Hezbollah's Nasrallah (r), Russia's Putin (l) and Syria's Assad (c) on Syrian billboard. (Twitter)
A top Israeli expert who often visits Syria says that the Kurds, with US backing, are now in control of 28% of the country.
By: Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
Dr. Jonathan Spyer, speaking to World Israel News, explained that the US policy of pushing back against Iranian incursion in Syria is beginning to show signs of success.
“The Kurds in Syria have created what is the most peaceful and well managed part of that war-torn country. Now in cooperation and partnership, the United States, the anti-Islamic State coalition, and the Kurds effectively rule just under 28% of Syria,” said Spyer in an exclusive interview with World Israel News (WIN). Spyer is the Israeli researcher and journalist who recently took part in a 10-day government sponsored tour of Syria that resulted in the firing of Syrian Minister of Information Mohammed Ramez Tourjman.
Spyer, who has made a number of visits to Kurdish controlled areas of Syria told WIN, “The Kurds now fully control Syria east of the Euphrates River. They do so with the full support and backing of the United States. This force defeated ISIS and based on what we are hearing now from Washington it looks like they are in the process of solidifying their alliance with the Americans.”
“Most important,” says Spyer, “is that the Americans are making clear that they plan on sticking around for the long term to solidify the Kurdish gains.” According to the Associated Press, the US is developing an expanded training program for Kurdish border guards in Syria. Spyer told WIN, “What we are witnessing is the first direct results from the stated US policy to push back against Iranian advances and the Assad regime. The US is also staying in Kurdish controlled Syria to prevent the reemergence of Islamic State in those areas.”
Turkey is a fierce opponent of the Assad regime, but they are also concerned about the Kurdish control in Syria that includes an area that borders on their country. Turkey says that it is totally unacceptable that the US-led coalition is building “a 30,000 man border security force” that centers on Kurdish militias. Turkey is threatening to launch a military operation into the Kurdish controlled areas and President Tayyip Erdogan said, “The assault on the Kurdish enclave in northern Syria will be in the coming days.”
Some analyst’s estimate that Erdogan’s words may only be bluster since it’s unlikely that Turkey would attack a force backed by the US military. If there is a confrontation, it seems clear where Israeli sympathies lie.
Spyer told WIN, “As an Israeli I can’t help but feel sympathy for the Kurds. I have visited Kurdish areas in Iraq and Syria and Turkey for over a decade. Many of the forces that have been most determined to oppose Israel are those who oppose the Kurds. We have similarly motivated pan-Arab and pan-Islamic enemies.”
The axiom that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” appears to be Israel’s unofficial policy toward the Kurds.
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