Trump set to arm Syrian Kurd force
Turkey opposes move, designed to take Raqqa from IS.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will arm Syria’s Kurdish fighters “as necessary” to recapture the key Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, despite intense opposition from NATO ally Turkey, which sees the Kurds as terrorists.
The decision is meant to accelerate the Raqqa operation but undermines the Turkish government’s view that the Syrian Kurdish group known as the YPG is an extension of a Kurdish terrorist organization that operates in Turkey. Washington is eager to retake Raqqa, arguing that it is a haven for Islamic State operatives to plan attacks on the West.
Dana W. White, the Pentagon’s chief spokeswoman, said in a written statement that President Donald Trump authorized the arms Monday. His approval gives the Pentagon the go-ahead to “equip Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces as necessary to ensure a clear victory over ISIS” in Raqqa, said White, who was traveling with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Europe.
The U.S. sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as its most effective battlefield partner against the Islamic State in northern and eastern Syria. While White did not mention the kinds of arms to be provided to the Kurds, other officials had indicated in recent days that 120mm mortars, machines guns and light armored vehicles were possibilities.
The Obama administration had been leaning toward arming the Syrian Kurds but struggled with the risk of torpedoing relations with Turkey, a key political actor in the greater Middle East. The issue has come to a head now because battlefield progress this year has put the U.S.backed Syrian Democratic Forces nearly in position to attack Raqqa.
In a reflection of the sensitivities in Ankara, the Pentagon spokeswoman, White, issued a follow-up statement hours after her initial comments, emphasizing U.S. solidarity with Turkey and saying the U.S. does not envision a long-term Kurdish presence in Raqqa. She said Mattis spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Fikri Isik, by telephone to reiterate a U.S. commitment to “protecting our NATO ally.”
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, said he is not worried about how Turkey will react. “No. Sorry,” Corker said, adding that Washington is going to “have a little bit of a rub with Turkey for a period of time.”
The Kurds and their Syrian Arab partners are expected to face a difficult fight for control of Raqqa.