Susan Rice on Trump: What Is He Smoking?

Former national security adviser to President Obama Susan Rice responds to President Donald Trump's comments claiming Kurdish forces haven't helped US forces throughout history.

Turkey Invades Syria: Who Are the Players and What Do They Want? | DW News

Civilians are fleeing northern Syria as Turkish troops advance in Kurdish-controlled areas. The offensive was made possible by the withdrawal of US troops. It has opened a new front in Syria's eight-year-old war. So, who are the key players in this particular conflict and what are their goals? Let's begin with Turkey: Ankara wants to establish a so called "safe zone" along its border stretching about 30 kilometers into Syria territory. This area is currently controlled by Kurdish militias. Turkey wants to clear it of Kurds – and then resettle some two million Syrian refugees there who are currently living in Turkey. Then there are the Syrian Kurds. Groups like the Kurdish People’s Protection Units or YPG want autonomy. The latter fought alongside the US AND Turkey against the so-called Islamic State. But Ankara's offensive could now force Kurdish militias to throw in their lot with the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian allies. And there is the US. The main goal of the United States and its allies was to defeat Islamist forces in Syria, like ISIS. Washington says ISIS has now been defeated and has started withdrawing its troops from north-eastern Syria, clearing the way for the Turkish offensive.

Kurdish Offensive: Turkey Furious over US Arming of Syrian Kurds (Parts 1 & 2)

Syria: Turkish President Erdogan Urges US to Reverse Decision to Arm Kurds

Middle East: Turkey Condemns US Support of the YPG

Inside Story - How Is Turkey Dealing with Threat from Syria?

Turkey is stepping up its military involvement in Syria, striking both ISIL and Kurdish fighters.The war in Syria is becoming increasingly complicated. Several factions and international alliances are fighting it out, both on the ground and in the air. Now, Kurdish areas in the north are being heavily targeted. The U.S is warning it won't hesitate to open fire on the Syrian army, if it continues to attack fighters from the U.S-backed Kurdish Syrian National Democratic Council in Hasaka. To the west of the city in Manbij, Turkish forces are attacking Kurdish YPG positions. The Turkish government accuses the YPG of being an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK. Turkey's armed forces has been at war with the PKK separatists for more than 20 years. But is intervention the answer to Turkish security concerns? And how can Turkey's changing policy affect the long running civil war?Presenter: Dareen AbughaidaGuests:Bilal Sambur, Professor of Social Sciences, Yildirim Beyazit University.Renad Mansour, Carnegie Middle East Center scholar.Dlawer Ala'aldeen, President, Middle East Research Institute.

Chomsky Hits Back at Erdoğan, Accusing Him of Double Standards on Terrorism

THE GUARDIAN: US academic says Turkish president – who has condemned leftwing critics for ignorance – has been aiding Isis, which he blamed for bomb attack on Istanbul

The leftwing US academic Noam Chomsky has hit back at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after the Turkish president accused him of ignorance and sympathising with terrorists.

Hours after Tuesday’s bomb attack on a tourist area of Istanbul, Erdoğan delivered a sneering criticism of Chomsky and “so-called intellectuals” who had signed a letter calling on Turkey to lift its siege against Kurdish towns and cities in the south-east of the country.

He invited Chomsky to visit the area in a defiant televised speech to a conference of Turkish ambassadors in Ankara.

Chomsky has now rejected the invitation. In an email to the Guardian he said: “If I decide to go to Turkey, it will not be on his invitation, but as frequently before at the invitation of the many courageous dissidents, including Kurds who have been under severe attack for many years.”

Chomsky also claimed Erdoğan was operating double standards on terrorism. » | Matthew Weaver | Thursday, January 14, 2016

Turkey Sends Tanks & Troops, ‘Raiding Civilian Houses’ in Kurdish Areas

The Turkish Army has reportedly sent military vehicles, including tanks, into civilian areas in its predominantly-Kurdish southeast. Local activists have posted frightening photos on social media.

Why Are Kurds Joining Up With ISIS?

Kurds Of The Caliphate: Turkish PM blames Ankara bombing on Islamic State.

How Assad And The Kurds Are Teaming Up Against ISIS

US Blocks Attempts by Arab Allies to Fly Heavy Weapons Directly to Kurds to Fight Islamic State

THE TELEGRAPH: Middle East allies accuse Barack Obama and David Cameron of failing to show strategic leadership in fight against Islamic State

The United States has blocked attempts by its Middle East allies to fly heavy weapons directly to the Kurds fighting Islamic State jihadists in Iraq, The Telegraph has learnt.

Some of America’s closest allies say President Barack Obama and other Western leaders, including David Cameron, are failing to show strategic leadership over the world’s gravest security crisis for decades.

They now say they are willing to “go it alone” in supplying heavy weapons to the Kurds, even if means defying the Iraqi authorities and their American backers, who demand all weapons be channelled through Baghdad.

High level officials from Gulf and other states have told this newspaper that all attempts to persuade Mr Obama of the need to arm the Kurds directly as part of more vigorous plans to take on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) have failed. The Senate voted down one attempt by supporters of the Kurdish cause last month.

The officials say they are looking at new ways to take the fight to Isil without seeking US approval.

“If the Americans and the West are not prepared to do anything serious about defeating Isil, then we will have to find new ways of dealing with the threat,” said a senior Arab government official. “With Isil making ground all the time we simply cannot afford to wait for Washington to wake up to the enormity of the threat we face.” » | Con Coughlin, Defence Editor | Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Minority Misery: 'Jihadists Cleansing Kurds in Syria', Thousands Flee

Iraq is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees - almost thirty thousand people have crossed its border with Syria since Thursday. The lion's share of those displaced are Kurds - who have found themselves caught in the middle of the war. And as RT's Paula Slier reports - this is yet another sign that the conflict can't be contained within Syria.

Western Indifference: Kurds' Cry for Help in Syria Falls on Deaf Ears

The Kurdish minority in Syria has reportedly been the target of heavy attacks by radicalists, for over three weeks now, with stories of killings and kidnappings increasing almost daily. 450 civilians were allegedly slaughtered in one incident alone. Although that information is hard to verify due to the chaos and violence engulfing the region. Kurdish journalist Barzan Iso has helped us put together a timeline of what's been happening. RT's correspondent in the region, Irina Galushko, is following the conflict.

Kurdicide: Civilian Kurds Slaughtered as Al-Qaeda Seeks Control in Syria

The UN told RT that it's launched an investigation into the reported slaughter of Kurdish civilians by Al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria. 450 Kurds, most of them women, children and the elderly, were allegedly killed in the north-east of the country. The outgoing Deputy Director of the CIA warned that the spread of extremism in Syria poses a threat to US national security. For more analysis RT joined by Richard Becker, an anti-war activist from the Answer Coalition.

Islamists Massacre 450 Kurds in Syria, Including 120 Children

Unconfirmed reports have emerged detailing a new massacre in which 450 Kurds - including 120 children - were allegedly slaughtered by al-Qaeda-linked rebels fighting against the Syrian government. The report has sparked international concern.

Turkey: Kurd with Lemon Accused of Supporting Terror
BBC: A Turkish prosecutor has demanded that a Kurdish man who is deaf, illiterate and unable to speak be jailed for 25 years for supporting terrorism.

Possession of a half-lemon was cited as evidence against Mehmet Tahir Ilhan. Lemon can ease the effects of tear gas.

Mr Ilhan is charged with making propaganda for the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and with taking part in an illegal organisation.

Mr Ilhan, a bazaar porter from the city of Mersin, denies the charges.

Using sign language at a hearing in the south-eastern city of Adana, he said he had got caught up in a violent pro-Kurdish demonstration.

Under Turkey's anti-terrorism law it is an offence to show any sign of support for the PKK. » | Friday, June 15, 2012