U.S. and Kurdish officials expect Turkey to launch a military operation within 24 hours as Trump tries to backpedal.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Turkey Readies Major Attack on Northeast Syria
U.S. and Kurdish officials said late Tuesday that they expect Turkey to launch a major offensive into northeast Syria within the next 24 hours, after U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to give Ankara the green light to begin the operation.
The preparations come as the administration sought to backpedal on Trump’s surprise Sunday announcement, following a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that he was ordering the withdrawal U.S. troops from the border with Turkey, paving the way for Ankara to move forward with a potentially devastating attack on America’s Kurdish allies.
State Department officials told Kurdish leaders on Tuesday that any Turkish attack would be met by harsh economic and political sanctions, Bassam Saker, the Syrian Democratic Council’s (SDC) representative to the United States, told Foreign Policy . The SDC is the political arm of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the mostly Kurdish militia responsible for liberating northeast Syria from the Islamic State.
But it appears Turkey has not been dissuaded by the threat of U.S. sanctions. Turkish officials informed the U.S. embassy that the operation will begin within a day, a senior U.S. administration official told Foreign Policy late Tuesday. Two Kurdish officials confirmed that timeline. Meanwhile, Turkey began shelling an SDF border outpost earlier in the day.
“ The border areas of NE #Syria are on the edge of a possible humanitarian catastrophe,” said Gen. Mazloum Kobani, commander of the SDF, in a Twitter post. “ This attack will spill the blood of thousands of innocent civilians.”
Kurdish fighters are moving north toward the border “in significant numbers,” the senior administration official said, leaving few forces to guard prisons across the country overflowing with Islamic State fighters and fend off the remnants of the terrorist group.
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NBC News is reporting that Turkey will attack within 24 hours.
Because of Trump's reckless wag the dog behavior it appears that thousands of people will die.
He needs a distraction never mind collateral damage. Such a fuck-up.
And there we have it. This is far and away Trump's most irresponsible diversion to date. Even though he is already walking it back, there might be too much forward momentum to avoid a catastrophic scenario.
Trump is operating in a obvious state of diminished capacity. There is too much at stake to wait for the impeachment process to run its course. Isn't there some kind of emergency removal procedure that would apply?
Yes but he can still sign bills so Republicans will prop him up as long as possible.
Yep, the fourth section of the 25th Amendment.
That, obviously, isn't possible because Pence has no balls.
"Wag the Dog' actually means to "purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance" . Trump ain't "Wagging any Dog" on this !
He said he would get us out of Crap Wars before getting "Elected", and "HE" is doing just that !
Doubt the Turks will attack----------yet.
Does not matter. Putin and Putin's allies were given another 'gift' by The Stable Genius.
Of course there is this too. Supposedly, Pat Robertson suggested that the Trump may lose his ( 'heavenly mandate'--or something like that ) over this Syria thing. And that my friends is a very interesting subject onto itself.
It came from Pat Robertson....nuff said.
Actually I don't think trump himself would be upset if God (PBUH) got angry with him. After all, Trump knows how to "punch back",
But he may worry that if God is angry with him it might upset his base.
(Of course he could always lie to his base and say that God really isn't angry with him-- that that's just fake news!)
The Trumpian connections with God/god/gawd are in the same playbook as Birtherism. The convenience and usefulness of it all.
What gift is that? That Trump is withdrawing troops that are in a country illegally? Or do you really think Russia, China, Iran, and Syria want Turkey to basically move in and take over a portion of northern Syria? Pretty sure Putin and Co aren't too happy with that. Expect several phone calls from Russia to Turkey to let them know they aren't welcome in any capacity.
See, pigs do fly. The left is agreeing, and supporting, Pat Robertson on something.
Trump, the great unifier of divergent American people.
I never believed I'd ever want to see a military coup but the JCs have been given no choice. The Republicans better take heed.
Either that-- or set up a meeting in the future where he and Erdogan can "negotiate".
(And tomorrow he can announce that those future negotaitions are "going well"... and he loves Erdogan...and knows that Erdogan really wants a deal.