In what some believe is a nod towards NATO ally Turkey, the Trump administration is cutting its supply of arms to the Kurds.
While the move may ingratiate Washington to Ankara, even as Turkey’s leadership has made purposeful moves to embrace Russia in recent months, it is likely to further alienate the Kurds, who bore the brunt of most of the fighting against ISIS.
In a phone call Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said he’d “given clear instructions” that the Kurds will receive no more weapons — “and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The White House has confirmed that, saying that Trump informed the Turks of “pending adjustments to the military support provided to our partners on the ground in Syria.”
“We are progressing into a stabilization phase to ensure that ISIS cannot return,” the White House said.
“Turkey considers the Kurdish Syrian fighters, known by the initials YPG, to be terrorists because of their affiliation to outlawed Kurdish rebels that have waged a three decade-long insurgency in Turkey.” [source]
Information in this article helps satisfy Priority Intelligence Requirement 2: What is the current situation report and risk of war in each of the four flashpoints?
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