The US and Turkey reach an agreement on Manbij
As reported in this SouthFront.org article, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu, in an interview with Germany's Die Zeit hinted at a Turkish-US agreement on the city of Manbij. Much has been made recently of possible US-Turkish tensions and Turkey's position vis-à-vis its neighbours, not least Russia. The North-West of Syria, the Canton of Afrin (Efrîn, عفرين) currently witnesses an incursion by Turkish forces, aided by armed militias of various ultra-conservative and extremist Sunni factions (their names, precise allegiances and composition subject to occasional changes). In fact, under the pretense of fighting "terrorists" Turkey conducts a war of aggression and occupation on Syria in general and on the region of self-government named in Kurdish Rojava. While exact numbers are hard to come by, it is apparent, that civilians are paying the largest and heaviest price. They see their homes and livelihoods destroyed, take to flight and many, non-combatants including a rising number of children are being killed in grinding attacks by the Turkish army, making rather indiscriminate use of its superior firepower, in the form of air attacks and heavy artillery bombardments. The strategic aim of Turkey's campaign is patently the annihilation of any viable governance that bears a notable Kurdish mark. This is confirmed by Turkey's recent agreement with Iraq on an operation in the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Kurdistan in Northern Iraq against the PKK (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan, the Kurdish Workers' Party) and its affiliates. After refusing to sign a historic agreement between himself and A. Öcalan, Erdoğan has shown himself as viciously anti-Kurdish, which has sparked protests, more arrests and civil-war like situation in the East of the country. All that originally as a political move to discredit and weaken the Turkish HDP-party, a progressive left-wing party with a heavy Kurdish constituency. In the greater scheme of things, it looks likely that, after Russia and Iran propped up the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Asad, Turkey is not only pursuing an agenda against Kurds but is eager to carve out more influence in Syria and possibly Iraq. This might even lead to some sort of installation of a vassal state in Northern Syria. At any rate, the supposed US support for Kurdish forces was and is not a long-term commitment, rather it served as a counter-front against Daesh (the 'Islamic State'), a typical 'radical' entity, later to be dismantled by the dominant regional players. In the same vein, the base-democratic self-administration of the Northern cantons of 'Rojava' would be later swallowed up again. As such, the Turkish-American charade has played out perfectly, with Russia and Iran being duped into believing that this was just a scornful crusade against Kurds or the YPG/PKK whereas in fact, this is, in our opinion, a carefully orchestrated move to extend NATO influence. Turkey place, literally, a central role in this, as it sits between Russia and Syria. Cf. also my comments on SouthFront:
Given the impotency of the Syrian regime (government) to defend its territory and its people, in addition to the gleeful inaction of its 'friends', Russia and Iran, Kurds might have to agree to any deal that prevents more slaughter of civilians. If Russia and Iran would have stood with Asad's regime in Northern Syria, and the SAA had done something to aid the Kurds, it might have been different. So, let's not construct that as the Kurds turning against Damascus - let's rather say they stand with their backs to the wall, a pistol to their head with little other choice. Again, this development is due to the failure of the Russian - Iranian - Syrian alliance. Make no mistake, the US never actually cared about the Kurds, that's a smoke screen. Ultimately, the Kurds are just a welcome pretense for their NATO partner Turkey to move in. Yepp, that's what it's all about. Extending NATO's presence! The US know they can't stay very well with troops on the ground but hey, Turkey can. And Turkey has the huge advantage of actual geographic proximity. The US to accept that this is a major factor in Iraq, regarding Iranian influence and in Ukraine, regarding Russian influence. Now they applied that insight. Russia and Iran have been played well and they now look like fools. They fell for the Kurdish smoke-screen and the US-Turkish charade about supposed tensions. Nothing can be further from the truth. Turkey sits in the soft underbelly of Russia, it's neighbours with Iran, it has a hand over Syria. Nothing, nothing will ever make the US lose that ally. It's NATO, come on!
