Media

Syria’s Changing Power Grid: What Turkey Wants

Source:Council on Foreign Relations Date:22Dec2018

Note what the YPG and the Assad regime do. All of their incentives point toward a deal that increases the chances of Assad reestablishing control over Syrian territory and provides the Kurds with

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A Trump Call That Went Rogue Hands Erdogan a Surprise Win on Syria

Source:Bloomberg Date:22Dec2018

One version of events of course, but worth reading.     Trump was supposed to tell his Turkish counterpart to stop testing his patience with military threats in Syria. That is, if the

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Turkey-US relations head towards point of no-return

Source:Hurriyet Daily News Date:20Dec2018

If this tension continues to increase and is not taken under control, despite the telephone call made between Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump last week, a break that could surpass the

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Trump’s Syria withdrawal flies in the face of statements from top military and national security leaders

Date:20Dec2018

This is the definition of a quandary: The move counters public statements by national security adviser John Bolton to the United Nations in September that seemed to remove withdrawal from the

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Michael Flynn associate charged with illegal lobbying for Turkey

Source:The Guardian Date:18Dec2018

According to the indictment unsealed in court, Rafiekian was vice-chairman of Flynn’s business group, the Flynn Intel Group. The two worked throughout 2016 to seek ways to have the cleric

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Turkey’s eyes on Tel Abyad

Source:Ahval News Date:18Dec2018

Best analysis of what Turkey can and intends to do “East  of Euphrates”: As much sense as a Turkish intervention in eastern Syria makes sense theoretically, Erdoğan is fully aware

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Turkey seeks to cut PKK’s Syria-Iraq link before hitting east of Syria

Source:Hurriyet Daily News Date:16Dec2018

Turkey in Syria:  Has it already started   Turkish sources informed (me) that the objective of this attack was to cut the logistic lines of the PKK/YPG from northern Iraq to northern Syria

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For 3rd straight year, Turkey jailed more journalists than any other country: Report

Source:ABC News Date:14Dec2018

According to the global press freedom watchdog’s Annual Prison Census, 251 journalists are currently in jails around the world as of Dec. 1 for charges related to their work — 68 in

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Pentagon warns Turkey against operation targeting Syrian Kurds

Source:al Monitor Date:14Dec2018

This is an excellent article detailing the ambiguities of Turkey’s pre-announced campaign in North East Syria.  Ankara and Washington may have a classic “lost in translation”

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US warns Turkey not to attack Syria

Source:CNN Date:13Dec2018

The US called on Turkey to not follow through on threats to attack US-backed forces in Syria Wednesday, an incursion the Pentagon warned could threaten US personnel and derail the fight against

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