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So what is going on here? Really creating a safe zone? Trump abandons key ally in war against IS? What about impact on climate? Let the debate commence...
Yep, I bet this "Safe Zone" is going to be massive!
It’s not going to be very much of a ‘safe zone’ if you’re Kurdish
In doing this, Trump has ensured nobody will ever ally themselves with the US again.
Apart from us, obviously. We’ll be trotting obediently along behind them, doing as we’re told
It's a shame they stopped the CIA being able to assasinate people...
In doing this, Trump has ensured nobody will ever ally themselves with the US again.
Doubtful, the rest of the world knows that Trump is not the standard US
In doing this, Trump has ensured nobody will ever ally themselves with the US again.
A cursory knowledge of history gives several times it has happened before.
The Marsh Arabs being probably the closest match.
So what is going on here?
Erdogan rattling his sabre, knowing that no one will lift a finger.
No ethnic cleansing so see here, just a little unfinished business, I mean tidying up.
Well there I was afraid of my life they were about to join the EU. Mo chance of that now. And careful now, Erdogan isn’t keen on your wording, “invasion”. He’ll flood your street with Syrian refugees OP. 🙂
Safe zone, my arse. It's ethnic cleansing.
It a time, when there are a lot of shit things going this, is one of the shittiests.
Leaving aside the betrayal of an ally he admitted that the actions will likely result in the many ISIS prisoners currently imprisoned by the Kurds are now likely to escape to Europe. But that's OK as the US is safe from that. What a turd!
Big US arms deal with Turkey to follow shortly. Perfect for Erdogan who's been losing popularity.
My guess is either Trump needs a favour from Erdogan or Erdogan has dirt on him (relevant to the current impeachment proceedings)
I thought they'd been banned from buying US arms as they purchased a defensive shield system from Russia?
Anyway, Trump is stupid dangerous, Erdoğan is evil dangerous, a real nasty bastard who will become a European strong man/dictator given half a chance. Probably facilitated by and very much in the mould of Putin.
Yep, a friend of mine left behind a good life in Turkey and his extended family to live in the UK because he couldn't face bringing up his daughter in Erdogan's Turkey.
I thought they’d been banned from buying US arms as they purchased a defensive shield system from Russia?
I think that only applied to the F-35. Since they were a tad worried the missile system would be phoning home and giving the Russians opportunity to optimise their ability to get past the stealth features on it.
It a time, when there are a lot of shit things going this, is one of the shittiests.
+1 🙁
It's made a lot of Republicans realise Trump is a liability though. He's put himself in a potentially tricky situation regarding the impeachment
If America decided to stop being the World Police, what would it look like?
If this really is a big deal, why is it bad that the only player with no skin in the game has left?
I thought they’d been banned from buying US arms as they purchased a defensive shield system from Russia?
Yes, but only F35.
My guess is either Trump needs a favour from Erdogan
US wants Turkey back on board the F35 programme, as a general rule. Lots of stuff is made there. It'll hit the programme to move that stuff to other places. US also wants Turkey as an ally in the region. The US previous position didn't really fit with Turkey's idea of that relationship.
Also, Russia has been trying to ally itself with Turkey, so it looks a bit like the latest episode of proxy war between US & USSR.
For those wondering about the F35 being made in Turkey: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/07/17/turkey-officially-kicked-out-of-f-35-program/
You may want to direct any remaining ire towards our own government, who has built our new aircraft carriers around these £100million a pop aircraft.
AIUI Turkey's objective is to provide a home for a huge number of Syrians who are currently living in exile Turkey and prevent a chunk of land being annexed by separatists.
If so and if this was being done peacefully I'd have no problem with it at all. Yes we owe the Kurds loyalty, but we also owe Syrian refugees loyalty and Turkey's a NATO ally. We can't do the right thing by all of them. Since it can't be done peacefully I'm less sure.
Erdogan need's replacing with a more 'western style' leader though, he's taking Turkey in completely the wrong direction AFAIC.
All of that said the less the West meddles in places we don't understand the better AFAIC.
It's an utter betrayal. Kurdish fighters have been instrumental in holding back ISIS, they've been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea with historically hostile territories to the north (Turkey) and south (Iraq).
What Trump is doing appears to have angered a number of otherwise loyal Republicans, I sincerely hope that this is a nail in his political coffin.
It’s an utter betrayal. Kurdish fighters have been instrumental in holding back ISIS
If it's that big of a deal, why are you counting on the US to do the hard work?
A few commentators on the radio tonight suggesting we should be putting people bon the ground if the Americans won't. Fair point.
"A few commentators on the radio tonight suggesting we should be putting people bon the ground if the Americans won’t. Fair point."
Because our interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq worked out so well?
Fair point, but the argument was that if the Kurds do need protecting and the Americans don't want to do it, we should be prepared to do it rather than just criticise the Americans
Looking at the footage on Channel 4 news now, this looks like good old-fashioned genocide. Indiscriminately shelling towns, backed up with air strikes (with American F-16’s), then sending in both the army and also, more worryingly; ‘militias’
Ethnic cleansing, pure and simple
Sanctioned in the White House
Because our interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq worked out so well?
The alternative is to stand by and watch as people who helped us and trusted us get burned to the ground.
They didn’t help ‘us’ in the Second World War, so they deserve everything they get, apparently
I find that particularly disgraceful, coming from Private Bonespurs who didn't "help" during Vietnam.
It doesn’t even make any sense
It’s common knowledge that the Turkish armed forces are stuffed full of Jihadi’s. God only knows what loons are part of the Turkish ‘militias’
It’ll be safe to assume that those tens of thousands of ISIS prisoners aren’t going to be prisoners for very much longer then. I’m sure they'll all just return back to where they came from and take up gardening or something and be no more trouble to anyone
Channel 4 news have just quantified that the Kurds did in fact fight alongside US troops in the Second World War, so even Trumps ridiculously spurious justification doesn’t stack up
AIUI Turkey’s objective is to provide a home for a huge number of Syrians who are currently living in exile Turkey and prevent a chunk of land being annexed by separatists.
If so and if this was being done peacefully I’d have no problem with it at all
It seems you don't understand. Erdogan wants to resettle people displaced by war into Kurdish areas therefore displacing them. It's ethnic cleansing and you have no problem with that? Many of the FSA scum are just re-badged ISIS, what do you think they are gonna do to the Kurds?