Former US Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to defeat the Islamic State (banned in Russia) terror group Brett McGurk said in a column on Friday that Turkey is not a reliable partner in Syria as the United States prepares to withdraw military forces from the country
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Former US Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to defeat the Islamic State (banned in Russia) terror group Brett McGurk said in a column on Friday that Turkey is not a reliable partner in Syria as the United States prepares to withdraw military forces from the country."On Syria, Turkey is not a reliable partner," McGurk wrote in the Washington Post.
McGurk explained that the Syrian opposition forces Ankara supports are "marbled with extremists" and are too small in numbers to serve as an alternative to the Syrian Democratic Forces or have an effective impact in challenging Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Turkey cannot operate in Syria without substantial US military support, McGurk added.
McGurk also said discussions are underway to have the Turkish military or Turkish-backed opposition fighters moved into areas of northeastern Syria that are now controlled by the SDF.
Any such move, he said, would spark chaos and create an environment for extremists to thrive. The entry of Turkish-backed opposition forces would also likely displace thousands of Kurds and threaten vulnerable Christian communities in areas of eastern Syria, he added.
On Wednesday, nearly 30 people were killed in Manbij in an explosion claimed by the Islamic State terrorist network, including two US soldiers and two American civilians.
Trump's directive to the Pentagon to bring American troops back home from Syria led to a shake-up in the Defense Department. Secretary of Defense James Mattis handed in his resignation shortly after the announcement, indicating that Trump's Syria policy was one of the main sources of disagreements between himself and the president. McGurk also resigned in the wake of the decision to withdraw.
