Kurdistan is the graveyard of Al-Qaeda

Below is an excerpt from the article, “Turkey Stands With al-Qaeda Against the Kurds” by Youssef Sheikho, published in Al Akhbar English on September 23, 2013.

Turkey continues to support armed Islamist groups in their campaign against Kurdish militias along Syria’s northern front. Yet the growing body count of al-Qaeda fighters in the north suggests that Turkish efforts are not entirely successful.

Qamishli – The Turkish government is arguably the strongest backer of the armed Syrian opposition, especially the factions led by the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Turkey is also believed to be the main base for opposition fighters and their logistical and military supply lines. But while Turkish officials have no qualms about publicly acknowledging this direct support, Ankara denies it has any ties to al-Qaeda’s affiliates active in Syria.
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Turkish support for radical brigades was not limited to Hasakah, but also played out equally in villages and towns close to Tall al-Abiad in the Raqqa governorate. In truth, the YPG have now accused the Turkish army of killing two of its fighters using snipers near an area where clashes were taking place between the Kurdish units and radical brigades in the Syrian border village of Sawsak, which was recently seized by Kurdish fighters after fierce clashes with jihadi groups.

For the first time since the start of the crisis in Syria, the YPG, which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), issued a statement warning the Turkish government against continuing to provide support for the radical groups, or otherwise “face dire consequences.” The statement called on Ankara “not to resort to dirty tactics that destabilize the region.”

The question is who does America stand with? Al-Qaeda or the Kurds? So far, Washington has been leaning heavily towards Al-Qaeda, and its Sunni backers Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey.