US arms Kurds in Syria despite Türkiye's 'furious'

(Baonghean) - Several US defense officials have just confirmed that the US has begun sending weapons and military equipment to Kurdish forces in Syria.This is considered a turning point decision by the US after a long period of consideration.

The move is aimed at helping Kurdish forces drive the Islamic State (IS) group out of its stronghold of Raqqa. But the decision also risks deepening the rift between the US and its strategic partner in the region, Türkiye.

Kurdish People's Protection Forces appear with a US armored vehicle in the village of Darbasiyah in northern Syria. Photo: AFP

Determined to capture the "capital" of IS

According to US Defense Department spokesman Adrian Rankine-Galloway, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria received weapons, ammunition, heavy machine guns and other combat vehicles since May 30.

The transfer of weapons was carried out with the permission of President Donald Trump according to a plan that was put forward in early May. The US side confirmed that this was the first step to prepare for the goal of completely liberating Raqqa - the city that IS once declared its "capital".

Immediately after receiving the weapons, the YPG called this a “historic” decision, albeit a bit late, and pledged to play a more active and effective role in the fight against IS.

Arming the YPG in Syria is actually part of the US’s long-standing plan to strengthen the fight against IS. The US National Counterterrorism Center previously listed the YPG as a terrorist organization, but removed the YPG from the list in 2014 when the US military began cooperating with this force in Syria.

So far, the YPG is still considered by the US as the most reliable force to fight on the ground against IS, with the support of airstrikes conducted by the US-led coalition as well as tactical guidance from US special forces.

However, the US still considers arming the YPG quite carefully when taking into account the interests of Türkiye - a close ally of the US in the Middle East and also a NATO member participating in the US anti-IS coalition.

A YPG gunman after capturing an important stronghold in Tabka city, an important springboard to attack Raqqa. Photo: AP

But given the current situation, when the YPG has surrounded the city of Raqqa since March 2017 but is still fighting protractedly with IS, the administration of President Donald Trump is forced to take a decisive step to drive IS out of this city, stopping the terrorist organization's ambition of turning Raqqa into the capital of the "Islamic State" in the future.

To reassure its ally Türkiye, the US government has affirmed that the provision of weapons to the YPG will not increase “security risks” for Türkiye. These weapons will be calibrated for the sole purpose of retaking Raqqa, without any additional measures to change their intended use. Any abuse or misuse of weapons provided by the US will be seriously considered and support will be withdrawn.

Türkiye is "restless" again

The assurances from the US have failed to reassure Turkey, which has always viewed the YPG in Syria as an armed extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which it considers a domestic terrorist organization.

Türkiye fears that the YPG’s pursuit of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria will inflame the Kurdish community in Türkiye. The re-establishment of an independent Kurdish state in the region straddling Türkiye, Iraq and Syria has always been a nightmare for the Ankara government.

That is why the US and Türkiye pursue different goals despite being in the same anti-IS coalition: If the US wants to destroy IS and overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if possible, Türkiye aims to eliminate the YPG so that the PKK loses its support.

This also explains Türkiye's military intervention in Syria since last summer, when it both drove IS out of several important strongholds in the border area and kept Kurdish forces from infiltrating the area.

The alliance of Kurdish forces at the border between Türkiye, Syria, Iraq and Iran has always made Türkiye uneasy. Photo: Foreign Policy

Therefore, the US decision to arm the YPG is considered by Türkiye as “giving the enemy a weapon”, increasing the direct threat to Türkiye’s national security. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim expressed extreme disappointment when he said that “Türkiye cannot believe that the US would make such a choice between a strategic partner on one side and terrorist organizations on the other”!

In fact, since Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan visited the US in mid-May and asked the US to withdraw its decision to arm the Kurds, public opinion has seen that Donald Trump is not enthusiastic about this proposal. Once the "complaining" has no effect, Türkiye will have to find a reasonable response to the US decision.

According to analysts, Türkiye is likely to launch a new operation similar to the “Euphrates Shield” operation late last year to create a safe buffer zone before Kurdish forces in Syria can approach the border and link up with Kurdish forces in the country. Previously, when announcing the end of the “Euphrates Shield” operation, Türkiye also left the door open for this scenario, saying that “other military operations will be carried out if necessary.”

At that time, the world will once again witness another complicated aspect in the fight against IS in Syria because there are too many movements and forces both inside and outside the country with different calculations participating on the battlefield.

Thuy Ngoc