Gulnur Aybet says when the SDF seized control of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) on August 13, this crossed Turkey's red line that the YPG should stay on the east of the Euphrates.
Turkey does not wish to see a contiguous YPG-controlled territory running adjacent to its 911km border with Syria, and considers this a national security priority because it views the YPG and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as one and the same. The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation not just by Turkey but also by the US and the European Union.
3. The third issue is surfacing US concerns over the Incirlik airbase, controlled by the Turkish and US air forces.
Given the fact that power was cut to the base after the failed coup, and the Turkish commander of the base, Bekir Ercan Van, was arrested as one of the plotters - who gave the permission for a a tanker plane to take off and support rogue fighter jets on the night of the coup attempt - some US analysts are concerned about the safety of US nuclear weapons stored in the base, says Gulnar Aybet adding:
Additionally, the base is the main operations headquarters for the aerial attacks against ISIL positions in Syria. In this respect Turkish-US cooperation is vital. This is crucial for the interests of the US, which has a focused, tightly timetabled mission to clear ISIL from Syria and Iraq. Mending ties with Turkey is important for the continuation of coalition use of the Incirlik base for combat flights.
As Biden visited Ankara, Turkey launched an operation against ISIS elements in Jarablus, Syria. This was Turkey's first major US-backed incursion into Syria after the failed coup.
4. The fourth issue is the need for readjustment of US public diplomacy towards Turkey. Official and unofficial reactions from the US, especially those from the media, to the failed coup attempt are much to blame for the rise of anti-American sentiment in Turkey.
Gulnur Aybet argues that if the US leadership fails to see Turkey in a new light and insists on the usual parameters of engagement - that is hand-picking who it considers its "friends" vis-a-vis a legitimately elected government it does not seem to like very much and remaining oblivious to Turkish sensitivities to the terror threats of ISIL, the PKK and FETO - then these two allies are likely to drift further apart. Let us hope wisdom prevails.
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