1-23-18

Heather Nauert on twitter posted the following statement from Sec Tillerson: There is no denying #Russia has breached its commitment and betrayed the Chemical Weapons Convention & UN Res 2118 by shielding its ally #Syria. Whoever conducted the attacks, Russia ultimately bears responsibility for countless Syrian victims of Chemical Weapons. With the staged Turkish coup and Turkey’s attack on the Kurds in Afrin the moving of military assets by the US and Russia a big war could be on the horizon for Syria yet again.

Heather Nauert serves as the @StateDeptSpokesperson.

Tillerson Indirectly Promises Russia a Day of Reckoning

Source Isreali News Live

#war #ww3 #chaos #globalunrest #syria #russia #middleEast #Shtf

PLUS

Turkish officers speak: Erdogan may have staged coup

Controversy still surrounds last summer’s abortive coup in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it “a gift from God” and used the coup as an excuse to crackdown not only on one-time ally Fethullah Gülen, whom he fingered before the smoke even cleared, but also on tens of thousands of opponents from across the political spectrum.

Inside Turkey, Erdogan controls both the judiciary and the media and so has been able to push a single narrative in support of his accusations. The problem with the official Turkish narrative, however, is that it omits many contradictory strands of information. Diplomatically, this is reflected in the frustration Turkish officials have voiced at the failure of the United States and several European states to support a crackdown on Gülen’s followers. Simply put, the evidence Erdogan has supplied does not reach a standard of evidence necessary for action in any independent court.

So, if Erdogan’s narrative is flawed, what are the alternative theories? On the surface, much doesn’t add up. Now, several career Turkish military officers — none of whom are followers or supporters of Gülen — have compiled from open sources a lengthy report analyzing the coup. They have authorized me to share the Dropbox link where they have made it accessible. They describe their own efforts:

This study is a modest effort for a better understanding 15 July 2016. It addresses some of the critical areas like who the dissenters were, their motivation, Erdogan’s prior awareness, his role in the events, his supporters in the military and elsewhere. This study is based on the collection and the analysis of the publicly available data. It comprises records of official/public speeches, press releases/reports, witness/suspect testimonies, and indictments. The study puts a light on the background of 15 July, reconstructs the critical events on a timeline, raises arguments and offers a series of findings.

The whole report is worth reading. It is based entirely on open sources, and highlights the internal contradictions and provable falsehoods offered in testimony, both voluntary and forced. They make a persuasive case that Erdogan’s narrative is false and that the coup was essentially Turkey’s equivalent of the Reichstag fire. Some followers of Gülen participated, but they were largely lower ranking officers who either believed that they were engaged in an exercise ordered by their immediate military supervisors, or made the wrong choice when faced with a decision about which side to support as events unfolded.
They make a persuasive case that Erdogan’s narrative is false and that the coup was essentially Turkey’s equivalent of the Reichstag fire.

The Turkish military officers’ report especially important as Turkey prepares to try tens of thousands of civil servants and officers on charges that could lead to life in prison or perhaps even the death penalty.

Turkey may be a dictatorship and its judiciary a joke, but that doesn’t mean that both Turks and the outside world shouldn’t recognize the story is more complicated. No matter how authoritarian Turkey may become, it is hard to completely hide the truth.

SOURCE AEI

Turkish actions in Syria distract from efforts to defeat ISIS – US defense secretary

Turkey’s operations in Syria are distracting from efforts to ensure the defeat of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and risk “exacerbating the humanitarian crisis” in the country, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said.

He noted that Ankara’s operation against Kurdish fighters in Afrin, northern Syria, also risks worsening the humanitarian crisis in the area, as well as in other parts of the country.

He urged Turkey to exercise restraint, stating that it has already disrupted the peaceful return of refugees and could be seen as an opportunity for Al-Qaeda and IS.

“This could be exploited by ISIS and Al-Qaeda, obviously, that we’re not staying focused on them right now. And obviously it risks exacerbating the humanitarian crisis that most of Syria is going through,” Mattis said.

However, the US official added that Washington understands Turkey’s security concerns, citing what he called an active Kurdish insurgency inside Turkish borders.

The comments were made to reporters during Mattis’s trip to Indonesia, where he met with senior government officials on Tuesday.

Turkey launched ‘Operation Olive Branch’ against Kurdish fighters in Afrin on Saturday, accusing them of terrorism. Ankara says the operation is in line with international law and that it is taking care to avoid civilian casualties. However, reports from Kurds have claimed that the operation has already led to multiple civilians losing their lives.

The campaign has been condemned by the Syrian government, while Russia has urged restraint and respect for Syria’s territorial integrity. Moscow has also emphasized the importance of focusing international efforts on the Syrian peace process following the defeat of IS.

The start of the military campaign follows Washington’s announcement earlier this month that it was planning to train a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led force in Syria. According to former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis, ‘Operation Olive Branch’ wouldn’t have been launched if the US had honored its promise to cut off supplies and support to Kurdish militias.

“If the US wasn’t going to arm Kurds, Turkey wouldn’t have arrived to the point where it is…you should not arm and train and provide ammunition to a terrorist group,” he told RT, referring to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Washington’s decision to set up the Kurdish-led force prompted anger from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who promised to “drown this terrorist force before it is born.”

US support for the YPG has long been a source of tension between Ankara and Washington, with some Turkish politicians calling to ban the US Air Force from using Incirlik Airbase in Turkey until the Pentagon ends its ties with Syrian Kurds.

Source RT