This is, to me at least, a surprising development. No better way to unite old enemies than a common enemy, I suppose. Are the combined Kurdish and Syrian government forces strong enough to push...
This is, to me at least, a surprising development. No better way to unite old enemies than a common enemy, I suppose.
Are the combined Kurdish and Syrian government forces strong enough to push back against the Turkish advance?
I can't make any Armchair General judgments on their relative military strengths but I suspect this will complicate the diplomatic situation for Turkey at the very least. Erdogan claims that he is...
I can't make any Armchair General judgments on their relative military strengths but I suspect this will complicate the diplomatic situation for Turkey at the very least.
Erdogan claims that he is creating a safe zone to fight terrorists linked to parties in Turkey and has no interest in capturing Syrian territory. Now that Turkey is fighting Syrian government regulars the optics are different and may also provide a pretense for Russia to become more involved.
What I am curious about is what concessions have the Kurds made to get this deal and what is the likelihood of Rojava remaining an autonomous region.
I would guess that it will make it enough more difficult for Turkey to cause serious problems for them. Assad's military will not have the best equipment, but they have recent experience (not a...
I would guess that it will make it enough more difficult for Turkey to cause serious problems for them. Assad's military will not have the best equipment, but they have recent experience (not a value statement on whether or not that is a good thing). Also, the Kurds have been fighting Russian backed Syrian forces for years; they have significant experience in asymmetric warfare.
In the wider view, this agreement is historic; Assad recognizing the Kurds as a legitimate ally is huge. Hopefully, this will be short conflict with the minimum of causalities. Or more likely, Russia will start supporting Syria more and more directly, which will likely cause Turkey to try and pull in more allies. YAY
There are updates on this live map showing Syrian government forces in red, Rojava in yellow and Turkey in blue.
This is, to me at least, a surprising development. No better way to unite old enemies than a common enemy, I suppose.
Are the combined Kurdish and Syrian government forces strong enough to push back against the Turkish advance?
I can't make any Armchair General judgments on their relative military strengths but I suspect this will complicate the diplomatic situation for Turkey at the very least.
Erdogan claims that he is creating a safe zone to fight terrorists linked to parties in Turkey and has no interest in capturing Syrian territory. Now that Turkey is fighting Syrian government regulars the optics are different and may also provide a pretense for Russia to become more involved.
What I am curious about is what concessions have the Kurds made to get this deal and what is the likelihood of Rojava remaining an autonomous region.
I would guess that it will make it enough more difficult for Turkey to cause serious problems for them. Assad's military will not have the best equipment, but they have recent experience (not a value statement on whether or not that is a good thing). Also, the Kurds have been fighting Russian backed Syrian forces for years; they have significant experience in asymmetric warfare.
In the wider view, this agreement is historic; Assad recognizing the Kurds as a legitimate ally is huge. Hopefully, this will be short conflict with the minimum of causalities. Or more likely, Russia will start supporting Syria more and more directly, which will likely cause Turkey to try and pull in more allies. YAY