“U.S. Patrolling Syrian Border to Stop Turk-Kurd Clashes” - TTG

Ilham Ahmed, a co-president of the Democratic Council of Syria, wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post on 28 April addressing the recent Turkish bombing of Kurdish forces.

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“On Tuesday, Turkey bombed the headquarters of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, killing 20 of our soldiers. Immediately after the strike, the leaders of our forces — known as the People’s Protection Groups, or YPG — rushed from their operations center near Raqqa, where they’ve been working with the U.S. military to push the Islamic State out of its Syrian stronghold, to view the site of the attack. The American colonel and other officers who accompanied the YPG leaders were met by tens of thousands of protesters, including the mothers of soldiers who have died fighting the Islamic State. They asked the Americans a simple question: “How is it possible that our soldiers are fighting with you against ISIS while your ally Turkey is attacking us here?”” (WaPo)

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Not long after this piece appeared, the twittersphere came alive with reports, photos and videos of US troops moving to the Turkish-Syrian border. Wladimir Van Wilgenburg, a freelance journalist reporting out of Erbil, said this. “According to Kurdish journalist Heybar Othman three US army groups will spread on the border. First group on Derbisiye Serikaniye area, second on Derbisiye-Tal Abyad area, and third on Kobani and Tal Abyad area.” 

Lizzie Phelan, an RT correspondent reporting from Syria, also noted the troop movements and offered some 140 character analysis. “US troops are patrolling Kurdish areas on border with Turkey and have set up base in Darbasiya that was attacked two days ago by Turkish army. So despite the apparent silence from Washington in the face of ongoing attacks on the YPG, this is a clear message. Three possible scenarios: 1. US confident their presence will stop Turkish attacks  2. They're US forces are at risk of being "collateral damage" from TSK attacks, or… 3. They have an agreement from Turkey about which YPG held areas they can attack.” 

Then things started getting truly interesting. Mete Sohtaoğlu, a journalist and researcher based in Istanbul, tweeted this. “Massive Turkish Armed Forces reinforcements have arrived in Sanliurfa near Syrian border opposite side of Tal Adyad.” Mutlu Civiroglu, a Syrian and Kurdish affairs analyst, tweeted along with a link to a YouTube video. “ANHA reports YPG responded to Turkish attacks on west of Tal Abyad by destroying a radar system and tank.”

Twitter is a good place to identify indicators, but it is also a damned good place to be bamboozled by wild rumors and deliberate propaganda. The presence of videos from sources who have established a reliable reputation helps. I also look for official statements from military spokesmen, but in this era of pervasive information operations, even that has to be examined carefully. In this case Colonel John Dorrian, the Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman, confirms the presence of US troops along the border.  

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“WASHINGTON—American forces have started patrolling the Turkey-Syria border to prevent further clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish fighters that have undermined the fight against Islamic State, U.S. officials said Friday.

The patrols are part of a far-reaching American effort to prevent the rival forces from targeting each other as the U.S. prepares to launch a major effort to drive Islamic State from its largest Syrian stronghold.

“U.S. forces are patrolling in Northern Syria to maintain stability in the area and prevent incidents that could divert efforts to defeat ISIS in Syria,” said Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition against Islamic State, also known as ISIS.”  (WSJ)

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So what are we to make of this? I can’t tell what unit is at the border. There are unmarked Strykers prominently flying American flags. I’ve seen no distinctive markings on the troops either, although I do see some non-standard uniform items. My guess is that they are from one of the Ranger battalions feeling their special operations oats. (Everybody wants to be an operator.) It was Rangers in Strykers riding around Manbij a while back. They appear to be working side-by-side with YPG troops in their Toyota pickups. 

Are these US troops prepared to call in airstrikes on attacking Turkish forces or are are they just window dressing to assuage our Kurdish partners? We need them to continue the assault on Raqqa and can’t afford to have them abandon that offensive to face their Turkish enemies. We also need them to establish our “safe area” which we want as badly as the Saudis. I get the sneaking suspicion we will, once again, cruelly use and abandon the Kurds. The only difference is this time it is the Rojava Kurds who will feel our perfidy. Perhaps the Russians will take note of this and seek to insert themselves between the Rojava Kurds and their American “benefactors.”

I can only imagine what’s going through the minds of my Special Forces brethren who stood by the YPG since the lean days.

TTG

Comments

[b]

It is now confirmed that Russian soldiers are putting up shop near Afrin to deter Turkey from attacking the north-western Kurdish enclave.

Military police and some special forces - in total maybe platoon size traveling light. Just a show of presence like the U.S. Ranger platoon did further east.

[LeaNder]

Ok, thanks, Ulenspiegel. You surely have more expertise on this then me. I guess the pessimist in me surfaced again. ...

The contradiction is that UK opposed a more EU centric defense in the past as EU member

No doubt. But, I spare you further meditations on Europe... I sure hope that Macron wins. Let's see.

http://www.linternaute.com/actualite/politique/1357555-presidentielle-2017-resultat-du-dernier-sondage-le-pen-accelere-2eme-tour/

Dernier sondage : Macron se maintient, la dynamique est chez Le Pen

[shepherd]

elaine,

Many players today are using social media and fake news to spread rumors of fearsome capabilities that are obviously imaginary.

[Valissa]

Jackrabbit,

"Your still falling for the populist dazzle-dazzle?"

WTF are you talking about?

Can't you read? All I did was share a link and excerpts from it. I didn't vote for Trump. I'm a 3rd party voter.

[Babak Makkinejad]

US might be playing a game but Turks, Arabs, and Kurds are doing the actual dying across 3 countries.

I cannot personally assign exclusive blame just to AKP and Erdogan; Kurdish political parties in Turkey bear major responsibility for the crisis in the Southeast

And then there are also the Gulen Sheep and the Kemalist Mini-Mussolinis.

All of them have failed to sketch out a credible Laissez-faire vision for Turkey over decades; in my opinion.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Building Boom also underwrote the economic expansion of Ireland, Spain, and Portugal.

I have come to the conclusion that for many countries, such as Turkey and Iran - let alone war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria - economic development based on "Building Boom" makes a lot more sense than a model based on export-oriented economic activity.

The land in Istanbul is very inefficiently utilized, the city infrastructure could use a lot of improvement and there are entire section of the city that need to be razed and rebuilt. The Parks are few and in-between and streets are too small for the volume of traffic.

I do not know the specifics of the Gezi Park case, however.

[Brad Ruble]

"Triumph". It has been a while since a general had a ticker tape parade.

[kooshy]

Come to think of it, I think the persian name of the mountain range Hindu Kush meaning killer of Indian is more likely correct, that is since all other names of locations around the region are persian and have a meaning in persian, like the "Dorah Pass" meaning the pass of two rads. Which the two rods one goes to Pamir and one to Hindu Kush down to Panjab, in persian meaning five waters/rivers.

[kodlu]

You're joking, right. What does Turkey have to do with the Charlie Hebdo attack?

[Jackrabbit]

Both ISIS and alQueda claimed responsibility.

Maybe you forgot that ISIS oil was being shipped through Turkey?

Maybe you forgot that the main transit of foreign fighters to ISIS was through Turkey.

Most people didn't know of these things at the time but bloggers suspected and government security agencies would've known.

[Jackrabbit]

When you propose that the borg is "winning the battle for the President's mind" you implicitly make it appear that Trump (and others close to him) is resisting borg entreaties. This point of view is very similar to that of Obama apologists who insisted that Obama's heart was in the right place.

Repetition of this line of thought simply amounts to running interference for the President. Trump seems to have betrayed his 'base' just as Obama had betrayed his. And the fact that they each could gain monetary and other rewards for doing so should not be ignored. We don't need convoluted theories that seek to explain their betrayal. Occam's razor suggests that THEY EACH KNEW who they REALLY work for from day one.

[elaine]

All, www.rudaw.net/english/culture/01052017

'Baghdaddy': New York turns Iraq war into a musical

TTG, Thank you once again for an excellent post, IMO Sultan Erdogan
is in need of behavioral modification therapy.

[LeaNder]

Valissa, it feels that Buchanan may have been too concentrated on something like a long needed revolution in the US. At the expense of everything else. America First, back to Reagan? Make America Great Again?

He must have read a different foreign policy speech by "the Donald" then I did. Not surprising, really. E.g. Concerning Russia, what he said then made me wonder how real his more generally taken for granted rapprochement would be. North Korea surfaced too, as did Iran.

One of the central pillars always was the military. Considering he has no experience himself, why it is a surprise if he relies on it's men now?

buchanan.org/blog/last-america-first-125165

The New York Times headline declared that Trump’s speech was full of “Paradoxes,” adding, “Calls to Fortify Military and to Use It Less.”

But isn’t that what Reagan did? Conduct the greatest military buildup since Ike, then, from a position of strength, negotiate with Moscow a radical reduction in nuclear arms?

America single-highhandedly won the Cold War? By forcing Russia to spent on the military beyond its means? Spent more on the military then they could afford? Forcing it on it knees?

Someone around here advised me on why spending on nuclear arms may make sense. But he clearly wasn't worried about that. Admittedly, I was. Never mind my basic ignorance on matters.

I never completely understood, the Reagan hero worship. But, I assume that is one of the central sources: He won the Cold War.

Maybe, I'll read his book on Nixon.

*****

PS: Another random Pick. I surely understand American's resistance to fight in WWII.

I am aware how many gave their life; considering the treatment of conscientious objectors at the time, that surely was the lesser fate.

But paradoxically I was always quite grateful America did fight in WWII.

[Babak Makkinejad]

So do the Western Leaders.