05-30-2017, 10:15 PM
*** 31-May-17 World View -- Turkey builds a northern Syria 'National Army' from Free Syrian Army militias
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Turkey builds a northern Syria 'National Army' from Free Syrian Army militias
****
![[Image: g170530b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170530b.jpg)
A US officer speaking with a YPG fighter on April 25 (AFP)
Turkey is planning to form a new "National Army" in northern Syria,
bringing together factions from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) that fought
last year as part of Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, joined by
defectors from the Syrian regime's army. The objective of the
previous operation, which began on Aug 24 of last year and ended on
March 29 of this year, was to clear out both the the so-called Islamic
State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) and the Kurdish People's
Protection Units (YPG) from a region in northern Syria.
Turkey ended Operation Euphrates Shield in March under pressure from
Russia, but Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that
military operations would continue to prevent either ISIS or the YPG
from regaining control of any part of the area cleared out by
Operation Euphrates Shield.
The YPG has links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has
been fighting a separatist rebellion in Turkey since the 1980s, and
which has perpetrated a string of major terrorist attacks in Turkey in
the last two years. For these reasons, Turkish-led military actions
in northern Syria were intended to prevent the Kurds from taking
control of the entire northern border of Syria, and then declaring an
independent Kurdish state of Rojava.
An additional purpose of the new "Syrian National Army" was to create
a buffer zone or safe zone for Syrians fleeing the conflict, something
that Erdogan has been demanding for years. According to Erdogan:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Once we have created a safe zone, the Syrians will be
> able to establish their National Army, so they can feel
> safe."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
According to Turkish media, almost a million people so far have
returned to the area cleared of ISIS and the YPG, or have been
relocated there from other conflict areas.
The Syrian conflict has resulted in millions of refugees. Some three
million are in Turkey, about one million are in Europe, and millions
more are in Jordan and Lebanon. The safe zone or buffer zone in
northern Syria could provide for Syrian refugees that's within Syria
itself.
The role of the YPG is a major area of contention between Turkey and
the US. The YPG are allies of the US military who considers them to
be the most effective anti-ISIS fighting force in the region.
However, because of the YPG links with the PKK, Turkey considers the
YPG to be terrorists. It's believed that there are hundreds of US
special forces troops in the region, and one of their objectives is to
keep the Turks and the Kurds from shooting at each other. TRTWorld-Youtube (Turkey) and Al Monitor and Reuters (18-May)
Related Articles
****
**** US begins arming YPG Kurds in northern Syria on eve of battle of Raqqa
****
The US army has begun arming YPG Syrian Kurdish militias, as announced
early in May. The weapons
would include small arms, mortars, AK-47s, heavy machine guns,
shoulder-fired weapons, ammunition, bulldozers and armored vehicles
such as the M1117 Guardian. According to the military, the selected
weapons will address the specific threats that ISIS poses, such as the
Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDS), or car bombs of
the type that ISIS has used to break up assaults.
This comes on the eve of the assault on Raqqa, the major stronghold
and so-called Caliphate of ISIS. The YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) are now about two miles from the city, and the battle to eject
ISIS is expected to be extremely bloody and last for weeks or months.
The assault to eject ISIS from Raqqa in Syria is beginning, but the
assault by Iraq's army to eject ISIS from Mosul in Iraq continues,
after beginning in October of last year, and is also a long, bloody
battle.
It's believed that within a few months, ISIS will have been ejected
from both Raqqa and Mosul. Until then, all these various armies and
militias have a common enemy. After that, these armies will have no
one to fight except each other, and one possibility is that the
thousands of ISIS fighters will return to their home countries,
possibly to conduct lone wolf attacks. Military Times/AP and Fox News and NRT (Kurdistan) and Sputnik News (Moscow)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Syria, National Army, Free Syrian Army, FSA,
Operation Euphrates Shield, Kurdish People's Protection Units, YPG,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rojava, Raqqa, Mosul, Iraq,
Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Turkey builds a northern Syria 'National Army' from Free Syrian Army militias
- US begins arming YPG Kurds in northern Syria on eve of battle of Raqqa
****
**** Turkey builds a northern Syria 'National Army' from Free Syrian Army militias
****
A US officer speaking with a YPG fighter on April 25 (AFP)
Turkey is planning to form a new "National Army" in northern Syria,
bringing together factions from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) that fought
last year as part of Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, joined by
defectors from the Syrian regime's army. The objective of the
previous operation, which began on Aug 24 of last year and ended on
March 29 of this year, was to clear out both the the so-called Islamic
State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) and the Kurdish People's
Protection Units (YPG) from a region in northern Syria.
Turkey ended Operation Euphrates Shield in March under pressure from
Russia, but Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that
military operations would continue to prevent either ISIS or the YPG
from regaining control of any part of the area cleared out by
Operation Euphrates Shield.
The YPG has links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has
been fighting a separatist rebellion in Turkey since the 1980s, and
which has perpetrated a string of major terrorist attacks in Turkey in
the last two years. For these reasons, Turkish-led military actions
in northern Syria were intended to prevent the Kurds from taking
control of the entire northern border of Syria, and then declaring an
independent Kurdish state of Rojava.
An additional purpose of the new "Syrian National Army" was to create
a buffer zone or safe zone for Syrians fleeing the conflict, something
that Erdogan has been demanding for years. According to Erdogan:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Once we have created a safe zone, the Syrians will be
> able to establish their National Army, so they can feel
> safe."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
According to Turkish media, almost a million people so far have
returned to the area cleared of ISIS and the YPG, or have been
relocated there from other conflict areas.
The Syrian conflict has resulted in millions of refugees. Some three
million are in Turkey, about one million are in Europe, and millions
more are in Jordan and Lebanon. The safe zone or buffer zone in
northern Syria could provide for Syrian refugees that's within Syria
itself.
The role of the YPG is a major area of contention between Turkey and
the US. The YPG are allies of the US military who considers them to
be the most effective anti-ISIS fighting force in the region.
However, because of the YPG links with the PKK, Turkey considers the
YPG to be terrorists. It's believed that there are hundreds of US
special forces troops in the region, and one of their objectives is to
keep the Turks and the Kurds from shooting at each other. TRTWorld-Youtube (Turkey) and Al Monitor and Reuters (18-May)
Related Articles
- Turkey's warplanes strike Kurdish militias fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq (26-Apr-2017)
- Turkey's 'Operation Euphrates Shield' turns into full-scale invasion of Syria (26-Aug-2016)
- Turkey's military intervention grows in Syria and Iraq (25-Oct-2016)
- Concerns grow over chaos in Iraq after ISIS is defeated in Mosul (22-Mar-2017)
****
**** US begins arming YPG Kurds in northern Syria on eve of battle of Raqqa
****
The US army has begun arming YPG Syrian Kurdish militias, as announced
early in May. The weapons
would include small arms, mortars, AK-47s, heavy machine guns,
shoulder-fired weapons, ammunition, bulldozers and armored vehicles
such as the M1117 Guardian. According to the military, the selected
weapons will address the specific threats that ISIS poses, such as the
Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDS), or car bombs of
the type that ISIS has used to break up assaults.
This comes on the eve of the assault on Raqqa, the major stronghold
and so-called Caliphate of ISIS. The YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) are now about two miles from the city, and the battle to eject
ISIS is expected to be extremely bloody and last for weeks or months.
The assault to eject ISIS from Raqqa in Syria is beginning, but the
assault by Iraq's army to eject ISIS from Mosul in Iraq continues,
after beginning in October of last year, and is also a long, bloody
battle.
It's believed that within a few months, ISIS will have been ejected
from both Raqqa and Mosul. Until then, all these various armies and
militias have a common enemy. After that, these armies will have no
one to fight except each other, and one possibility is that the
thousands of ISIS fighters will return to their home countries,
possibly to conduct lone wolf attacks. Military Times/AP and Fox News and NRT (Kurdistan) and Sputnik News (Moscow)
Related Articles
- Final push to expel ISIS from Raqqa, Syria, to begin in June (16-May-2017)
- US will 'quickly' arm Kurdish militias in Syria, despite Turkey's opposition (11-May-2017)
- As more American troops are deployed to Syria, the endgame is more uncertain (10-Mar-2017)
- From 2013: The history of how Syria's Bashar al-Assad created ISIS (07-Sep-2016)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Syria, National Army, Free Syrian Army, FSA,
Operation Euphrates Shield, Kurdish People's Protection Units, YPG,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rojava, Raqqa, Mosul, Iraq,
Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
