by Stephen Lendman
On the phony
pretext of combating ISIS Ankara actively supports, Turkish forces aggressively
crossed into northern Syrian territory over the weekend.
Russia has evidence
of their illegal operations. Sergey Lavrov called it Erdogan’s “creeping
expansion.”
Interviewed on
Russia’s REN TV on Sunday, he said “(a)ccording to our information, they are
digging in a few hundred meters from the border inside Syria,” operating
illegally, positioning heavy weapons.
“While demanding that
Kurdish positions are not reinforced in Syria, Turkey has started to declare it
has a sovereign right to create safety zones on Syrian territory” - with full
US-led NATO support and encouragement.
Earlier reports
showed Erdogan wants control over border areas inside Syria nearly 100 km long
and eight km deep, a flagrant violation of its sovereignty.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported
“elite Turkish soldiers entered Syria on Saturday…” Ankara declined to comment.
Erdogan wants Assad
toppled, northern Syria annexed, all options on the table to achieve his
objectives. “What’s going on in Syria is a historic showdown,” he blustered.
His weekend
operation is part of an escalated effort, expanding conflict in Syria, making
it harder to resolve things. Whether and how Russia intends responding remains
to be seen.
Turkish and US
forces in northern Syria are actively aiding ISIS and other terrorist groups.
Russia knows what’s going on and their objective.
So far, it hasn’t
intervened to stop them. The more aggressive Obama and Erdogan get, the more
likely direct confrontation with Russia will follow.
Syria remains a
hugely dangerous flashpoint. At risk is war well beyond its borders.
Stephen Lendman
lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book as
editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for
Hegemony Risks WW III."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site
at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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