Why the U.S. Doesn’t Want Turkey to Invade Syria by Ellen Ioanes
July 17, 2022
Introduction:
(Vox) US officials warned Turkey this week against expanding its so-called buffer zone in northeast Syria, saying such a move would complicate counter-ISIS measures, and would increase the violence that Kurds and Syrians in the region have faced since Turkey’s initial incursion in 2019.
“We strongly oppose any Turkish operation into northern Syria and have made clear our objections to Turkey,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul said in a speech at the Middle East Institute Wednesday. “ISIS is going to take advantage of that campaign, not to mention the humanitarian impact.”
As Stroul pointed out, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group that’s made up largely of Kurds and is critical to the ground battle to recover ISIS-held territory in Iraq and Syria, are responsible for security in the Al-Hol and Azraq camps. Together the camps hold approximately 60,000 vulnerable, displaced people, and serve as prisons for around 10,000 alleged ISIS militants.
On May 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his military would launch further offensives, creating a 30-kilometer-deep buffer zone as soon as the military and intelligence and security services had completed their preparations, Reuters reported.
“The main target of these operations will be areas which are centers of attacks to our country and safe zones,” Erdogan said during a speech at the time, although he didn’t specifically mention where the operations would take place or point to any particular target.
Dangerous 'Cycle of Escalation' Intensifies After Unauthorized U.S. Bombings in Syria
by Jake Johnson
August 25, 2022
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Without legal authorization from Congress, the U.S. military launched a series of bombing campaigns this week against what American officials characterized as Iranian proxies in Syria, intensifying tit-for-tat violence that observers fear could spill into a broader and deadlier conflict.
The U.S. described the strikes, carried out by Central Command (CENTCOM) forces in eastern and northeastern Syria, as retaliation for August 15 rocket attacks on a base housing American military personnel. CENTCOM blamed "Iran-backed groups" for the attacks.
In a statement Thursday after "Iran-affiliated militants" purportedly launched another series of rocket attacks the previous day, CENTCOM said U.S. airstrikes over the past 24 hours have killed "four enemy fighters" and destroyed "seven enemy rocket launchers." It's not clear whether any civilians were killed or harmed.
The Syrian groups' rocket attacks Wednesday reportedly injured three U.S. servicemembers, and additional attacks were reported Thursday.
"The CENTCOM strikes in Syria are now part of a cycle of escalation that is endangering U.S. troops," Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, warned late Wednesday. "Congress never authorized U.S. military action, as required by U.S. law and the Constitution."
Russia Is Fighting More Than One War. I Went to Check on the ‘Other’ One. by Tim Mak
December 3, 2023
Introduction:
(Politico) GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Mahmoud Amed Nasser arrived in Turkey a month ago. It’s safe here, but he still can’t stop listening for the sound of planes. Russian planes.
Nasser, 48, traveled from the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria, to Turkey with his young grandson, who needs medical treatment for a congenital heart defect. In Syria, planes signal danger. Just the day before, he told me, his grandson was utterly terrified by the sounds of a commercial airliner.
“All our children know the sounds,” Nasser said. Even though there was no danger there in Turkey, his grandson grabbed him and told him, “Granddad, there’s a warplane in the sky!”
In Syria, he added, there is little they can do when Russian warplanes come, except hide and hope for the best. Oh, and “open your mouth,” he said with a grim laugh. Opening their mouths helps them not get injured or killed by the pressure waves from the blast, he explained.
“We and the Ukrainians have the same enemy, have the same killer,” Nasser said.
Top Iranian General Killed by Israeli Airstrike by Barak Ravid
April 1, 2024
Introduction:
(Axios) An Israeli airstrike killed a top Iranian general as it targeted a building near the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, two sources familiar told Axios.
The big picture: This is a major blow to Iran, as Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi was the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.
• The general was the key Iranian military official in charge of relations with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the pro-Iranian militias in Syria.
• According to Iranian media, five other IRGC officials were killed in the strike, including Zahedi's deputy, Gen. Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian accused Israel of Zahedi's assassination and stressed that Israel will be responsible for the consequences.
