JERUSALEM – President-elect Trump could be the key factor in stopping Turkey’s reported destruction of the pro-American Syrian Kurdish community. Fox News senior strategic analyst and retired four-star general Jack Keane told Fox News’ Mark Levin about “Life, Liberty & Levin” on Saturday.
“Erdoğan is a real problem here. He has a corridor in northern Syria. He supported the radical leader who took power, al-Golani, in deposing Assad because he wanted Assad to go, as we all did for years, but what is going on now? What is he doing? Now he is attacking the Syrian Kurds, whom we support, in eastern Syria.”
Keane said: “Biden isn’t going to do anything about it, but President Trump has a huge opportunity, and I’m sure President Trump has spoken to Erdoğan about the same issue before. And it stopped due to a phone call. conversation he had with President Erdoğan.”
THE FALL OF BASHAR ASSAD IN SYRIA IS A STRATEGIC COMPLAINT FOR IRAN AND RUSSIA, EXPERTS SAY
A masked Islamic State terrorist holding the ISIS flag in 2015. (History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Keane said one of Trump’s first phone calls after leaving office will likely be with Erdoğan, “if he hasn’t started talking to him yet.”
He said that the motivation of the Syrian Kurds in eastern Syria is not to conquer Turkish territory, but to ensure that ISIS remains defeated and to ensure that “they do not rise again,” adding that the US “does not need to get involved in any way. in Syria, other than to protect our own interests and ensure that ISIS does not rise again in eastern Syria, as they have the potential to do.”
While world leaders are largely focused on the collapse of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime, strong Turkish ruler Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has mobilized forces loyal to his government to root out Kurdish fighters on his southern border with Syria, whom the U.S. helped defeat the terrorist movement ISIS.
President Trump meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office of the White House, November 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Alarm bells are ringing all over the world the terrible fate of the Syrian Kurds.
“Turkey has become too aggressive. If they are given a free hand in Syria, they could secretly commit ethnic cleansing,” warned Efrat Aviv, professor of general history at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and a leading expert on Turkey. , in a statement to Fox News Digital.
In an apparent attempt to change his jihadist movement, Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the US-designated terrorist movement Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which played a decisive role in overthrowing the Assad regime, said : “The Kurds are part of the nation and have faced great injustice, just as we did with the fall of the regime.
SYRIAN DICTATOR BASHAR ASSAD FLEES INTO EXILE AS ISLAMIC REBELS CONQUEST LAND
US troops provide military training to members of the YPG/SDF in Syria, August 18, 2023. (Hedil Amir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ahmad al-Sharaa, who until recently was known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Golani, is connected to Turkey. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US had made “direct contact” with HTS, despite it being a banned terrorist entity.
Mazloum Abdi, the head of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Saturday urged Kurdish parties in northeastern Syria (Rojava) to form a united front.
“Today, Kurdish national unity in Syria has become a historic necessity in response to the challenges of this critical phase. We call on all Kurdish parties to put aside party interests and sincerely engage with the public calls for dialogue and unity,” Abdi wrote on X .
Last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. posted on X“In the past, I have imposed sanctions on Turkey if the country conducts military operations against the Kurdish forces that helped President Trump destroy ISIS. I stand ready to do this again in a bipartisan manner.
“We must not allow the Kurdish forces – who helped us destroy ISIS under President Trump’s watch – to be threatened by Turkey or the radical Islamists who have taken over Syria.”
The Dutch parliament also intervened last week to protect Syria’s Kurds, urging the government to call for a halt to Turkish attacks on the Kurds.
President Biden and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talk during the G-7 summit on June 14, 2024 in Fasano, Italy. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria (AANES) announced on Sunday in response to the continued attacks by pro-Turkish forces: “We face significant threats and dangers, and we call on the Global Coalition and the entire world to unite with us to protect Kobani.”
“The world now owes Kobani and his fighters, and it is time to stand with Kobani,” the statement continued, “and call on the Global Coalition and freedom-loving individuals to unite and uphold the dignity and humanity of protect the region.”
TURKEY’S INVASION THREATS SHOULD BE TAKEN ‘VERY SERIOUS’: CYPRUS OFFICIAL
Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on December 13, 2024 in Ankara. (Getty Images)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, former head of the country’s formidable intelligence agency MIT, spoke in Jordan on Sunday about his country’s views on Kurdish political and military organizations, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Defense Units. YPG): “We are threatened by Iraq and Syria. Over the past decade, the PKK has sought to exploit the chaos in Syria in an attempt to restructure itself within the SDF organization. We continue to fight PKK/YPG terrorism and target them wherever they are. “
He added: “Our goal is to distinguish the Syrian Kurds from the terrorist organization PKK/YPG. We support the legitimate representatives of the Syrian Kurds in their efforts to advocate for their rights in Damascus.”
The YPG is the main US allied force that contributed to the defeat of ISIS. The US classified the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization. The YPG falls under the umbrella of the Syrian Kurdish organization, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Turkish government has intensified its rhetoric against the Kurds. Turkish Minister of Defense Yaşar Güler said this on Sunday “Our main agenda is the dissolution of the PKK/YPG.”
Displaced Kurds leave the refugee camp in northern Aleppo and flee to Afrin on December 4, 2024. (Ugur Yildirim/DIA Images/Abaca/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)
Incoming freshman Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, R-Ariz., whose parents are Syrian immigrants, told Fox News Digital: “As we evaluate Turkey’s recent airstrikes on Syrian Kurds and reports of Hamas operatives in Turkey, it is clear that our alliances must be anchored in mutual respect and shared goals. Turkey has been a strategic partner for decades, but hosting groups like Hamas without clear steps toward dismantling their operations undermines that relationship. combating terror, not enabling it.”
When asked by Fox News Digital whether the US is considering imposing sanctions on Turkey, a State Department spokesperson said: “In general, we do not anticipate sanctions.”
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The State Department referred Fox News Digital on Friday to comments made earlier on Friday following Blinken’s meeting with Fidan in Turkey.
The statement read in part: “Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of U.S.-Turkish cooperation in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS mission in Syria.”
