As Turkey Escalates Syria Fight, Growing Pressure for US to Get Involved
Turkey wants US warplanes, Patriot missiles in Idlib
Jason Ditz
Turkey continues to step up fighting in northern Syria, running up against Russian forces, and giving the appearance of an imminent war in the Idlib Province. Turkey’s willingness to escalate seems to have been picked up by US encouragement, and now Turkey seems to be leading the call to get the US dragged into this conflict as well.
US interests in the Idlib Province are virtually non-existent. Any US-backed rebels that were once there have been wiped out, or aligned to some Islamist group long ago. Arguments for intervention are that Idlib is becoming a flashpoint between Russia and Turkey.
Which is more Turkey’s problem than America’s though Turkey is suggesting that they are in talks with the US on sending Patriot missiles to Idlib to contest Russian warplanes, and are requesting US warplanes start patrolling the areas around Idlib.
The US hasn’t committed to this yet, and while many officials seem to believe getting sucked into the conflict is inevitable, it’s not clear how many are eager to try to back Turkish aggression in Idlib, especially just months after Turkey’s invasions of northeast Syria forces major changes to US policy there.
US interests in the Idlib Province are virtually non-existent. Any US-backed rebels that were once there have been wiped out, or aligned to some Islamist group long ago. Arguments for intervention are that Idlib is becoming a flashpoint between Russia and Turkey.
Which is more Turkey’s problem than America’s though Turkey is suggesting that they are in talks with the US on sending Patriot missiles to Idlib to contest Russian warplanes, and are requesting US warplanes start patrolling the areas around Idlib.
The US hasn’t committed to this yet, and while many officials seem to believe getting sucked into the conflict is inevitable, it’s not clear how many are eager to try to back Turkish aggression in Idlib, especially just months after Turkey’s invasions of northeast Syria forces major changes to US policy there.
posted by Satish Sharma at
12:44
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