MESOP : NEVER HEARD ABOUT KANDIL HEADQUARTERS ? – John Kirby’s salto mortale logic

U.S. says Syrian Kurdish YPG not a terror group, despite Carter statement

WASHINGTON,— The U.S. State Department’s spokesman insisted on Thursday that Washington does not see the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a terrorist organization, despite Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s recent statements about the group. Spokesman John Kirby told reporters that U.S. policy towards Kurdish fighters in Syria has not changed, adding they will continue supporting them. “… Nothing’s changed about our take here. The PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] is a foreign terrorist organization. That hasn’t changed,” Kirby said. “… YPG’s not a designated foreign terrorist organization. PKK is. Nothing’s changed about that.”When asked by Senator Lindsey Graham whether the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the YPG, are linked to the PKK during a testimony, Secretary Carter said “yes.”

U.S. ties with the Syrian-Kurds have grown deeper despite repeatedly voiced concerns by NATO ally Turkey, which views the YPG and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) as a terrorist group because of its links to the PKK. Kirby said that support provided to the YPG was also going to other Syrian forces fighting against the Islamic State (IS) www.mesop.de