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Turkey Warns US "Remove Troops from Northern Syria or they may be fired upon by Turk Forces"
By Hal Turner
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd


Last week Turkey demanded that US forces vacate military bases in the Syrian district of Manbij, the US predictably refused, and on Monday a top American general said that US troops will not pull out from the northern Syrian city of Manbij, rebuffing Ankara demands to withdraw from the city and risking a potential confrontation between the two NATO allies.

Turkey Warns US
One week later, in the latest dramatic escalation between the two NATO members, Turkey's Deputy PM has warned that US troops fighting alongside Syrian Kurdish militias in the same uniform may be targeted by the Turkish army due to the difficulty of distinguishing them in the heat of battle, effectively stating that US troops in northern Syria are now "fair game" in the ongoing deadly conflict.

Speaking to CNN Turk on Sunday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said if US troops wear “terrorists’ clothes” and find themselves among “terrorists” of the Kurdish YPG forces attacking the Turkish troops, “there is no chance that we will make a distinction at this point.”


Kurds Regarded As Terrorists
The unambiguous warning comes at a time when Turkish troops are making further advances into the Kurdish-held Syrian province of Afrin as part of the recently launched "Operation Olive Branch." As RT reports, Ankara had previously complained that the American troops’ embedding with Kurdish militias – regarded as terrorists in Turkey – is unacceptable for the US-Turkish alliance.

In the interview, Bozdag stressed that any person bearing weapons and fighting alongside the Kurds “is our target" however, he added that neither side wants open confrontation. Ankara has made it clear that US troops present in the area should stay away from where the Turks operate, and should not assist their Kurdish allies, he said.

Turkey vs US
“We are clearly saying that we do not want to confront our ally, the United States. I am sure that they do not want to face Turkey and Turkish armed forces,” Bozdag stated, although he also made it clear that a confrontation appears inevitable if the two sides continue on their present course.

Is Turkey accurate in warning that US soldiers can be mistaken for Kurdish rebels? Surprisingly - or maybe not - the answer is yes.

Reports Say
There have been numerous reports suggesting US Special Forces (SOF) teams use the insignia of Kurdish paramilitary groups. In May last year, an AFP photographer made a number of images showing armed men in uniform – identified by Syrian rebels as US SOF operators – in a pickup truck equipped with an Mk 19 grenade launcher.

The soldiers, sporting top-notch weapons and body armor, were wearing YPG badges. At the time, the Pentagon said “insignias and other identifying marks with their partner forces” were being worn in order to “blend in with the community."

Air Support & Heavy Weapons
The Turkish armed forces have been fighting the Kurds since January, when Ankara green-lighted a ground offensive in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin, codenamed, with 100% irony, "Operation Olive Branch." Syrian rebel forces loyal to Turkey are spearheading the offensive, while the Turkish military provide close air support and heavy weapons.

The operation aims to drive Kurdish militias from the area, but it does not come without setbacks. Bozdag said 13 soldiers “died martyrs” during the offensive, while 39 others were injured. Meanwhile, the Turkish command says some 900 Kurdish fighters have been “neutralized” so far, the state news agency Anadolu reports.

UPDATE:
The U.S. military intends to remain in the northern Syrian city of Manbij despite an incoming offensive backed by Turkey, which, along with Ankara’s rebel allies, has launched an assault on nearby Kurdish forces sponsored by the Pentagon.

With the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) mostly defeated in the east, the focus of Syria’s nearly seven-year war has shifted west, particularly to the northwestern district of Afrin, where Turkey and the insurgent Free Syrian Army have begun attacking a Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG). The YPG was the primary faction behind the Syrian Democratic Forces that led U.S. efforts to destroy ISIS on the ground, but it also was considered a terrorist organization by Turkey because of its alleged links to a Kurdish nationalist insurgency at home.

US Standing Strong
As the complex politics of northern Syria’s battlefield erupted into bloodshed between two U.S. allies, Central Command Commander General Joseph Vogel told CNN Monday that withdrawing his troops from nearby Manbij was “not something we are looking into,” even as Turkey threatened to advance into the Kurd-controlled city.
The U.S. has so far stood aside as the Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces attempted to defend the northwestern district of Afrin from Turkey, a member of the U.S.-led NATO alliance, and the formerly CIA-backed Free Syrian Army that has regularly targeted U.S. forces in the area. In November, the Pentagon revealed it had deployed more than 1,700 U.S. personnel to support the Syrian Democratic Forces battling ISIS in Syria.

Trump Told Turkey to Exercise Caution
While the Pentagon reiterated its support for Kurdish members of the Syrian Democratic Forces still battling ISIS in rapidly shrinking pockets of territory in the east, U.S. military leadership warned that the U.S.-led coalition would not support Kurdish efforts to reallocate resources to battle Turkey in the northwest. The U.S. has also warned Turkey that its operation was “impeding the task to eliminate ISIS,” and President Donald Trump reportedly urged his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to “exercise caution” in a phone call Wednesday.
Turkish officials, however, denied that Trump made that request, and their forces pressed on with the bombardment of Kurd-controlled towns and villages. Turkey has likened the YPG to ISIS in the danger it posed, as the Kurdish militia was thought to have direct connections to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish militant organization that has waged a bloody campaign of guerrilla warfare against Turkish security forces for more than three decades.

Erdoğan vowed Friday that his forces would “clean up” Manbij and demanded that U.S. forces leave. Analysts described the city as a red line for the U.S.’s tolerance of the Turkish incursion.

karpenter Loc: Headin' Fer Da Hills !!

There Will Be No Shooting War With Turkey, And Erdogan Knows It
Erdogan, After The Fake Coup,
Is Trying To Set Himself Up As Dictator And Leader Of The Arab Islamic World
Caliph

Turkey Is A Member Of NATO
No Military War

Kevyn

It is just bluster aimed at his own people, Turkey will not ever consider attacking US troops regardless of our weak and ineffectual president.