Erdogan - Turkey is ready to take over Syria's Manbij

[webfact]

Erdogan - Turkey is ready to take over Syria's Manbij

 

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

 

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey is ready to take over security in Syria's Manbij, President Tayyip Erdogan told U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call on Sunday, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

 

Erdogan said an attack that left four Americans dead last week in Manbij was an act of provocation aimed at affecting Trump's decision last month to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

 

The attack occurred nearly a month after Trump confounded his own national security team with the surprise decision on Dec. 19 to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, declaring Islamic State had been defeated there.

 

Islamic State claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack.

 

Manbij is controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a militia allied to the U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG, which last month invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into the area around the town to forestall a potential Turkish assault.

 

Ankara deems the YPG terrorists linked to the Kurdish PKK movement that has waged a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.

 

Erdogan and Trump agreed to accelerate and continue discussions between their chiefs of staff regarding a safe zone in the area, the statement said.

 

Last week, Trump suggested in a tweet creating a safe zone, without elaborating. The SDF said on Wednesday it was ready to help create the safe zone, as fears grow that the U.S. withdrawal will give Turkey the opportunity to mount a new assault.

 

Turkey wants the safe zone to be cleared of the Kurdish group.

 

"We said we won't let you be here," Prime Minister Fuat Oktay told broadcaster CNN Turk earlier on Sunday, addressing the PKK. "When we are talking about a safe zone, we talk about one in Turkey's control."

 

(Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz, Ali Kucukgocmen and Sarah Dadouch; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-21

[Prissana Pescud]

Prior to Austria/Hungary and Turk power, there used to be an area described as Kurdistan. Obliterated completely by Turks.

After Turkey was removed from Palestine, Arabia and Syria forcefully by English, Arabian and Australian troops in WW1, the British and France allowed Turkey to

keep the lands they had plundered from the Kurds. This is a blight on civilization and equals the decision to give West New Guinea to the Indonesians.

In both cases, there was no moral or intelligent reason to do this. No common race. Just more bloody politics. 

Once again the Kurds will be denied justice. Yet the Kurds have a far greater claim to their homeland than the Jews ever had to 

excise land that has always been called Palestine. (Except for a brief period before Persia crushed them).

History and politics in the middle east will never be resolved until lands granted by western powers are restored to the legal entitled inhabitants.

[sammieuk1]

Trust me I faked my own coup, flew out billions in shoe boxes, built myself a 3 billion dollar palace with a table the size of Ireland, blamed everything on an ex friend and old cleric living in the USA, jailed every journalist not bought, wrecked the economy, installed all the family in presidential jobs, rigged the election three times, controls all media, supply's ISIS with weapons to crush the Kurds. Sultan Erdog will do the job on paper whilst eliminating the Kurdish problem easy as.

[FritsSikkink]

Let them stay in their own country

[NickJ]

Will say this however. I've been to well over 50 countries.  I love to travel. Started as backpacker while studying to be a doctor. Turkey is a fabulous place and ranks as one of the top countries in my playbook. 

However, this monster ruling the place needs to be routed out of there. I still remain in touch with my Turkish friends, very much modern people, physicians,  pharmacists,  artists, even , for the life of me I don't know why, lawyers. ........giving the power absorbing dictator anymore influence or ability to stay in power is indeed a blemish on the west. Particularly on Mr Trumps administration.  Well, just look at what's up for grabs, Oil n Gas..........sadly. cars.......we as humans kill for the right to own and create traffic with them.

[Becker]

Erdogan has obviously made Trump  his man-bij.

[Baerboxer]

He probably has similar plans for the Kurds that Turkey had for the Armenians in WW1.

 

Doesn't believe the waning West or emerging Eastern powers will give a fig what happens.

 

Sadly, he's probably not far off the mark.

[JemJem]

On 1/21/2019 at 8:16 PM, NickJ said:

Will say this however. I've been to well over 50 countries.  I love to travel. Started as backpacker while studying to be a doctor. Turkey is a fabulous place and ranks as one of the top countries in my playbook. 

However, this monster ruling the place needs to be routed out of there. I still remain in touch with my Turkish friends, very much modern people, physicians,  pharmacists,  artists, even , for the life of me I don't know why, lawyers. ........giving the power absorbing dictator anymore influence or ability to stay in power is indeed a blemish on the west. Particularly on Mr Trumps administration.  Well, just look at what's up for grabs, Oil n Gas..........sadly. cars.......we as humans kill for the right to own and create traffic with them.

 

Well said. I have a bad feeling that Turkey is 'doomed'. By that, I mean especially democracy, human rights and secularism. I am sure you all are aware of all the nasty things Erdogan has done and caused, especially since about 4-5 years ago. And, to be honest, I really don't see him leaving office via the ballot box. He will manipulate and cheat his way into 'election victory' if he has to. As for him going due to a major economic crisis in Turkey, I give that more chance than the ballot box option, but still a very slim chance.

 

This leaves only the possibility of him going due to pressure from 'the street'. But, my guess is that the heavy majority of the security forces are fully behind him (unlike for instance in the case of Egypt/Mubarak) and they won't hesitate to use heavy force on the people (possibly a lot heavier than the force used against Gezi Park demonstrators of 2013), possibly killing dozens. Erdogan knows that even if this happens, all the West will probably do is to 'express concern'. The EU, as you probably know, has become hostage to Erdogan's 'refugee/migrant card' and this is likely to continue for many more years. Also they don't want to lose out on military and other sales to Turkey sadly.

 

Maybe you all also know that especially since about 2-3 years ago, many people, particularly young, well-educated and secularist ones, have been leaving the country and settling down in other countries, mainly in Europe and the US of course. This situation is also likely to continue.

 

And, you know the state of the institutions in Turkey_eg. the judiciary, universities, mainstream media ! All have become a sad joke. Mostly anyway. Soon, they will not be MOSTLY controlled by Erdogan, but TOTALLY controlled by him.

 

I honestly don't see a way out. I mean, I give it sadly very little chance.

 

As for the Syrian Kurds, sadly, they also seem to be 'doomed'. Of course, they will be able to hold on to some of their current land, but, if the Erdogan regime decides to attack again and go further into Syrian Kurdistan (sadly likely), there isn't much that the YPG can do, ie.  against the superior air power. The West will possibly say 'Enough' to Erdogan, only after he invades some more Kurdish territory. Of course, unfortunately, many fighters and also civilians there will have been killed.

 

 

[Galactus]

take this fascist guy's words with a pinch of salt but even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day.

but better turks then murricans there of course. i mean at least turks have a border there and some valid reasons.

and US? just being there to exploit people and use them for their own agenda to create problems and to have some influence in the region it doesnt belong in a never ending bloody sh. t war.

 

and now, US shafted the Kurds again as usual one more time and this happened before many times.

when will Kurds learn not to trust some foreign powers using them from tens of thousands kms away?

i guess never.

and then they will never get what they want without the cooperation and consent of local powers around there.

when will kurds learn this?

i guess never.

[Scott]

6 hours ago, Galactus said:

take this fascist guy's words with a pinch of salt but even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day.

but better turks then murricans there of course. i mean at least turks have a border there and some valid reasons.

and US? just being there to exploit people and use them for their own agenda to create problems and to have some influence in the region it doesnt belong in a never ending bloody sh. t war.

 

and now, US shafted the Kurds again as usual one more time and this happened before many times.

when will Kurds learn not to trust some foreign powers using them from tens of thousands kms away?

i guess never.

and then they will never get what they want without the cooperation and consent of local powers around there.

when will kurds learn this?

i guess never.

The Kurds know it well, but they are fighting for their survival as an ethnic group.   They will take friends where they find them.   If you are stranded on the road on a cold, rainy night and someone stops to give you a ride, are you going to say "No, you're driving an old pickup, I'll wait for a Mercedes?"  

 

So, the Kurds know the score.   They have learned but they can't do much about other it.

 

[Bluespunk]

On 1/21/2019 at 4:02 AM, webfact said:

Turkey is ready to take over security in Syria's Manbij, President Tayyip Erdogan 

Fascist imperialist scumbag. 

[sammieuk1]

9 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Fascist imperialist scumbag. 

Nice that you stuck to his good points????

[manarak]

Quote

Erdogan said an attack that left four Americans dead last week in Manbij was an act of provocation aimed at affecting Trump's decision last month to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

disgusting weasel.

 

[Galactus]

15 hours ago, Scott said:

The Kurds know it well, but they are fighting for their survival as an ethnic group.   They will take friends where they find them.   If you are stranded on the road on a cold, rainy night and someone stops to give you a ride, are you going to say "No, you're driving an old pickup, I'll wait for a Mercedes?"  

 

So, the Kurds know the score.   They have learned but they can't do much about other it.

 

kurds in northern Iraq knows it well and they are in good relation with Turks and iranians and such.

Their existence there is never a problem and they also have some kind of autonomy.

I dont see turks speaking like they want to invade northern iraq. bc kurds there have a brain for going along well with their neighbors which they are living together for a thousands years as minimum, good of bad. no US those times, isnt it? not even any European powers around there until petrol became important and something strategic.

those kurds have been shafted by US before and i guess they are more clever and got their hard lesson.

The ones in Syria? they are used by some foreign forces. and once those foreign forces finish with them and dont need them, they get shafted as usual.

 

[JemJem]

It is really a weird and unfair world.

 

While Maduro (whom I don't like much by the way) is getting all kinds of threats from the West, Erdogan, whose human rights record is a lot worse than that of Maduro (eg. no. of  current political prisoners), is still getting red-carpet treatment in Western capitals.

 

And, also, for example, Maduro at least hasn't invaded another country, while Erdogan has invaded Syrian Kurdistan, citing security reasons that are nonsense, as the YPG hadn't even thrown a single rocket into Turkey.

 

When will the West say 'Enough is enough' to this dictator ?! Will they ever ?!