The Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria, where many who have fled areas that were under control of ISIS are now kept, Feb. 17, 2019. Some countries want to strip ISIS volunteers of their citizenship. (Ivor Prickett/The New York Times)
Reuters: U.S. expects Turkey to take over IS fighters if Kurdish militia forced to withdraw: official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expects Turkey to take responsibility of captive Islamic State fighters, a senior State Department official said on Monday, if Ankara’s planned incursion into northeast Syria seizes areas where the detained militants are held.
The official said as of now, U.S. allied Kurdish militia was still going to be in control of the detention facilities. “If they (Turks) come into an area with obvious prisons and the SDF withdraws from those security positions around those prisons, we expect the Turks to take them over,” he said in a briefing.
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WNU Editor: The Turks are not going to maintain these camps with their ISIS prisoners. Their focus is on the Kurds.
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I have a feeling that Erdogan's attempt to stop the PKK's attacks on Turkey is going to be unsuccessful. The Turkish army doesn't seem overly skilled for the job at hand. Getting the Syrian refugee problem now in Turkey back into Assad and Putin's hands cannot please them and their so far seemingly slow efforts to rebuild Syria's destroyed infrastructure and economy. A plus for the Turks though. Anyone think Russia is going to willingly invest much in this? Do I hear Tarbaby for Putin?
The ISIS situation isn't going to be helped by the Kurds pulling back and leaving a them for Erdogan. This idea of a sanctuary would seem to be a long term one and a messy one for a financially weak Turkey. Any attempt at pullback on their part after their punitive invasion will create a vacuum that would again be an opening for the PKK to fill.
How long will Syria, Russia, and any groups in the sanctuary regions tolerate Turkey's presence?
What a mess. I'm inclined to think DJT made the correct move. The ball is in Erdogan's hands...let's see how well he can dribble. And for how long.
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