US steps aside for Turkey to invade northern Syria, crush Kurds

[Guest]

Turkish invasion threatens to escalate; US orders pullback

https://apnews.com/7e90fd08a89e49d9bcae6a85a131a64a

[Guest]

Hundreds of Islamic State supporters escape Syria displacement camp

Turkish bombardments near Ain Issa send many fleeing; camp is home to 1,000 wives and children of jihadists

https://www.timesofisrael.com/islami...amp-kurds-say/

[SAT]

Kosovo to Khmeimim: The 20-year strategy Russia played to outflank America

Putin could draw on twenty years of Russian foreign policy as he prepared to decide what to do amid the chaos the US was unleashing. Russia is the main backer of the Syrian regime. It had intervened at key moments in the Syrian conflict to support the regime, especially after 2015 when it was clear the US was shifting toward the Iran Deal. Russia’s agenda was preserving the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Soon it would also be working with Turkey.

Moscow understand that today in eastern Syria it would play the role NATO had played in Pristina airport in Kosovo in 1999. Now the Russians would be the arbiter, and it would be Russia deciding what would happen after discussions with Ankara, Damascus and the Kurdish leadership. According to reports discussions with the Kurds took place at Russia’s Khmeimim airbase in Syria, a symbol of Russian power in the country. The Syrian regime would return to parts of eastern Syria, according to the discussions. Russians might go into eastern Syria as well. Would there be Russian paratroops on the way, and some special forces, or just military police like Russia sent to southern Syria as Syria retook that area in the summer of 2018? The force mix was still be sorted out on Monday as Russia watched the US decide to leave and ironed out a deal between the SDF and the Syrian regime.

https://www.jpost.com/International/...America-604604

[SAT]

cnav post

Hundreds of Islamic State supporters escape Syria displacement camp

Turkish bombardments near Ain Issa send many fleeing; camp is home to 1,000 wives and children of jihadists

and Trump is blaming

Trump: Kurdish-led forces may intentionally be releasing Islamic State militants

Easily recaptured by Turkey or European Nations from where many came, but they should move quickly," Trump said in a series of posts on Twitter.

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/...litants-604601

and of course Israel

Nevertheless, the new reality does mean that under Trump, American influence and power has dramatically diminished in the Middle East and is no longer a force to fear – all bad for Israel.

When America is perceived as weak in the region, Israel is perceived as weak, and when America is viewed as being strong, Israel is seen as being strong. This is because since the 1960s when John F. Kennedy started supplying Israel with strategic weaponry, Israel’s deterrence has rested on three key pillars: its powerful and technologically advanced conventional military; its purported nuclear capability; and its alliance with the United States. When one of these three pillars wavers, it automatically impacts the other two.
In the short term, this might mean that Iran will try to test Israel. Israeli officials are already openly speaking about the possibility that Tehran will attempt a Saudi oil-refinery-style attack against a similar installation in Israel.

Whether that happens – and how it plays out – will determine what comes next. Either way, the path to a larger-scale conflict between Israel and Iran has become shorter. We have Trump to thank for that.

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editor...-allies-604263

[SAT]

Macron, Merkel call for end to Turkish offensive in Syria

Macron told reporters the pair had spoken separately Sunday with US President Donald Trump and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan to deliver a single, clear message: "Our common wish is that the offensive must cease."

"Our conviction... is that this offensive risks, and we see it already on the ground, to create unbearable humanitarian situations on one hand and on the other help IS re-emerge in the region," he said at a joint press conference with the chancellor.

A meeting in Luxembourg Monday of the European Union's foreign affairs committee will discuss a coordinated European approach to the issue.
Macron has also called a French defence council meeting, involving Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and the ministers of justice, foreign affairs, defence and the interior, for Sunday night.
The French president called for a stronger, more unified Europe in what he described as "difficult and sometimes worrying" times for the continent and the world.

https://www.france24.com/en/20191013...ive-in-syria-1

[Guest]

TRUMP SWEARS ALLEGIANCE TO ISRAEL AS HE DECRIES ENDLESS MIDDLE EAST WARS

Sat. Speech

https://m.jpost.com/Middle-East/Trum...st-wars-604506

[SAT]

Just something military people are bringing up as they talk about Trump sanctioning Turkey and just how tough can those sanctions really be as.....

US Nuclear Weapons Deployment in Turkey

The American nuclear weapons that remain on Turkish soil – an anachronistic reference to the Cold War – are tactical only. They nevertheless raise questions, not only because of the deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara, but because of security and safety risks at the Turkish base where the weapons are stored – close to the Syrian border.

https://besacenter.org/perspectives-...eapons-turkey/

I've heard there are six of them.

[SAT]

Kurds ally with Syrian forces to fight Turkish invasion as U.S. troops withdraw

Move could trigger military confrontation between Syrian army and Turkey as well as resurgence of Islamic State, after Trump pulls U.S. troops from area

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,...607007,00.html

[SAT]

Erdogan rules out ceasefire: Report

Erdogan said he told US President Donald Trump Turkey would never declare a ceasefire in northeastern Syria, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported.
The Turkish president also said Ankara's goal was for Kurdish fighters to move beyond 32km (20 miles) into Syria and that he was not worried about the possible imposition of sanctions against Turkey over its offensive, according to NTV.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/...062532991.html

and apparently US troops had another close call today.

[SAT]

Turkey's Erdogan says alternatives to F-35 jets ready, receiving offers

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/...-offers-604747

The US isn't the only game in town nd there is always someone (probably Russia or China) willing to step in.
The limits of sanctions.
The reason Russia and others are creating their own financial system.

[SAT]

Russia Moves Into Syrian Territory Abandoned by U.S.
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-...ions-1.7973896

[Andy]

Uh-oh.
This is getting more interesting by the day- or minute...

[SAT]

Erdogan says Turkey ‘can never declare ceasefire’ in north Syria

Turkish president dismisses US proposal to broker a ceasefire, says he sanctions will not halt operation to clear region of Kurdish fighters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed a US proposal to broker a ceasefire in northern Syria and said he was not worried over US sanctions, in comments published in Turkish media Wednesday.
He also said the Syrian army’s entry into the flashpoint northern Syrian city of Manbij was not a “very negative” development for his country as long as the region is cleared of Syrian Kurdish fighters.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/erdoga...n-north-syria/

But...

Filing the void, Russia seeks to cement its role as power broker in Syria

Desperate for a new protector, the Kurds struck a deal with Russia-backed Assad, whose forces have now begun moving into Kurdish-administered areas to shield them against Turkey

https://www.timesofisrael.com/filing...oker-in-syria/


Putin invites Erdogan to Russia as Turkey advances in Syria

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin spoke with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan about Syria by phone and invited him to visit Russia in the next few days, the Kremlin said late on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKBN1WU2TX

[Guest]

Pence, Pompeo head to Turkey

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/midd...sia-moves-fill

[SAT]

From the article cnav posted

Moscow says Russian troops are patrolling front lines between Turkish and Syrian army positions to keep them apart