Turkey Invades Syria Over US Objections

FEATURING RAHUL MAHAJAN – Turkish forces have entered Northern Syria in a major escalation of the war. It has cited Kurdish militants as its justification, even as the US and NATO have publicly denounced the move, urging Turkey to stay focused on the fight against the Islamic State. Brett McGurk, U.S special envoy said, “We want to make clear that we find these clashes – in areas where ISIL is not located – unacceptable and a source of deep concern.”

While Turkey’s government claimed that it had killed 25 Kurdish fighters over the weekend, observers reported that Turkish forces had in fact killed 41 people including civilians.

Turkey’s main enemy is the Syrian Kurdish YPG group, part of the Syrian Democratic Coalition, which the US has backed in the past. Turkey recently experienced a coup attempt, and a major attack on its airport in Ankara.

Rahul Mahajan is a PhD student in sociology at the University of Wisconsin and a news analyst. He is the author of two books on the Iraq war: Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond and The New Crusade: America’s War on Terrorism. He is also the US Foreign Policy and Empire Correspondent for Rising Up.