Turks Attack U.S. Support In Syria In Retaliation For Not Extraditing Fethullah Gülen?

Last week the world saw an escalation in the Syrian civil war as the Turks attacked Kurdish fighters in Syria, and for the first time, throwing the goal of the united fight against ISIS into a more confused state as the U.S.-led coalition sees both the Turks and the Kurds as allies in the war on ISIS.

As the report by CBS News shows, the Turks attacked and continue to attack, both the Kurds and ISIL in Syria, in the town of Jarabulus with the help of the Free Syrian Army.

Since the Turks began their attack in Syria; according to Turkish state media source Anadolu Ajanai, the Free Syrian Army advanced against ISIS, pushing them out of Jarabulus and eight other surrounding towns on Sunday, from a offensive which started last Wednesday.

The CBS News report also mentions the recent liberation of Manbij, which the Inquisitr reported on where their initial concerns that the Kurds were going to take control of the town after forcing ISIS out.

Even then the U.S. promised they would free the town to Arabs, agreeing with a consensus that Manbij is predominately an Arab town. But the Turks might have decided to attack last Wednesday as a sign they were ready to move on without acknowledgment of the U.S. role in Syria.

Despite the fact that the U.S. is using Kurdish militia to fight ISIS, the Turks’ view them as terrorists and even at the beginning of their fight against ISIS — when the U.S. was preparing to conduct airstrikes and coordinate with them against the Islamic State — the Turkish government began conducting airstrikes on the Kurds in October 2014, while the U.S. was trying to urge them to join the fight against ISIS — otherwise known as the Islamic State — as one report by the New York Times states.

At the time of the report, an offshoot of the Kurdish Workers Party (P.K.K) was busy pushing out ISIS from Kobani, who were gaining territory in the region for almost a year. And at the time, the U.S. could not convince the Turks into fighting ISIS, nor could they convince them to give the Kurds safe passage to travel along the border for Kurdish fighters from Iraq to join those in Syria, to join the fight and attack the Islamic State.

The article quotes president Erdo?an in his view of the Turkish relationship with the Kurds.

“Hey, world, when a terrorist organization like ISIS emerges, you all speak out, but why don’t you speak out against the P.K.K. as a terrorist organization? Why don’t you call for a joint fight against them?”

As the video above also reports, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden traveled to Turkey and tried to convince them that the U.S. was not responsible for the coup attempt last month. The Turks have taken a hardened stance against the U.S. for not extraditing the person who they accuse of masterminding the attempt, Fethullah Gülen.

This could be the main reason the Turks have for their attacks into Syria, to creating a headache for the U.S. over Gulen. But as mentioned with the situation in Manbij, allowing the Kurds to also take territory is not an option the Turks are willing to accept.

Since the coup attempt for which they blame Gülen, Erdo?an has enacted a swift crackdown on all who are in opposition of his government, including any mindset which is in favor of Fethullah Gülen, which has resulted in mass arrests and even the threat of execution as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

The crackdown has certainly internalized the conflict among the Turks. But their recent attack in Syria, can also be viewed as an extension of that crackdown and extending the lifespan of the conflict there by providing some support to the Assad regime.

[Image by unknown/AP Photo]