MESOP NEWS BACKGROUNDER: THE UNITED STATES & THE PKK/PYD(YPG-SDF) – FUTURE POSSIBILITIES

There’s lot of focus on if US will give YPG/SDF advanced weapons – forgotten is issue of (lack of) political recognition 4 Kurds/YPG

Lays out (some) options 4 US in Syria & YPG, but restarting PKK-Turkey talks isn’t as easy as portrayed

De-Conflicting Turkish, Kurdish, and American Aims in Syria

Aaron Stein War on the rocks – February 28, 2017

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has toned down its criticism of the United States after President Donald Trump took office in January. Before resigning from his position, Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor, directed the National Security Council to re-think the Obama plan for the forthcoming campaign to take Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. In parallel, Trump signed an executive order directing Secretary James Mattis to review the air and ground war against the Islamic State by February 28. For many in Turkey, these twin reviews, combined with the routine meetings with senior officials from the new administration, have prompted considerable speculation that the United States is prepared to drop its support for the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in favor of a Turkish-backed force to take the city. Read all https://warontherocks.com/2017/02/de-conflicting-turkish-kurdish-and-american-aims-in-syria/