There's a reason we've been saying either the U.S. or Turkey has to get out of NATO.
Now there are reports Turkey is in Syria.
Of course there are Turks in Syria. At minimum there are forward artillery spotters and special forces to advise al-Nusra and ISIS. That alone is a problem. If the Turks have crossed the border in force this whole thing could spin out of control.
First up, the Financial Times:
US calls on Turkey to stop shelling Kurds in Syria
Turkey on Sunday shelled US-backed Kurdish rebels in northern Syria as they attempted to take over an abandoned air base near its borders, ignoring US requests to stop targeting the fighters.And from Agence-France-Presse via Yahoo:
The shelling — just days after a tentative ceasefire was announced in Munich — complicates the US-led coalition’s efforts to support Kurdish militias, especially the Popular Defence Forces (YPG), without provoking Turkey, a Nato-ally that considers the YPG an extension of terrorist groups that have waged a 30-year secession battle with the Turkish state. It also means two US allies are actively fighting one another on the ground in Syria.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that Turkish forces had shelled the Kurdish targets in an address to the nation as Saudi Arabian fighter jets began to arrive at the Incirlik air base in a bid to counterbalance Iranian and Russian support for President Bashar al-Assad.
“We have seen reports of artillery fire from the Turkish side of the border and urged Turkey to cease such fires,” said John Kirby, a State Department spokesman. He added that Washington had also “urged Syrian Kurdish and other forces affiliated with the YPG not to take advantage of a confused situation by seizing new territory”....MUCH MORE
France calls for halt to Turkish bombing of Kurdish forces in Syria
Paris (AFP) - France called Sunday for Turkey to immediately halt the bombing of Kurdish forces in Syria and said it was concerned at the "worsening" situation in northern Syria.Echoing an appeal made by the United States on Saturday, France called for "an immediate halt to the bombing, both that of the regime and its allies throughout the country and that of Turkey in the Kurdish zones".On Sunday, the Turkish army struck positions held by Kurdish fighters inside Syria for a second day, with Turkish state media reporting that it was in response to incoming fire.The army hit Democratic Union Party (PYD) targets around the Syrian town of Azaz using howitzers stationed on the Turkish side of the border, Anatolia news agency reported.The French foreign ministry said it was concerned at the "worsening situation" around the besieged city of Aleppo and elsewhere in northern Syria....MORE
