Kurdistan
While much of the Russian establishment is gleeful, some in Moscow counsel caution about getting too deeply involved in the treacherous Middle East.
A letter went out to all members on Thursday, urging them to help intervene in an increasingly dire situation.
“I don’t know what the tactical rationale for this is,” says a former Pentagon official as Turkey assaults the Kurds whom the U.S. used to attack ISIS.
The ground invasion was held up overnight but recommenced on Thursday morning. Can international pressure and the U.S. Congress prevent a massacre?
The Kurds are not entirely defenseless. They’ve been preparing for what they had long anticipated—a possible betrayal by their closest ally, the United States.
With Trump’s permission, Turkey will now ethnically cleanse the Syrian Kurds who fought ISIS on behalf of the U.S., leaving no one to hold off the terror group.
Partly by accident and partly by mission creep, the U.S. has found itself sitting astride the most important real estate in the Middle East.