Turkey Bombarding US “Partner Forces” in Syria All Along the Border, US Dares Do Nothing

Where is now that vaunted „collective self-defense of partnered forces“ the US was invoking when it was shooting down Syrians, threatening Russians?

Turkish artillery firing into northern Syria — home to ten US bases

Last June a US Navy F/A-18 fighter plane shot down a Syrian Su-22 ground attack plane over central Syria. The Americans said the Syrian army jet had endangered “US partner forces” by dropping its bomb load “near SDF fighters” and their actions were therefore justified and “defensive”.

In reality the Syrian jet had been on a bombing mission against ISIS which was just a few kilometers away, but became momentarily disoriented. It is not at all clear that the Syrian plane ever even released its bomb load, or that the US-backed Kurdish fighters were ever in any danger. Nonetheless the Americans attacked the jet over its own country.

Pentagon statement after shooting down the Syrian Su-22 over Syria

Similarly this past November and December the US military openly threatened to shoot down Russian jets over eastern Syria. It went so far as to have its F-22s fighters simulate attacks on the Russian planes — two such incidents were reported by the Russians (there could have easily been more), with the Americans confirming one.

Supposedly this was warranted because by flying in weapons range of “partnered forces” (Kurdish YPG) and the US troops embedded with them the Russians were engaging in “alarming”, “threatening” and “potentially threatening” behavior. Never mind that the Russians were actually flying strike sorties against ISIS, over 600 hundred of them in direct support of the US-backed YPG fighters. (Or that American officers themselves acknowledged they, unlike the Russians, didn’t have a legal basis to be in Syria in the first place.)

Locations of the ten US bases in the north

Fast forward two months. The Turkish military is staging a wholesale assault on the ethnic Kurdish Afrin enclave in northwestern Syria defended by the local YPG/SDF fighters. As it does so it is also threatening to bomb any convoys of US-trained SDF fighters who would rush to Afrin from the separate and much larger Kurdish-held territory in northeast Syria. To underscore their point the Turks are already shelling the SDF-held northeast in many places and have carried a handful of airstrikes there as well which both the Turkish and Kurdish side have documented and confirmed.

Now, the US has stayed clear of Afrin throughout the war and has no presence there, but what about the Turkish bombardment of the main SDF-held territory in the northeast?

In that part of Syria the SDF is heavily US-backed. They receive US air support, artillery support, are ferried into combat by US helicopters, have US special forces embedded with them, receive US training, armored vehicles, and other supplies. In total there are no fewer than ten US military bases in the SDF-held northeast, with nearly 2,000 American military personnel on the ground (and probably hundreds of contractors more).

Syrians and Russians can not even fly anti-ISIS missions near the US-backed SDF without being shot down or threatened, yet the Turks can wreak havoc on US-backed forces without the US uttering a peep.

Where is the American resolve to not tolerate attacks on partnered forces now?

Where is that vaunted “collective Coalition self-defense of partnered forces”? When the Pentagon shot down the Syrian Su-22 pilot over his own country it boasted it would “not hesitate to defend Coalition or partner forces from any threat”. Strangely, because now it seems there is nothing but hesitation.

Kurdish special forces, note the US-made rifles

Of course, it’s crystal clear what this is about. Turkey, a nation-state of 80 million with a large military on NATO’s crucial southern flank is way too important – even with the independent-minded Erdogan at the helm – to the Empire. Completely alienating this traditional anti-Soviet/anti-Russian asset for the sake of a regional militia in the Middle East would be foolish indeed.

And yet it makes for a cute situation. The Pentagon will defend its armed proxies in Syria (even when they don’t need defending) from their legal government against which they are in open rebellion, but should an important NATO ally cross an international border to slap them around it will be full of understanding and hesitation.

3 Comments
  1. dkkharanti says

    Well, turkey has guts which russia has not got.
    Russiana deliberately did not use s400 against american or israeli planes out of fear of angloamericans.

  2. dkkharanti says

    18 /1/2018

    Then there is the problem of Putin declaring ISIS defeated in Syria when anyone of any intelligence knows USA is their daddy, and Israel is their mama.
    Both USA and Israel do anything they want in Syria, an Putin calls them his “partners”.
    i do not believe that is a slip of the tongue.

    Believing Russia had broke free of their red headed step child relationship with the west looked good, and made the Russians proud.
    Pity it was all an act.

    Russia 5th column is real. Putin and Lavrov are part of it. Notice how reckless US is when it comes to dealing with Russia. Ransacking diplomatic properties, deploying Troops/air defences Using its ISIS proxies to kill Russian soldiers in Syria, bomb Russia air bases. Last year 41 Russian soldiers died in Syria. Do you ever wonder why US keeps deliberately pushing the envelope with Russia. Like they know nothing will ever come of it. Yet with North Korea US treads very carefully. It starts to make sense if Putin is a stooge.

    18 /1/2018

    Then there is the problem of Putin declaring ISIS defeated in Syria when anyone of any intelligence knows USA is their daddy, and Israel is their mama.
    Both USA and Israel do anything they want in Syria, an Putin calls them his “partners”.
    i do not believe that is a slip of the tongue.

    Believing Russia had broke free of their red headed step child relationship with the west looked good, and made the Russians proud.
    Pity it was all an act.

    Russia 5th column is real. Putin and Lavrov are part of it. Notice how reckless US is when it comes to dealing with Russia. Ransacking diplomatic properties, deploying Troops/air defences Using its ISIS proxies to kill Russian soldiers in Syria, bomb Russia air bases. Last year 41 Russian soldiers died in Syria. Do you ever wonder why US keeps deliberately pushing the envelope with Russia. Like they know nothing will ever come of it. Yet with North Korea US treads very carefully. It starts to make sense if Putin is a stooge.

  3. dkkharanti says

    The way russia and china have betrayed their allies like iran ,libya, iraq ,syria and north korea in last 6 years these two countries will have desreved what is coming their way.
    Their UN veto will not save them !
    Such coward and treacherous impotants desreve nothing else.
    Shame for the Russian people who get back sabbed by theirr elites again and again.

    Apparently terrorists did not get memo from president putin of “mission accomplished in syria”.
    Wait a minute.
    The same claim was made by putin in january 2016 to pressurise assad to ceasefire.
    Also surely s400 does not work or russia has got no guts fot real fight or worse.
    We know putin has sold out his allies many times to please russia’s enemy.

    Russia and china will be strangulated by same UN sanctions soon because anglos will find a way to fo this.
    Both traitors and backstabvers ( uninamous UNO resolution ? ) will have deserved their destruction because they betrayed libya , syria iraq ,iran and north korea with in 5 years.

    Remember how much Russia was uselessly trying to counter western lies about civilians death in liberation of Alleppo while the same west simply Ignores the real russian evidence of angloamerican destruction and killing of civilians in mosul offensive . 
    Rusdia never learns that wasting time on justifying herself and her actions is a fools errand.
    Russua has not developed guts to ignore westernr lies or go on offensive against western media

    Germany and not england , is the friend of Russia so why are RT and sputnik trying to make germany a villain ? 
    Wait a minute.
    Both have been infiltrated by british spy journalusts who use russian funded chanbels like rt and sputnik to promote british agenda which is to make germany and russia fight each other again as in plots hatched in early 1902 by british milner (cecil rhodes infamy) group culminating in 1st world war.
    Russia is so stupid to fall for same british trick.

    It is Russian interest to combine with Germany against angloamerican plots.

    Russian channel is promoting racism of english lumpen proletariat.!

    About saudi getting s400.

    As stupid of russia as giving s400 to turkey.
    Wait a minute.
    Russia is stupid enough to give s400 to england’s vassal saudi arabia !!
    The same russia which did not give even s300 to syria in 2013 after taking her cgemical weapons.
    Or not even to iran for ten years.
    Russua betrays her allies to please her enemies !!

    The way russia and china have betrayed their allies like iran ,libya, iraq ,syria and north korea in last 6 years these two countries will have desreved what is coming their way.
    Their UN veto will not save them !
    Such coward and treacherous impotants desreve nothing else.
    Shame for the Russian people who get back sabbed by theirr elites again and again.

    Apparently terrorists did not get memo from president putin of “mission accomplished in syria”.
    Wait a minute.
    The same claim was made by putin in january 2016 to pressurise assad to ceasefire.
    Also surely s400 does not work or russia has got no guts fot real fight or worse.
    We know putin has sold out his allies many times to please russia’s enemy.

    Russia and china will be strangulated by same UN sanctions soon because anglos will find a way to fo this.
    Both traitors and backstabvers ( uninamous UNO resolution ? ) will have deserved their destruction because they betrayed libya , syria iraq ,iran and north korea with in 5 years.

    Remember how much Russia was uselessly trying to counter western lies about civilians death in liberation of Alleppo while the same west simply Ignores the real russian evidence of angloamerican destruction and killing of civilians in mosul offensive . 
    Rusdia never learns that wasting time on justifying herself and her actions is a fools errand.
    Russua has not developed guts to ignore westernr lies or go on offensive against western media

    Germany and not england , is the friend of Russia so why are RT and sputnik trying to make germany a villain ? 
    Wait a minute.
    Both have been infiltrated by british spy journalusts who use russian funded chanbels like rt and sputnik to promote british agenda which is to make germany and russia fight each other again as in plots hatched in early 1902 by british milner (cecil rhodes infamy) group culminating in 1st world war.
    Russia is so stupid to fall for same british trick.

    It is Russian interest to combine with Germany against angloamerican plots.

    Russian channel is promoting racism of english lumpen proletariat.!

    About saudi getting s400.

    As stupid of russia as giving s400 to turkey.
    Wait a minute.
    Russia is stupid enough to give s400 to england’s vassal saudi arabia !!
    The same russia which did not give even s300 to syria in 2013 after taking her cgemical weapons.
    Or not even to iran for ten years.
    Russua betrays her allies to please her enemies !!

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