WAR PATH

Trump Approves Arms to Syrian Kurds

Over Turkey’s objections.

President Donald Trump has approved a plan to send arms to Kurdish rebels in Syria to fight ISIS and advance toward its capital city of Raqqa, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. “The fight for Raqqa will be long and difficult, but will ultimately be yet another defeat for ISIS, and another step toward eliminating the ISIS threat to peace and security in the region and the world,” a statement reads. The decision was made over strong objections from Turkey, which views the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as part of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which both Turkey and the U.S. label a terrorist group. “We are keenly aware of the security concerns of our coalition partner Turkey,” the Pentagon statement continued. “We want to reassure the people and government of Turkey that the U.S. is committed to preventing additional security risks and protecting our NATO ally.”