https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml-ZXoX-CsM&feature=youtu.be
On August
24, 2016 Turkey launched a military operation called Euphrates Shield. The
objective of the operation was to clear the Turkey-Syria border of the YPG (an
acronym for what translates to People’s Protection Units) which Turkey
considers to be a Syrian terrorist organization. As formally described by the
National Security Council in Turkey, "Operation Euphrates Shield aimed at
ensuring our country's border security and thwarting the Daesh terror group's
threat and attacks targeting our country." Since then, Turkey’s armed
forces sent troops, tanks
and warplanes to support Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels. Through the course of
the war, the Turkish military has secured a roughly 100-kilometer (60-mile) stretch of the border and taken the border cities of Jarablus, Dabiq and al-Bab from
the jihadists. After taking these cities, “Turkish officials warned the
offensive would push the Kurdish militia out of Manbij, before moving south to
Raqqa. But neither of those has happened.” According to BBC “it is possible
Turkey has got cold feet after sustaining heavy losses in al-Bab. It may also
be trying to please the US secretary of state, who was in Ankara on Thursday
and was likely to reiterate that Washington would not drop its alliance with
the Syrian Kurds.” At any rate, on Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali
Yildirim proclaimed “Operation Euphrates Shield has been successful and is
finished.” Of course, he also made it clear that the end of the operation would
not necessarily mean the end of conflict in the region, as he went on to
explain "If something threatening our security happens in the
future, regarding Daesh or something else, then there will be a new
operation." Although
little has changed by the end of Euphrates Shield, this was Turkey's
biggest intervention in Syria since the beginning of the war.
I didn't know the Turkish were that "supportive" of our relationships with the Kurds
ReplyDeleteConfusing to me why turkey would lessen security on its borders as ISIS continues to gain power in the region.
ReplyDeleteGood for turkey on helping out
ReplyDeleteIt seems naive for the Prime Minister to call the operation "successful and ... finished". For one thing, border security is usually an ongoing task, requiring constant manpower and resources. Also, we know the folly in proclaiming "Mission Accomplished".
ReplyDeleteI like that Turkey is getting involved in the Middle East. There needs to be more help to stop the war in Syria, and anything that can be done to prevent more terrorist groups from appearing should be considered positive progression.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that a lot more people are getting involved, Syria is a country that has a ruthless dictator that must be overthrown.
DeleteVery interesting, reminds me of that border's past volatility during the early ottoman period which we discussed in class.
ReplyDelete-Noah O'Kelley
I wonder what Assad's regime thinks of Turkey's involvement. Have they expressed any sort of grievance?
ReplyDelete