Washington Must Act on Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Protect Americans from Harm
Washington must address the issue of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. If the Biden administration is unwilling, then the incoming Trump team needs to step up.
Barely had the Assad regime collapsed when the Turkish military launched an attack on the northern Syrian city of Manbij, which has been held by US-supported Kurdish forces.
Turkey deployed warplanes to assist rebel fighters confronting the Syrian Defense Forces, which receive backing from the United States. A Turkish drone detonated at a Kurdish military installation.
Reports indicate that at least 22 members of the SDF were killed, with 40 others sustaining injuries.
On Monday, following the retreat of Kurdish forces from Manbij, Turkish-supported fighters gained control of the area.
Importantly, these are US allies working to prevent the resurgence of ISIS and other terrorist factions. Approximately 900 US troops collaborate with them to secure the region; fortunately, no American personnel were harmed this time.
Nonetheless, Turkey endangered them — despite being a US ally as a NATO member.
Indeed, as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pointed out, Erdogan has persistent “security concerns” regarding extremist Kurdish separatists, who aspire for an independent state.
However, Erdogan appears determined to exploit the power vacuum created by Bashar al-Assad’s downfall to expand his influence.
Turkey and its proxies in Syria are “seeking to leverage the current chaos to reshape the geopolitical landscape in Turkey’s favor,” explains Devorah Margolin from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“They are capitalizing on the distraction from Damascus to continue consolidating power during this tumultuous period and undermining the SDF, thus diminishing its bargaining power.”
This is merely the beginning of Erdogan’s troubling actions.
Keep in mind that he has consistently been a problematic figure in the Middle East, particularly due to his fierce animosity toward another US ally: Israel.
He has fostered closer ties with Russia following a previous conflict, even acquiring critical military technology like the S-400 air defense system.
Moreover, he has been harsh towards his own citizens, suppressing journalists and dissenters.
With Donald Trump set to assume office in just six weeks, long before the situation in Syria stabilizes,
he needs to communicate to Erdogan — unequivocally — that any further aggression from Turkey anywhere in the Middle East, especially risks posed to US forces and their allies, will not be accepted.
The Turkish leader should be on high alert, as consequences will follow come January 20.
