Trump warns Erdogan to avoid clash between U.S., Turkish forces
7 replies, posted
[QUOTE]WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump urged Turkey on Wednesday to curtail its military operation in Syria and warned it not to bring U.S. and Turkish forces into conflict, but a Turkish source said a White House readout did not accurately reflect the conversation.
Turkey’s air and ground operation in Syria’s Afrin region, now in its fifth day, targets U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG fighters, which Ankara sees as allies of Kurdish insurgents who have fought in southeastern Turkey for decades.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would extend the operation to Manbij, a separate Kurdish-held enclave some 100 km (60 miles) east of Afrin, possibly putting U.S. forces there at risk and threatening U.S. plans to stabilize a swath of Syria.
Speaking with Erdogan by telephone, Trump became the latest U.S. official to try to rein in the offensive and to pointedly flag the risk of the two allies’ forces coming into conflict.
“He urged Turkey to deescalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties,” a White House statement said. “He urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces.”[/QUOTE]
[URL="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-syria/trump-warns-erdogan-to-avoid-clash-between-u-s-turkish-forces-idUSKBN1FD2VW?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a69783e04d30108f7cac446&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook"]Reuters.[/URL]
What an unnecessary escalation.
[QUOTE=SlightReturn;53080108]What an unnecessary escalation.[/QUOTE]
Not really, Erdogan has been threatening US troops stationed near Manbij while talking about a possible offensive and the Turkish controlled Rebels have done the same. Perfectly reasonable to respond after someone says they will kill your soldiers.
Erdogan has been talking a lot of shit recently about how we might have accidents for our support of the Kurds. Considering the Turks are supporting Al-Qaeda in Syria, among other fun ~moderates~ I'd have no problem with calling them a state which harbors terrorism.
With friends like these...
Turkey has totally gone off the rails of late
Turkey is going to piss off Putin a lot more than they are going to piss off Trump, I doubt Trump actually gives a shit about our military men, if he did he wouldn't be talking about war so willy nilly. Ergodan is only slightly more sane than Trump, and that's only because Trump is a nationalist in a democracy, while Ergodan is a nationalist in a nationalist country, Trump just fits less.
[editline]25th January 2018[/editline]
and if it did happen, wouldn't this be the first battle in a long ass time between the US and a "Western" power?
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