Turkey Hostile to Conflict Resolution in Syria

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Turkey is part of the problem in Syria, not the solution to ending years of war, raging in its ninth year with no prospect for near-term resolution.

Throughout much of the war, Ankara provided safe haven for ISIS and other jihadists in its territory, letting them move freely back and forth cross border between Syria and Turkey — along with supplying them with heavy weapons.

Tinpot despot Turkish President Erdogan masquerades as democratic. Illegally occupying northern Syrian territory, he's the enemy of its people and Bashar al-Assad, wanting him toppled.

He's playing the US and Russia cards simultaneously for his own self-interest, never to be trusted, willing to backstab allies for personal gain — Putin in bed with the devil in dealing with him, an enemy of regional peace, stability, and Syria's sovereign independence.

Last September, Reuters reported that "Turkey ha(d) stepped up arms supplies to" jihadists in Syria masquerading as moderate "rebels."

Anti-government militants involved in warmaking are cutthroat killer jihadists, including so-called White Helmets, posing as civil defense workers, aiding US supported terrorists, harming Syrian civilians, not helping them.

So-called (undemocratic) Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and likeminded groups are anti-government jihadists. Reuters quoted an FSA commander, saying arms entering Syria from Turkey include GRAD rockets and munitions.

A second FSA commander said "(t)he Turks are making sure (we) have enough munitions (to keep us) going for a long while."

According to Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta broadsheet days earlier, rockets used by al-Nusra terrorists against Moscow's Khmeimim airbase in Syria bore designations showing they're Turkish-made.

Russia's Strategic Research Center analyst Vladimir Ivosif said al-Nusra terrorists are using missile launchers and munitions supplied by Turkey.

Last week, Southfront reported that Syrian forces destroyed two Turkish-supplied "Panthera F9 armored personnel carriers (APCs)," used by jihadists the Erdogan regime supports, adding:

"These vehicles prove that Turkey backed the militants' recent attack in northern Hama, which allowed (al-Nusra terrorists) to impose control of Kafr Nabudah."

On Monday, AMN News issued a similar report, saying jihadists in northwestern Syria are using "advanced weapons" supplied by Turkey, adding:

The Erdogan regime "equipped several (terrorist) groups with advanced weapons to help them forestall the Syrian Arab Army's (SAA) progress in the northwestern region of Syria," citing opposition sources.

Greatly aided by Russian airpower, Syrian forces began an offensive in the country's northwest to regain control over lost territory.

AMN News called it the largest-scale escalation of fighting in Idlib province and surrounding areas since last summer, adding:

In response, "Ankara stepped up supplies in recent days after Turkey and Russia failed to reach an agreement to end the fighting in Idlib and Hama."

Russia launched attacks against al-Nusra terrorists in Idlib to halt strikes on its Khmeimim airbase, successfully foiled by its air defense systems.

According to sources on the ground, Turkey is supplying jihadists with heavy weapons in response to aerial operations by Russian and Syrian warplanes.

"The delivery of dozens of armored vehicles, Grad rocket launchers, and anti-tank guided missiles helped roll back some Syrian Army gains and retake the strategically located town of Kafr Naboudeh, one senior opposition figure said on Saturday," AMN News reported.

Throughout much of the war, the Pentagon and CIA have been supplying ISIS, al-Nusra, and other terrorists with TOW anti-tank missiles, surface-to-air missiles (SAMS), able to down helicopters and low-flying aircraft, as well as other heavy weapons.

Last week, Reuters said Turkey sent heavy weapons to anti-government forces it supports to help them combat Syrian troops, citing opposition sources, adding:

"The delivery of dozens of armored vehicles, Grad rocket launchers, anti-tank guided missiles and so-called TOW missiles, helped roll back some Syrian army gains…"

On Saturday, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said government forces "destroy(ed) vehicles and rocket launch pads" belonging to (US/Turkish) supported al-Nusra terrorists in Hama and Idlib provinces.

Last Friday, Tass reported that government forces repelled attacks by al-Nusra terrorists "in the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone in the Hama governorate, killing up to 350 terrorists and destroying six tanks and armored infantry carriers," according to Russian General Viktor Kupchishin, chief of its reconciliation center in Syria, adding:

Government forces also destroyed "27 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns, two 'jihad cars' and three multiple missile launcher systems."

Since last week, "more than 800 militants, at least seven tanks, three armored infantry carries, 15 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns have been pulled to the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone." 

"According to reconnaissance data, terrorists are planning to use from two to four car stuffed with explosives and driven by suicide bombers to stage an offensive on the Syrian army."

Countless thousands of al-Nusra and likeminded terrorists infest Idlib and surrounding areas. Sergey Lavrov earlier called them an "abscess" vital to "liquidate…the region returned to the people of Syria."

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html