Turkey's Erdogan denounces US support for Syrian Kurds

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Source: BBC

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at the US over its support for Syria's main Kurdish group.

He accused Washington of creating a "sea of blood" by failing to recognise as terrorists members of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing.

The PYD, which the US is relying on to battle so-called Islamic State inside Syria, is an offshoot of the PKK.

Mr Erdogan's comments come as he faces pressure to allow in 30,000 Syrians stranded on the border with Turkey.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35541003

[Feeling the Bern]

1. Screw you, dipshit. What will you do about it? Do the Kurds what your country did to the

Armenians for three years in the 1920s?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Erdogan is not helping things

He shot down the Russian plane instead of warning; has had a dubious record of trafficking across the border in ISIS areas; and does less against ISIS than the Kurds. He needs to keep his friends, not alienate his generally patient allies.

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3. A "hot wet mess" is what he is.

"How could you do this to me? I've worked my fingers to the bone for you, and what do I get? Nothing! That's what! Nothing!!"

Something like that.

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4. Syrian rebels demand U.S. action ahead of peace talks

Rebel groups urged U.S. President Barack Obama to do more to stop Russian bombing raids in Syria as pressure mounted on Washington for greater commitment towards resolving the five-year-old war ahead of a new round of peace talks this week.

World powers are meeting in Germany on Thursday in a bid to revive peace efforts, but with Moscow backing a Syrian government push for all-out military victory, Western officials and opposition delegates see little hope of a breakthrough.

U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura halted the first attempt to negotiate an end to Syria's war in two years after an offensive by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against Western-backed rebels backed by Russian air strikes.

Trying to prevent a collapse of diplomatic efforts to end the war, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is pushing for a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid access ahead of a meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Munich.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-talks-idUSKCN0VJ0WZ

This is hilarious if you read down, they were talking about including the CIA as a terrorist group.:

CLOSED-DOOR BICKERING

A December meeting of the group was largely characterized by closed-door bickering about which groups in Syria should or should not be labeled a terrorist organization, which would bar them from the negotiating table.

Jordan had been assigned the task of drawing up the list and collected proposals from members of the group. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was infuriated when he saw that someone had proposed putting the Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, which is actively supporting Assad, on the list of terrorist groups.

"Zarif suggested that Iran might propose including the CIA as well," a Western diplomat said. After that, Kerry and Lavrov, who were chairing the meeting, briefly discussed the idea of having the CIA included.

[Jefferson23]

5. Oh I can hear heads imploding...ack. lol

"Zarif suggested that Iran might propose including the CIA as well," a Western diplomat said. After that, Kerry and Lavrov, who were chairing the meeting, briefly discussed the idea of having the CIA included.


Go Obama...very good.

[Jefferson23]

6. Tick tock tick tock.................

That is all.

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7. Syrian Kurds attack air base held by Arab insurgents

BEIRUT,— Kurdish fighters of Syrian Kurdistan backed by Russian airstrikes launched an attack in northern Syria on Wednesday in an attempt to capture a military air base held by Syrian insurgents, activists and a rebel commander said.

Syria’s Kurds have been among the most effective forces battling the Islamic State group, but have remained largely neutral in the conflict between President Bashar Assad and the rebels fighting to overthrow him.

But with Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes waging a major offensive between the northern city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, the Kurds appeared to be exploiting the chaos to expand their nearby Afrin enclave.

http://ekurd.net/syrian-kurds-attack-airbase-arab-2016-02-10

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8. Russian Foreign Ministry to study inquiry on annulling Moscow treaty

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Russian Foreign Ministry will study the inquiry of parliamentarians on denouncing the Moscow Treaty of Friendship and Brotherhood with Turkey signed on March 16, 1921, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, according to TASS.

"Indeed, the Russian Foreign Ministry has received a query from State Duma members proposing to denounce the treaty," Maria Zakharova said Wednesday, February 10, as she answered a question on the impact of the move on Russia’s relations with Azerbaijan.

"I can tell you that at this stage the inquiry should be carefully studied."

Valery Rashkin and Sergei Obukhov from the Communist Party faction propose annulling the treaty, signed on March 16, 1921, by the government of Soviet Russia (RSFSR) and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/205772/

[Jefferson23]

9. The one two punch is coming. n/t

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10. Let's hope not, but yeah.

They want trouble in the Caucasus, that can be done.

[Jefferson23]

11. He seems well prepared, we'll see soon enough how far he believes he needs to go.

It doesn't look good.

[bemildred]

12. I remain hopeful, but that is mostly a hunch, based on various intangibles.

But Erodgan is the key, Putin wants his ass.

[Jefferson23]

14. I hope you're right, the one I worry about is dopey Erdogen..he may not submit

and then comes that punch.

But maybe I am overlooking other political persuasive internal calculations
that may serve Putin well..or at least well enough. I don't think Putin
prefers to go there, but I think he very well might, I have no idea to
what degree...but he seems ready.

[bemildred]

16. "Reason will only take you so far."

Humans are very territorial, they have the most amazing bloody disputes over little bits of land here and there, like in the S. China Sea at the moment, so no dipshittery is out of the question, if Putin starts snipping little pieces off of Turkey for the Armenians or Kurds, especially pieces that are not majority Armenian or Kurdish. But if Erdogan were to retire, and not much snipping was to be done, then things could be worked out, as everybody involved including Pooty-Poot has more than they can handle already.

Putin has already shown what the Russian air force can do with a suitable ground force to work with, I think the YPG would work fine that way too, as is now being demonstrated N. of Aleppo. The Turks and the Sauds should take the hint and start talking, destabilization is a game anybody can play.

[Jefferson23]

17. Yes and Erdogan should think about survival best he can, but as I said, I am not

sure he is smart enough to do so.

[bemildred]

18. Well yeah, that's a question. nt

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13. Syrian Kurds open 'historic' political office in Moscow

Syrian Kurdish separatists on Wednesday opened a representation office in Moscow amid a push by the Kremlin to have them included in Syria peace talks despite Turkey's objections.

"This is a historical moment for the Kurdish people," Merab Shamoyev, chairman of the International Union of Kurdish Public Associations, said at the opening ceremony for the office in an industrial area in southeast Moscow.

"Russia is a great power and an important actor in the Middle East. It is in fact not only an actor, but also it writes the script."

Shamoyev said the opening of the representation was a "big political step" for Syrian Kurds.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syrian-kurds-open-historic-political-office-moscow-583792261

[Jefferson23]

15. Talk about getting your ducks lined up.....there ya go. n/t

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19. Syrian Kurds plan opening missions in US, EU

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. A special representative of Syrian Kurdistan to countries of Europe and America has urged attention of international human rights organizations to a military operation of Turkey against Kurds.

"Turkey continues warfare against its nationals, Kurds, punitive operations against civilians are carried out with extreme cruelty," Senam Mohamed said at the ceremony to unveil the mission of Syrian Kurdistan in Moscow.

As an example she mentioned the developments in the Kurdish populated city of Jizra in Turkey. "Many civilians have died there, women and children among them," she said, urging reaction to the developments on the border.

Syrian Kurds are planning to open missions in the United States and some European countries, Senam Mohamed said on Wednesday.

http://tass.ru/en/world/855804

[blackspade]

20. Erdogan should denounce himself as a lying shitbag

All Kurds are terrorists to this asshole and will be until they are all dead.
I have no doubts that he would commit genocide if he thought he could get away with it.
He's pretty much getting away with it now.

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21. 'We Are Fighting Everyone' Syrian Rebels Complain

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Pro-Assad Kurds

Anger is also rising at the role of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG. Islamist and nationalist FSA insurgent commanders accuse the Syrian Kurds of revealing their true pro-Assad colors and of being in league with Damascus — a long-standing claim by the rebels that has been vehemently denied by YPG leaders in the past.

“There is no difference between the YPG, the regime’s troops or the Russian forces, because they all attack us,” Abu Yousef Al-Muhajir, a top commander of Ahrar al-Sham, one of the most powerful Islamist militias in Syria, told ARA News, a local pro-opposition broadcaster.

“The YPG has been combating our forces at the battlefronts in northern Aleppo,” added, calling the Kurdish forces “absolute enemies.”

That view is echoed by Zakaria Malahefji, the political officer of the 3,000-member Fastaqim Kama Umirt, a brigade aligned with the rebel alliance Jaish al-Mujahideen (Army of Holy Warriors).

http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-rebels-complain-we-are-fighting-everyone/3184811.html

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22. The Aleppo Pocket: Turkey Running Out of Time for Its Plans to Invade Syria

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"The Syrian army's success," the columnist noted, "has been made all the greater because at the start of January the rebels sent reinforcements to Aleppo to resist what they expected would be a government offensive there. Now those reinforcements, together with the rebel fighters previously in the city, are encircled and trapped."

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"Damascus struck to Aleppo's northwest toward the Shiite enclave cities of Nubl and Zahraa, which for over four years had been surrounded by the jihadists. In this operation, a new SAA tactic stood out: to bypass well-fortified positions, to search for weak spots in the area, and drive a mechanized wedge into the area following softening up by artillery and air power. Then, the army returns to the fortified area, but from the rear. In a few days, dozens of settlements were captured, and the land bridge was reinforced from counterattacks."

"The advance," Skarabahaty recalled, "was supported by the so-called 'Afrin' Kurds of the northwestern Kurdish Syrian canton and city of Afrin. Judging by the nature of the interaction and active assistance to the Kurds from Russian air power, this coalition was not formed by chance, but was successfully coordinated by the Russian general staff. As a result, the Kurdish forces took control of a number of cities, in spite of their difficult relations with the regular army, and organized joint patrols and checkpoints."

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Ultimately, the analyst argues, "it's important to understand that a Turkish intervention would not mean a direct military confrontation between Turkey and Russia. It's very likely, [instead], that we will see another episode of a hybrid war; and it cannot be excluded that, hardened by four years of war, Assad's forces, equipped with Russian tanks, will be able to rebuff the Turks."

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160210/1034534915/aleppo-operation-significance.html

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23. Syrian war: It took time, but Russia was game-changer for Assad

Beirut, Lebanon — With Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and former economic hub, on the verge of being surrounded by Syrian troops and their allies, President Bashar al-Assad appears to have finally gained an upper hand against an array of rebel forces.

For that, Mr. Assad can thanks his allies – Iran, Hezbollah, Shiite militias from Iraq and Afghanistan, and, most of all, Russia, whose military intervention last August and intense aerial bombing campaign has allowed regime forces to recover valuable territory in the north of the country.

Since the beginning of February, the Russian-backed offensive around Aleppo has killed more than 500 people, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. And when the Syrian Army and its allies cut the last rebel-held road connecting Aleppo to the Turkish border, which appears inevitable, some 300,000 civilians and 30,000 rebel fighters will be bottled up inside the city. That will put them at risk of a prolonged siege.

The prospect of a victory for Assad represents a dramatic turnaround in a war, soon to enter its sixth year, that has driven around 11 million from their homes and left more than a quarter-million people dead.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2016/0210/Syrian-war-It-took-time-but-Russia-was-game-changer-for-Assad

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24. State Dept. Envoy Brett McGurk: Aleppo Onslaught Sparking 'Catastrophe'

A top State Department official told Congress Wednesday that an attempt by Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces to encircle the city of Aleppo is causing "a humanitarian catastrophe" — but officials and outside experts tell NBC News the U.S. is not prepared to take military steps to stop it.

Brett McGurk, the State Department official coordinating the effort against ISIS, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that military moves by the Assad regime, backed by Russian air strikes and Iranian logistical support, have created a flood of refugees that is "unacceptable."

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Landis predicted that Assad's forces would encircle and then bomb Aleppo, and that there is little the U.S. can do about it.

"The instinct is to want to go in and save these people, but if you don't have a political solution you're not saving anybody," he said. "You're just prolonging a civil war."

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/state-dept-envoy-brad-mcgurk-aleppo-onslaught-sparking-catastrophe-n515941

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25. Why doesn’t Obama seem to listen to Syria experts?

U.S. policy toward Syria is a fascinating, if depressing, case study. Many of my friends and colleagues who work on Syria—nearly all of them, in fact—have been baffled by President Obama’s approach to the Syrian conflict. The administration’s apparent resistance to rethinking its policies, despite rapidly changing events on the ground, sparks a number of challenging questions, particularly for someone like me who works at a think tank: When the basic thrust of policy seems immovable, irrespective of events on the ground, how should researchers respond? Should influencing policy be the animating objective of policy research? Who exactly should our work be directed to?

Having participated in the contentious debates over military intervention and the “Responsibility to Protect” since early 2012, I thought it might be time to go a bit “meta” and try to make sense of what did—and didn’t—happen from that point on. That is what I tried my best to do in a new journal article—“What is Policy Research For? Reflections on U.S. Failures in Syria.”

Is Obama’s foreign policy ideological?

In my work on Islamist movements, I’ve been interested in the idea of political “inelasticity”—that is, how what Islamists do (or don’t do) has little effect on how their opponents view them. That’s because secularists and liberals will view them as Islamists, regardless of anything else, because, well, that’s what they are. The problem is that beliefs, attitudes, and policies are resistant to revision, because they’re steeped in deeper philosophical and ideological divergences that are somewhat divorced from everyday politics.

Inelasticity is helpful in understanding Obama’s policies on the Middle East, and particularly on Syria, for similar reasons. Administration officials aren’t oblivious to what’s happening in Syria; it’s more that the facts on the ground—even though they’ve changed rapidly and repeatedly over the past five years—seem to have no real effect on the basic contours of our Syria policy. This would seem surprising, since the president has styled himself a post-ideological technocrat who’s simply interested in “what works.”

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2016/02/10-obama-syria-policy-experts-hamid

[MariaThinks]

26. Erdogan wants the world to watch as he slaughters the Kurds.

[Odin2005]

27. Fuck off, you authoritarian slimeball!