USA will not oppose the Turkish attack against the fu …

The United States will not oppose a planned Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria, the White House announced. This surprising policy change reflects Washington's abandonment of its long-standing ally in the struggle against the Islamic State (IS), the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the prospect of possibility of a new conflict in Israel. the multi-faceted war of the country. It was late Sunday night after a phone call between Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Turkey will soon continue its planned operation in northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will neither support nor participate in the operation: after defeating the territorial caliphate of ISIS, they will no longer be in the immediate vicinity, "the White House statement said. .

In a long series of posts posted on Twitter, Trump said that the deployment of US troops in northern Syria was too expensive and Syrian Kurds would now have to do it alone. "The Kurds fought with us, but they received huge sums of money and equipment to do it. They have been fighting Turkey for decades, "said Trump. "Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to resolve the situation," he added.

The announcement seemed to come directly from the White House, without coordination with US forces in Syria or its local allies. Western diplomats said L & # 39; Independent that Washington's partners in the coalition to defeat the IS, including Britain, have not received any advance warning of the decision.

The policy change has sparked both national and international criticism. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's key allies, said he would introduce a Senate resolution to reverse the decision and punish Turkey if it attacked Kurdish forces.

"We will introduce bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if it invades Syria and call for its suspension from NATO if it attacks Kurdish forces that helped the United States to destroy the caliphate of the Islamic State" , he wrote on Twitter. "It's never in the interests of our national security to abandon an ally who has helped us fight the Islamic State," Graham said in an interview with Fox News Channel "This impulsive decision of the president has canceled all the achievements we have accomplished and leads the region to greater chaos."

Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the European Commission, said: "The resumption of armed hostilities in the north-east will not only exacerbate the suffering of civilians and result in massive displacement, it may also seriously undermine ongoing political efforts ". The SDF, a Kurdish-majority militia with some small United Arab groups, were Washington's main ally in the fight against ISIS in Syria. The group received US weapons, as well as significant air and ground support in the battle to defeat the caliphate of the IS. He lost about 11,000 fighters during the war years before recovering the last piece of IS territory in March.

Since the victory over the Islamic State, Kurdish forces have continued to work alongside US forces to destroy the cells in their control areas. The group also holds thousands of Employment Insurance prisoners and tens of thousands of their family members.

The alliance has always angered Ankara, which regards the SDF as a terrorist organization for its links with the banned Kurdish separatist organization in Turkey. We lobbied the US to abandon their commitment to the group and allow it to take on the responsibility of ensuring the complete defeat of the IS group.

Trump had previously abruptly announced the fate of US forces in Syria, and then overthrown them. But the SDF said yesterday that US forces had already begun to withdraw from the border area with Turkey.

"US troops have not fulfilled their commitments and withdrawn their forces from border areas with Turkey. Turkey is now preparing for an invasion operation in northern and eastern Syria. Erdogan's threats are aimed at turning the security mechanism into a death mechanism, to move our people and to change the stable and secure region into a zone of permanent conflict and war, "said a group in a statement. We are determined to defend our land at all costs. "

SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel said the group was "stabbed in the back" by the United States. In an interview with al-Hadath television, he said that there were "US guarantees that they would not allow any Turkish military operation against the region."

Currently, the United States has about 1,000 soldiers in northeastern Syria, apparently to support the Kurdish forces and ensure the lasting defeat of the IS. His presence has also been a powerful deterrent against an attack by Turkey, which would not harm American soldiers.

Ankara repeatedly threatened to enter Syria to set up a "security zone" along the border, necessary for its own security. In September, after months of Turkish pressure, the SDF agreed to withdraw from certain areas along the border to allow joint patrols of the United States and Turkey.

In the early stages of the security zone, the United States oversaw the withdrawal of fortifications by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along the border, built to protect against a possible Turkish invasion. The SDF said that it had complied with the withdrawals because it had been expected that the United States would avoid an attack. But Turkey has expressed frustration that the measures do not go far enough and continues to threaten a unilateral operation.

President Erdogan announced that he would visit the United States during the first half of next month to meet Trump, sign that an operation was not imminent. "Holding a face-to-face meeting will give us an opportunity to discuss the depth of the operation, relations between Turkey and the United States and developments in the region", did he declare.

A potential conflict between the SDF and Turkey would probably destabilize a relatively calm region in recent years. Kurdish forces have warned that a Turkish attack would create a new refugee crisis in the region and threaten the security of prisons housing thousands of ISIS fighters.

Of L & # 39; Independent Great Britain Special for Page12

Translation: Celita Doyhambéhère