02-20-2018, 12:56 PM
Regarding Turkey, the fact that Afrin is in a Sunni region suggests that Turkey doesn't have to kill a large proportion of the populace to win, the way Assad does.
The situation in the air is in my opinion unclear. The Turks have demonstrated the ability to shoot down Russian aircraft, but the Kurds also somewhat effective antiaircraft capabilities.
This situation does demonstrate the effectiveness of the Russian political campaign in the US in promoting divisiveness. If it weren't for the silly Russia investigation, the Turks could involve the US in talks with Russia to split up Syria, the US could restrict the Kurds to the Jazira region, and the Turks could have Afrin; Russia could keep their port. The Russia investigation makes it politically impossible for Trump to participate in such talks with Russia, however.
The situation in the air is in my opinion unclear. The Turks have demonstrated the ability to shoot down Russian aircraft, but the Kurds also somewhat effective antiaircraft capabilities.
This situation does demonstrate the effectiveness of the Russian political campaign in the US in promoting divisiveness. If it weren't for the silly Russia investigation, the Turks could involve the US in talks with Russia to split up Syria, the US could restrict the Kurds to the Jazira region, and the Turks could have Afrin; Russia could keep their port. The Russia investigation makes it politically impossible for Trump to participate in such talks with Russia, however.