But Turkey has already invaded Syria with US blessing, under the Obama administration, betraying the same Kurdish allies. As I wrote in a 2016 essay: "Vice-President Joe Biden stood beside Turkish President Erdogan and commanded the Kurds to back off and let Turkey have its way-to actually surrender territory they had won from ISIS to Turkey, and to the Free Syrian Army, Faylaq Al-Sham, Nour al-Din al-Zenki, and re-costumed-ISIS jihadis who follow in the wake of Turkish tanks."
"We have made it absolutely clear to . "- . "- . the YPG that participated " in the taking of Manbij and other towns " that they must move back across the river, " Biden said. " They cannot, will not, and under no circumstances will get American support if they do not keep that commitment. Period."
Tough love Joe, who at the time was trying to reassure Erdogan that the US was not complicit in the coup attempt against him. The US government was always going to accede to its NATO ally over its more-dispensable Kurdish "partners."
My point above about the jihadis coming in Turkey's wake is still quite relevant and undermines the whole "protection from ISIS" narrative. The US itself cheered ISIS on, as Obama's Secretary of State John Kerry admitted. Turkey supported ISIS and trafficked ISIS soldiers, arms, and oil across its border with Syria throughout the conflict. That 2016 Turkish invasion made liberal use of jihadi proxies, including ISIS, which calmly turned territory over to Turkish-backed forces, with some ISIS fighters just changing their uniforms to join them.
In the current invasion, Erdogan is playing the same game. He explicitly says, for example, that "The Turkish army won't enter Manbij. We'll be content with providing assistance to Syrian opposition and tribal forces." Erdogan wants to avoid a direct conflict with the Syrian Army (SAA) and its Russian allies, so those "forces"-now branded the "Syrian National Army" or the "Turkey-Supported Opposition" (TSO)-will be the ground-level fighters of Turkish attacks. They include the various jihadi factions within the Free Syrian Army (FSA) that the US created, any ISIS cadres who wish to join as the TSO deliberately releases them, and some angry Syrian Arabs who were thrown out of their homes by Kurd militias (who have been no angels in seeking to establish their ethno-state). You know, the kinds of "forces" that the US government and media insisted for years were "moderate rebels," and are now acknowledging are ruthless killers who are executing captured Kurd fighters as well as civilian political leaders.
Incredible: US officials are now admitting "rebels" from the "Free Syrian Army" that are embedded with the Turkish army are intentionally freeing ISIS prisoners, while massacring civilians
These are some of the "moderate rebels" the CIA armed and trained https://t.co/x5389IgVNx
- Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) October 15, 2019
Magically before our eyes, the same groups that our media called "Syrian rebels" or "Free Syrian Army" for 8 straight years have been rebranded as "Arab militias" who are all Turkey's fault. Like, we never even met these a**holes-just armed & trained & PR'd them is all. pic.twitter.com/WUJVbJgv8D
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