In a speech to parliament, Erdogan said that Bolton had made a “serious mistake” in calling for a new condition for the U.S. exit from Syria. Bolton has been seeking assurances that Turkey wouldn’t attack Washington’s Syrian Kurdish allies after American forces depart.
The Kurdish forces were our loyal and highly effective allies in the fight against ISIS.
Erdogan, the mad dictator of Turkey, said that Turkey would never compromise on the issue of the YPG Kurdish militia, which the U.S. has backed in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. Turkey sees the YPG as a terrorist organization and part of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.
The two have gone at each other for decades.
Erdogan gave a speech to his AK Party’s Parliamentary group meeting instead of meeting with Bolton. He took the tack that asking him not to attack the Kurds is an insult.
Excerpt:
“Those who cast aspersions on Turkey by claiming that it will massacre the Kurds in Syria are actually well aware of the facts behind the issue. They aim to influence the international community and the decisions of those who are not quite familiar with the situation in Syria.”
“Nowhere does Turkey go with the aim of eliminating any community or innocent people. Wherever it goes, Turkey’s sole aim is to protect lives and ensure security. The only exception is terrorist organizations and terrorists.”
“Innocent” is the operative word. Erdogan doesn’t believe the Kurds are innocent.
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President Erdoğan penned an opinion piece for the NY Times.
In it, he said, “The United States withdrawal must be performed in cooperation with the right partners to protect the interests of the United States, the international community and the Syrian people.”
“Turkey, which has NATO’s second largest standing army, is the only country with the power and commitment to perform that task,” he wrote.
He doesn’t think the Kurds are the “right partners”.
Also in the New York Times piece, Erdogan said his troops went door-to-door rooting out insurgents as compared with coalition troops who had, according to him, little or no regard for civilian casualties. He refuses to accept the claim that Turkey would commit genocide on innocent people. He called the Kurdish militia a terrorist group and reminded the U.S. that it is still labeled as such by the United States. He briefly outlined what sounds like a reasonable plan to clean up the internal workings of Syria.
Unfortunately, Erdogan is a maniac who cannot be trusted. Many believe he wants to spread Turkish influence into Syria for his ‘Caliphate.’
From NBC News:
Before his arrival in Ankara, Bolton said that no U.S. troops would leave northern Syria until Turkey agreed to not attack the Syrian Kurds. The demand, which Bolton said came from Trump, immediately drew criticism from Turkish officials.
Bolton concluded his visit to Turkey with more than two hours of discussions with officials Tuesday, but without meeting Erdogan.
National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said Erdogan called Bolton’s Turkish counterpart, Ibrahim Kalın, during their meeting and told him to send his regards to Bolton. However, Erdogan said he wouldn’t be able to spend any time with Bolton because he was headed to parliament to deliver a speech.
He will massacre the Kurds just as Saddam Hussein did.
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