08-09-2017, 10:30 PM
*** 10-Aug-17 World View -- Turkey reshuffles military in preparation to attack Kurds in northern Syria
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Turkey reshuffles top military leaders in preparation for action in Syria
****
![[Image: g170720b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170720b.jpg)
Young men stand on a Turkish army tank in Ankara on July 16, 2016, the day after the attempted coup. (Reuters)
Heads rolled at the top of Turkey's military last week, as the army,
air force and navy commanders were all replaced.
The replacements came a year after the aborted military coup of July
15 of last year. Since the coup, over 100,000 people have been fired
or jailed, in a variety of professions, often with no evidence.
The military came under special scrutiny, since renegade military
officers led the aborted coup. Immediately after the coup attempt,
the government ordered the firing of 149 generations, - nearly half of
the armed forces' entire contingent of 358 - for alleged complicity in
the coup attempt.
This hollowing of Turkey's armed force is blamed for Turkey's poor
performance in Operation Euphrates Shield last year and this. That
operation used Syrian rebel militias supported by Turkey's army and
air force with the objective of defeating the the so-called Islamic
State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) and also of pushing the Kurds back
east of the Euphrates River. Turkey was only minimally successful
with both objectives.
Turkey is committed to preventing the Kurds from gaining a foothold in
northern Syria, and in particular to preventing the creation of an
independent Kurdish state called Rojava. The Kurdish terrorist group
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been conducting an insurgency in
Turkey since the 1980s, and has perpetrated large terrorist attacks in
Turkish cities during the last three years.
Speaking at a meeting last week of Turkey's Supreme Military Council
(YAS), Prime Minister Binali Yildirim highlighted that Turkey
continues to fight terrorist groups with determination.
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The fight against the PKK has been carried out very
> successfully especially in the last one year. The strategy for the
> offensive that was decided early August last year and the work in
> full coordination with the Turkish Armed Forces and other security
> units have given the expected result. Last year we decided in the
> beginning of August to lead the struggle and to work in full
> coordination with the Turkish Armed Forces and other security
> units. The struggle against the PKK has reached significant
> levels. ...
>
> Ongoing instability along the countries on our southern border, as
> well as the lack of proper governance and civil war pose the
> biggest threat to our fight against terrorism."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Hurriyet (Ankara) and Daily Sabah (Ankara) and AFP (28-July-2016)
Related Articles
****
**** Turkey announces plans for military action against Kurds in northern Syria
****
A week after a reshuffle of Turkey's top military commanders,
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of a coming military
operation in northern Syria against Kurdish fighters.
In a speech on Saturday, Erdogan said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"We will not leave the separatist organization in
> peace in both Iraq and Syria. We know that if we do not drain the
> swamp, we cannot get rid of flies."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The fight to expel ISIS from Raqqa, its Syrian stronghold, has been
led by the People's Protection Units (YPG), consisting mostly of
Kurdish fighters, backed by the United States. The US has been
working with the YPG because the Kurds have proven themselves to be
the most effective fighters in Syria against ISIS.
Turkey is infuriated by this choice, because they consider all Kurds
in Syria to be linked to the PKK. Turkey had offered its own fighters
to expel ISIS from Raqqa, but after Turkey's poor performance last
year, the YPG were the obvious choice.
Turkey has been particularly infuriated because the US is supplying
weapons to the YPG, and Turkey fears that these weapons will be used
against Turkey, once the Raqqa operation is completed.
These concerns became acute since YPG forces on Saturday destroyed a
tank "belonging to terrorist groups under the Turkish army’s command,"
referring to the rebel forces that Turkey used to fight Operation
Euphrates Shield. This event occurred in Afrin, a city outside of
Raqqa. The YPG used an anti-tank guided missile system (ATGM) to
destroy the tank. The ATGM may have been supplied by the US, but the
YPG could have obtained the ATGM system from other sources as well.
Turkey is also concerned about the presence of al-Qaeda linked forces
in Idlib, near Turkey's border. These forces are the Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. Turkey is concerned
about an imminent threat that can be posed by al-Nusra elements
against Turkey and of a possible influx of refugees into Turkey
because of attacks by the al-Nusra militias. Hurriyet (Ankara) and Navy Times and Reuters
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Operation Euphrates Shield, Raqqa,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh
Rojava, Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Binali Yildirim,
anti-tank guided missile systems, ATGM, Idlib, Afrin,
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS, Liberation of the Levant Organization,
Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, JFS, Front for the Conquest of Syria,
Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Nusra Front
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 reshuffles top military leaders in preparation for action in Syria
- Turkey announces plans for military action against Kurds in northern Syria
****
**** Turkey reshuffles top military leaders in preparation for action in Syria
****
Young men stand on a Turkish army tank in Ankara on July 16, 2016, the day after the attempted coup. (Reuters)
Heads rolled at the top of Turkey's military last week, as the army,
air force and navy commanders were all replaced.
The replacements came a year after the aborted military coup of July
15 of last year. Since the coup, over 100,000 people have been fired
or jailed, in a variety of professions, often with no evidence.
The military came under special scrutiny, since renegade military
officers led the aborted coup. Immediately after the coup attempt,
the government ordered the firing of 149 generations, - nearly half of
the armed forces' entire contingent of 358 - for alleged complicity in
the coup attempt.
This hollowing of Turkey's armed force is blamed for Turkey's poor
performance in Operation Euphrates Shield last year and this. That
operation used Syrian rebel militias supported by Turkey's army and
air force with the objective of defeating the the so-called Islamic
State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) and also of pushing the Kurds back
east of the Euphrates River. Turkey was only minimally successful
with both objectives.
Turkey is committed to preventing the Kurds from gaining a foothold in
northern Syria, and in particular to preventing the creation of an
independent Kurdish state called Rojava. The Kurdish terrorist group
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been conducting an insurgency in
Turkey since the 1980s, and has perpetrated large terrorist attacks in
Turkish cities during the last three years.
Speaking at a meeting last week of Turkey's Supreme Military Council
(YAS), Prime Minister Binali Yildirim highlighted that Turkey
continues to fight terrorist groups with determination.
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The fight against the PKK has been carried out very
> successfully especially in the last one year. The strategy for the
> offensive that was decided early August last year and the work in
> full coordination with the Turkish Armed Forces and other security
> units have given the expected result. Last year we decided in the
> beginning of August to lead the struggle and to work in full
> coordination with the Turkish Armed Forces and other security
> units. The struggle against the PKK has reached significant
> levels. ...
>
> Ongoing instability along the countries on our southern border, as
> well as the lack of proper governance and civil war pose the
> biggest threat to our fight against terrorism."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Hurriyet (Ankara) and Daily Sabah (Ankara) and AFP (28-July-2016)
Related Articles
- Sharply divided Turkey approves referendum giving Erdogan near-dictatorial powers (17-Apr-2017)
- Attempted army coup in Turkey collapses within hours (17-Jul-2016)
- Turkey commemorates first anniversary of attempted coup (21-Jul-2017)
- Turkey's 'shameful day for free press' as government seizes Zaman media (06-Mar-2016)
****
**** Turkey announces plans for military action against Kurds in northern Syria
****
A week after a reshuffle of Turkey's top military commanders,
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of a coming military
operation in northern Syria against Kurdish fighters.
In a speech on Saturday, Erdogan said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"We will not leave the separatist organization in
> peace in both Iraq and Syria. We know that if we do not drain the
> swamp, we cannot get rid of flies."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The fight to expel ISIS from Raqqa, its Syrian stronghold, has been
led by the People's Protection Units (YPG), consisting mostly of
Kurdish fighters, backed by the United States. The US has been
working with the YPG because the Kurds have proven themselves to be
the most effective fighters in Syria against ISIS.
Turkey is infuriated by this choice, because they consider all Kurds
in Syria to be linked to the PKK. Turkey had offered its own fighters
to expel ISIS from Raqqa, but after Turkey's poor performance last
year, the YPG were the obvious choice.
Turkey has been particularly infuriated because the US is supplying
weapons to the YPG, and Turkey fears that these weapons will be used
against Turkey, once the Raqqa operation is completed.
These concerns became acute since YPG forces on Saturday destroyed a
tank "belonging to terrorist groups under the Turkish army’s command,"
referring to the rebel forces that Turkey used to fight Operation
Euphrates Shield. This event occurred in Afrin, a city outside of
Raqqa. The YPG used an anti-tank guided missile system (ATGM) to
destroy the tank. The ATGM may have been supplied by the US, but the
YPG could have obtained the ATGM system from other sources as well.
Turkey is also concerned about the presence of al-Qaeda linked forces
in Idlib, near Turkey's border. These forces are the Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. Turkey is concerned
about an imminent threat that can be posed by al-Nusra elements
against Turkey and of a possible influx of refugees into Turkey
because of attacks by the al-Nusra militias. Hurriyet (Ankara) and Navy Times and Reuters
Related Articles
- Turkey's assault on Kurds in Afrin, Syria, may jeopardize the battle in Raqqa (14-Jul-2017)
- Turkey builds a northern Syria 'National Army' from Free Syrian Army militias (31-May-2017)
- 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)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Operation Euphrates Shield, Raqqa,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh
Rojava, Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Binali Yildirim,
anti-tank guided missile systems, ATGM, Idlib, Afrin,
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS, Liberation of the Levant Organization,
Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, JFS, Front for the Conquest of Syria,
Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Nusra Front
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
