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Turkish military and Syrian rebels launch an air and ground offensive on Afrin. Their primary goal was to drive out the members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, which was thought to be an extension of a Kurdish rebel group. Turkey's government makes claims that they have only targeted terrorists and not civilians, however, their bombardment has left dozens dead, hundreds injured, and many civilians are forced to flee from their homes. Many refugees from Arab towns who were controlled by Turkey and ISIS had come to Afrin thinking that it was a safe place for them to stay; however, they were wrong. Now they have to run away again.
Kurdish leaders have appealed to other powers to protect their residents, however, the US, who relied on an alliance led by the YPG, has only urged its Nato ally Turkey to "de-escalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilians casualties." Syria's ally, Russia, withdrew its military observers from Afrin before the Turkish offensive and is allowing Turkish warplanes to use Syrian airspace to bomb the Kurdish territory.
Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think the real reason is, if any, for Turkey to attack Afrin?
2. Why are the Kurds seen as a big threat to Turkey?
3. Do you think US's response to Afrin's appeal is justified?
1. I think the intention of turkey is really to intimidate the Kurds, and to discourage them from rising up. But mainly, i feel like the Kurds are really a double edged sword, in a way. They are, in the most basic sense, an ethnic group. Yes the do fight ISIS, but they also are terrorists sometimes themselves. So the question the US has to face when considering how to respond to this issue is whether the enemy of their enemy is a friend? and whether the enemy of a friend is an enemy. However, i do not believe that turkey attacking afrin was the correct course of action, as most casualties were of civilians. and a better solution might have been to simply send ground forces in if terrorism is truly and issue to minimize civilian death.
ReplyDeleteJung Haye, could you further explain what exactly you mean by the question you posed about how the US has to decide whether the enemy of their enemy is a friend and whether the enemy of a friend is an enemy.
DeleteBecause Turkey views the Kurds as an enemy and wants to get rid of them, the Turkish military along with Syrian rebels, who also despise the Kurds, attacked the city of Afrin in northern Syria, which was controlled by the Kurds. And, I think this air and ground offensive, referred to as “Operation Olive Branch” by Al Jazeera is an over-extension of Turkey’s power in the region because according to a BBC article titled, “Syria war: Thousands flee Turkish assault on Afrin enclave,” if the fighting in Afrin were to continue, an estimated 323,000 civilians would be at risk of being displaced, all of whom are innocent. I don’t think that Turkey should involve innocent civilians in their problems with the Kurds, and I understand that the international community doesn’t want ruin alliances with Turkey, but someone has to stand up for human rights since it is known that the fighting in Afrin has already killed civilians and puts others at risk.
ReplyDeleteThe Kurds are imposing sovereignty as they act like they are superior to Turkey. Additionally, I believe Turkey attacked Afrin to prevent the Kurds from gaining more members. If the Kurds gained too much power, they could perhaps be a massive issue. Also, Turkey might of saw the Kurds as a threat because they could possibly take a part of Turkey for themselves. Also Turkey does not absolutely want to lose any of its land and that could of been one of the reasoning's to bomb Afrin.
ReplyDeleteCould you explain in what way are the Kurds acting like they are superior to Turkey? Because based on the article, it's Turkey who is attacking and killing hundreds of people, not the Kurds.
DeleteThe Turkish government perceived the city of Afrin as a threat because they believed that the Kurdish Protection Units were part of the Kurdish rebel group or terrorists. It posed a threat to the Turkish government and they attacked the city without hesitation. In doing this, it has caused dozens dead, and many injured. Others were forced to flee from the city because they felt that it wasn't safe for them to live there. Turkey has dealt with many of the actions of the Kurds and they believe that the Kurds are a terrorist group and an enemy that they should get rid of. It wasn't very smart of the Turkish government to attack the city because it affected many lives of the innocent people that lived there. People who took refuge from other terrorists like ISIS. They should have waited and made sure that the city of Afrin in Syria was a real threat before injuring many innocent people.
ReplyDeleteI think they real reason why Turkey attacked Afrin was to insure their hold on territory and destroy opposition, those who aren't Muslim, by "cleansing" their land. The Kurds are seen as a threat because of the YPG, whose members rebel against the Turkish government. I don't think the US's rejection of the Kurdish plea for help was justified because they need the YPG to let them fight ISIS in eastern Syria.
ReplyDeleteAbby, I see your point on how the US's rejection of the Kurds was not justified, but don't you think that it was the only reasonable thing they could do, considering the position they are in?
DeleteI think the real reason Turkey is attacking is mostly to eliminate any potential headaches for Turkey and its dream of expanding. However, the problem of an ethnic group not having its own state to be protected in is definitely something that could have been part of a reason. The Turkish people using terrorists as a reason and killing only terrorist claim is probably also true since Turkey just needs to consider the entire Kurd ethnic group as a terrorist group and they are in effect only killing terrorists, not civilians because just because a terrorist screams they are civilians doesn't mean that they won't come afterwards to blow up God knows where. Hence, both expansionist dream and terrorism being an excuse, and there actually cleansing terrorist group by the roots can be the reason for Turkish attacks in Afrin.
ReplyDeleteThe Kurds have been a thorn in Turkey's side since the creation of the Turkish state, and there have been Kurdish rebellions for centuries under the Ottoman Empire, according to Wikipedia. I think Turkey attacked Afrin to try to control the Kurdish rebel group they have been fighting for decades. I don't think this attack was justified because although Turkey claimed to have only targeted terrorists, numerous civilians were killed. Additionally, I think the US's response was justified because they're trying to tactfully avoid major conflict with Turkey.
ReplyDeleteBecause the US is an ally with Turkey it is sensible that they would avoid conflict with their allies as much as possible, so when they do something that is questionable, the US is primarily in a position to warn Turkey instead of act on them. That is the reason to why the US only gave Turkey a light scolding for their actions upon their own people. However, even though the appeal from Afrin was made by people that the US does not necessarily like that much, it still does not change the fact that Turkey attacked its own people which is unjust. So in the end, Turkey performed uncalled for actions upon their civilians, but the US can really only stand on the outside for this situation. This makes the actions of the US proper according to the situation.
ReplyDeleteI think that the US's response to Afrin's appeal is justified. Because the US is allies with Turkey, we have to maintain a good relationship with them in order to avoid chances of future conflict. Although the reaction by the US to Turkey killing their own civilians seems very insignificant, it is important to remember to we are ultimately outsiders to Turkey. Turkey's attacks on their own people cannot be justified, but the small scolding given to Turkey by the US can be seen as reasonable.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason Turkey attacked Afrin was to try to reassert their power over the territory, and suppress rebels. Since the Kurds have long been at disagreement with Turkey, Turkey most likely attacked in order to control the Kurdish rebels. However, this attack was not right because they unjustly killed many civilians and refugees whom were not involved with the conflict. I think the US's choice was a good decision because it is best to avoid conflict with other countries.
ReplyDelete