member of parliament by telling her that she should shut up BECAUSE she is a woman.  We need allies like the Erdogan government? Oh, I forgot we have other allies like that, the Saudis!

- The Turkish Air Force has now begun to bomb installations of the PKK.  This is a problem for the US since the other Kurds; PM, YPG, etc. do not share Turkey's view of the PKK and the various Kurdish groups are the only people effectively fighting IS.  We (Allen) traded the Turks our de facto agreement to this in return for the use of the air bases?  Have we considered the fact that Turkey may now become unstable over this intervention?  I hope someone is thinking about air base security.

- An unnamed "senior US official" said today that the US does not seek the military defeat of the Syrian Government.  No?  You could have fooled me.  Oh, I forgot (getting old) that we hope that Assad will decide to commit personal and national suicide by allowing us to jaw-bone him into leaving.

- Kurdish  and Syrian government forces have driven IS back from Hasakah in NE Syria.  Will the Turks accept that or will they bomb IS's enemies there because they are Kurds and Syrian Government?  US air reportedly put in 10 strikes at Hasakah to help with the anti-IS effort.   We are not helping the Syrian Government?

I suggest a de-confliction office somewhere to prevent US/Turkish/Syrian engagements.

Marcus and I will continue to discuss the possibility of escape.  I am thinking of Bora Bora.  I remember the old San Miguel ad that began "I was standing on the beach at Bora Bora..."   pl, 

http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Jul-29/308786-turkey-launches-heaviest-airstrikes-on-pkk-since-campaign-began-official.ashx

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/opinion/turkeys-shift-on-the-syrian-war.html?_r=0

http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/daesh-ousted-from-hasakeh-2015-07-29-1.598388 

Comments

[Fred]

Col.,

A minor fundament of the Borg was on NPR today repeating the sad, sad IO monologue of Assad must go and touting the need for a "no fly zone". How the hell do they expect to do that without a UN mandate or a Congressional authorization for the use of force in Syria?
http://www.wnyc.org/story/us-turkey-to-create-isis-free-zone-along-syrian-border/

[The Twisted Genius]

pl,

I suggest Marcus get off his purple ass and lope on down Duke Street to the Alexandria Seaport. Maybe they can fit him out with a nice Chesapeake sharpie for cruising the local rivers and bay. Then you and Marcus can hop from crab shack to beach bar in search of peace and solace. It's not Bora Bora, but it's sure better than DC. You can both moon the Borgistas as you cruise up the Potomac.

[turcopolier]

TTG

He likes your concept. We have to work out the details. I have asked him about the killer dentist re-enacting "King Solomon's Mines." (I prefer the Deborah Kerr version)or maybe the manly DDS had in mind "The Short and Happy life of Francis McComber." Marcus says he does not like lions. pl

[rjj]

SHLOFM for the impatient:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34RedogxsJ0

[Bandolero]

turcopolier

"Who is going to defend this Indian Reservation?"

Maybe Al Qaeda can do that. They seem to care about that the coconut trees they rule over in Syria are stable and free from alien infiltrators.

Quote PJ Media - just in:

Al-Qaeda Arrests 18 U.S.-Trained Rebels On Their First Day in Syria

On Monday, I reported here at PJ Media that the first 50 graduates of Obama’s U.S.-trained “vetted moderate” Syrian rebel army had left Turkey for Syria two weeks ago — and haven’t been heard from since.

But today comes a new report that a fresh class of U.S.-trained recruits were arrested today upon entering Syria. ...

Source:

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/07/29/bringbackourrebels-part-2-al-qaeda-arrests-18-u-s-trained-rebels-on-their-first-day-in-syria/

[elev8]

Turkey needs to be told that it is not indispensable to NATO. Not as some kind of bluff, but completely in earnest. How shall I put it? Let's think of NATO as this culturally white military alliance. By that definition, an Obama can be the leader of its leaders, while a Mugabe, say, would not make the cut. We should not seduce Erdogan to act Christian against his will. Maybe - like Mugabe - he will try to lure back those whom he made flee in the first place. Maybe not. Babak says Turkey is civilizationally comparable to Iran. So there is hope for Turkey even if they go it alone. We should, of course, be prepared to see them cooperating with Russia. It's not like that would not be just another variation on the theme of acting Christian. Or maybe Erdogan wants to act Confucian. He certainly has options once he has overcome his inner Mugabe.

[Duncan Kinder]

There are no lobsters on Bora Bora.

Greek Islands are now up for sale. And you can get lobsters there.

[lally]

Is Israel taking advantage of the confusion in order to do some strategic damage?:

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/israeli-drone-strikes-target-the-national-defense-forces-and-the-pflp-gc/

Know ingthem, escalation is a probability. Some say these targeted strikes were likely intel-prompted. No evidence yet that Hezbollah was in the crosshairs but it's early yet.

[walrus]

I'm told Bora Bora is very French. You could and Marcus could do the Rousseau thing. How are your painting skills?

[turcopolier]

walrus

I speak French, am half French,and like just about all thing French. So, that sounds good to me. I could - what? Drink? That sounds good to me. Would have to import company for Marcus. pl

[Jill]

Way off topic but... This is one bloody minded old woman who likes lions much better than dentists - specifically dentists who are not especially competent with a bow and arrow. I read that they didn't find the wounded lion for 40 hours. Disgusting.

Jill

[ex-PFC Chuck]

Thank you, rjj, for the link.

[turcopolier]

Jill

I wonder how long the dentist would last with a crossbow bolt in him. pl

[Jill]

I don't know but I'm only half-ashamed to say that I imagined just exactly that for a few seconds. Ah, lord, I could go on for awhile about trophy hunting and freely choosing weapons that are not the best for a quick and clean kill but I expect many share those opinions.

Jill

[Ishmael Zechariah]

Colonel Lang,

There is serious internal strife in Turkey, with daily attacks on government offices, construction sites, schools, barracks, poilce stations, gas pipelines etc. Since the Turks are used to such stuff, it will only make the general population angrier-this might result in a major bloodbath, which might be what tayyip wishes to remain in power.

I have a few other comments:
“The Turkish Deputy PM has once again insulted a woman member of parliament by telling her that she should shut up BECAUSE she is a woman. We need allies like the Erdogan government? Oh, I forgot we have other allies like that, the Saudis!”
Could you please remind Marcus of those allies-uber-alles of the USA, the Israelis and their Haredim?
“We (Allen) traded the Turks our de facto agreement to this in return for the use of the air bases? Have we considered the fact that Turkey may now become unstable over this intervention? I hope someone is thinking about air base security.”

Marcus might be told that Turkey was already unstable, with cancer growing from within. The PKK was laying low since they were controlling large swatches of territory-the security forces and the TSK were forbidden to intervene by the tayyiban in the name of the “opening”. Then tayyip lost the election… Marcus might remember the pseudo-intellectual democracy lovers and their (often vociferous) defense of tayyip and his ilk for the past decade, sometimes in this committee. I would hazard a guess that the TSK is still capable enough to ensure air base security.
“I suggest a de-confliction office somewhere to prevent US/Turkish/Syrian engagements.” An excellent idea, if it were to be run by folks with better brains than Petraeus-the-chaste. His memory is still raw with some of our Army corps.

Off-topic, I am wondering what it is with these hunters; first Cheney the Dick shoots a fellow hunter during a quail hunt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney_hunting_incident ) -reportedly the farm-raised quail had clipped wings; a black sin if true- now a dentist channeling Allan Quatermain goes and shoots a tame unsuspecting lion. If Marcus discovers a place to escape all this craziness I will volunteer to join the caravan as a coolie and gun-bearer for the Sahibs.

Ishmael Zechariah

[The Twisted Genius]

Jill,

Don't feel bad about your bloody mindedness. When I was young, I had a recurring dream about leading all the animals in an uprising against humans. I was a bloody minded little kid. Psychiatrists would have had a field day with me. I just told SWMBO about this dream while we were watching "Zoo" on TV. She's a little worried about yet another dark aspect of my soul coming to light... or what the next revelation will entail.

[The Twisted Genius]

YPG and Euphrates Volcano forces have taken Sarrin and will probably continue south towards the dam at Tishrin. Control of that dam and the dam further south at I also remember hearing about YPG desires to move into the last ISIS link to Turkey at Jarabulus. They might be able to do some interdiction against this ISIS supply line, but I seriously doubt they can take Jarabulus from ISIS any time soon. Anyways, I believe these actions in northern Syria are what's prompting Turkey to do something. They don't want to lose control of the Jarabulus crossing.

[Ursa Maior]

Sir,

if forecasts are to believed Bora Bora and a number of corall reef based islands will go submersible in 10-25 yrs due to the non-existent global warming.

May I suggest The Canary Islands? Posessing the highest point in Spain (some 4000 + metres) it seems a safe bet. OTOTH the very same mountain is a volcano, called Teide. Bearing in mind that those islands are called the Eternal Spring islands for a reason.

[rjj]

Maybe the dentist had one of those man crushes on Dick Cheney.

How good a shot is Marcus?

[confusedponderer]

I certainly would advise Bora Bora over Tora Bora, even though I heard from my deeply buried sources that a Saudi consortium plans on develop the place into the Tora Bora Resort, offering reenactment to a Jihad light clientele. The whole set will be run by a third tier saudi prince, which means that all conceivable conforts will be excessively provided.

They reportedly plan to using Syria and Libya veterans as animators because of their infectious enthusiasm.

As far as I am cncerned, it doesn't stand a chance in terms of appeal against Bora Bora.

My kindest regards for Marcus by the way.

[turcopolier]

All

Marcus says that maybe Bora Bora is too far. He is leaving on a recon trip to look for refuges and to think about Trump. pl

[Bill H]

A "no fly zone"? I may be betraying my ignorance here; the players are a bit confusing and I don't have a scorecard. Does the Islamic State have war planes? Who is being prevented from flying in the zone, and who would they be attacking if they did fly there?

[Matthew]

Fred: And I would hope at least one Kurdish American would ask his/her Congressional Rep, "Why are you helping Turkey destroy Kurds when ISIS is the enemy?"

[BabelFish]

TTG, there is a TV series authored by James Patterson, Zoo, that will be on shortly. Your wish is there command.

[HankP]

Col. Lang -

I believe you have said that you live in Virginia. There are a host of interesting spots in the Caribbean that are only a few hours flight from DC, you could scope out several a week. you could start with the San Blas islands in Panama - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Blas_Islands