As the war in Syria continues, it ceases to be a civil war and becomes a proxy war between outside players. Giving a detailed explanation of the backstories of Russia and Turkey and why they are so invested in Syria as well as their dictators Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The second half of the episode returns to our story; expanding into the destruction of ISIS and the aftermath. With ISIS getting obliterated by American and Russian airstrikes who will step in to fill the power vacuum left behind?
As the war in Syria continues, it ceases to be a civil war and becomes a proxy war between outside players. Giving a detailed explanation of the backstories of Russia and Turkey and why they are so invested in Syria as well as their dictators Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The second half of the episode returns to our story; expanding into the destruction of ISIS and the aftermath. With ISIS getting obliterated by American and Russian airstrikes who will step in to fill the power vacuum left behind?
Syrian Civil War III
SYRIA, TURKEY AND RUSSIA
Syrian Crisis of 1957
The USA and Russia are probably the most famous rivals today, this obviously comes from the Cold War; a showdown of epic proportion with the capitalist west (represented by The USA) on one side, and the communist east (Represented by the Russian Soviets) on the other.
The starting date for the Cold War is traditionally listed as March 12th 1947 with the announcement of Truman doctrine. Truman Doctrine was the proposition to support both Greece and Turkey with money, that if you adjusted for inflation would amount to 5 billion dollars today.
Truman doctrine, was announced by US president Harry S. Truman, when Greece, who at the time was entrenched in the middle of a bloody civil war, between communists and capitalist, well not really capitalists but an anti-communist monarchy backed by the UK and later USA. Greece Needed aid or as Truman saw it would eventually fall to the communists.
Turkey like Greece was a newly declared republic, less than 25 years old, at the time was not in bad shape but they were under pressure from the USSR who wanted access to the Turkish straits for oil exportation. Turkey was included in Truman Doctrine because if America aided Greece, who was Turkeys historic rival then the Turks would have gone to the Soviets.
Insert Truman doctrine speech
The Truman Doctrine became the foundation of American foreign policy, changing the United States drastically which hitherto had followed an isolationist policy called Monroe Doctrine. and led, in 1949, to the formation of NATO, The second largest member of NATO to this day is Turkey. NATO is an American dominated military alliance that still exists and dominates Geopolitics to this day. It was created to keep the Soviet Union in check.
Due to the successes of Truman Doctrine, Truman’s successor Dwight D Eisenhower announced 10 years later, Eisenhower doctrine. Eisenhower doctrine was essentially an invitation for US support in the middle east if the country requesting the aid felt threatened. The Arabs who at this time were praising the newly constructed, Socialistic/anti-colonial idea Ba’athism were skeptical of Eisenhower doctrine; and the colonial West.
The Soviets politically espoused anti-colonialism, even going so far as threatening the West with a nuclear war, when during the Suez Crisis American Allies France and Great Britain attempted an invasion of Egypt. The Soviets earned massive respect among the Arab world for this act.
on January 5, 1957 Eisenhower gave a speech to congress
EISENHOWER DOCTRINE
The Arabs did not like the idea of Eisenhower doctrine, seeing it as another colonialist attempt by the Western powers, and spoke out against it. Most notably the Syrians, who were probably the closest in the Arab world to the Soviets.
7 months later Syrian President al-Quwatli made a series of provocative institutional changes, allegedly placing communist sympathizers in high positions of the government. Suspicion that a communist takeover had occurred in Syria began amounting by the West and Syria’s neighbors. Baghdad Pact members, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon considered supporting an Arab or Western military intervention to overthrow the Syrian Government.
Turkey was the only country to step up by deploying thousands of troops along the Syrian-Turkish border leading to heightened tensions. The Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev threatened the west, not with his shoe but with a missile launch on Turkey if Turkey attacked Syria. The USA threatened back saying that if the USSR attacked NATO ally Turkey they would proceed with an attack on the USSR.
Leading to one of the many nuclear holocaust scares of the Cold War known as The Syrian Crisis of 1957.
Turkey eventually backed down and ceased its border operations following pressure from the United States.
Eisenhower Doctrine was a failure.
Each overstep by the West brought Syria closer and closer to the Soviet bloc until eventually in 1971 Hafez Al-Assad signed an agreement with the soviets allowing them to open a military base in the Syrian city Tartus. This base was long sought after by the Soviets, who had their first foothold in the middle east. The Syrians now found themselves in the Soviet Sphere of influence…
30 years later the USSR would fall, Russia arose from its ashes having lost vast swarms of land, about 2 million square miles of territory and political prestige. This successor state has been attempting to rebuild its prestige and influence and retake its lost territories, both politically and militarily
In the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin
“The demise of the soviet union was the greatest Geopolitical catastrophe of the century “
Play Putin Clip speak over in English
“As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama”
“Tens of millions of our comrades and compatriots found themselves outside Russian territory.”
Trail off putin speech…
Russia or perhaps its dictator Vladimir Putin, seems to have developed an inferiority complex from this catastrophe…
Putin is determined to bring Russia back to its place as a superpower, he is a Russian nationalist.
Former President George Bush famously said about Vladamir Putin “I looked into the mans eyes and got a sense of his soul”
President Joe Biden While he was Vice President under Obama was working to bring peace in the recently invaded Ukraine, he had a meeting with Putin. in his book – Promise me Dad – he writes of this meeting “as the unsuccessful meeting was coming to an end He (putin) told me to look around his office the furnishings were elaborate and impressive, “its amazing what capitalism will do isn’t it? Gazing up at the high ceiling, as I looked down I was face to face with him (putin). Mr Prime Minister Im looking into your eyes (I told him smiling) “I don’t think you have a soul” Putin Smiled back, “We understand each other.”
Vladimir Putin is most famous in the Western world for being a macho badass, I am sure you have seen him hunting shirtless, riding horses shirtless, relaxing at his dacha shirtless, deep sea diving shirtless in the black sea whilst finding ancient treasures coincidentally with the media nearby to capture all these shirtless events…
You would be surprised to find out these photos have been manipulated by Putin and his team to portray himself in cult of personality fashion, as a fatherly like leader. This type of behavior isn’t new to the Russians.
Russia, a deeply hierarchical society respects the boss and expects the boss to know everything and make the hardline decisions.
Take for example the most famous Russian leader Josef Stalin. Josef Stalin was a brutal psychopath who craved power. These numbers should be taken with a grain of salt because the USSR was not open until years later and the true numbers will never be known but under Stalin’s leadership the high estimates of casualties given from his political arrests/executions, his gulag archipelago, his inept policies that caused famines, his deportations etc… high estimates claim that over 20 million people died under his leadership, from his policies.
Compare that to the numbers killed by the German invasion in World war II at 16-17 million. Stalin killed more Soviets than the Nazis
A poll was taken in 2019 at the Levada center, where 70% of Russians viewed Stalin positively, many saying he is the greatest Russian leader in their history and with many saying they would vote for him today.
Russians above all else respect a strong man who can get the job done.
The Soviet Union was a Communist country, all amenities were owned by the government. When the USSR collapsed an elite group of people bought up all the state-owned agencies that had recently been thrown into the newly declared market. These people became known as the Oligarchs.
The first president of the newly declared, Russian Federation and Putin’s predecessor was a man named Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin was an alcoholic and hated by the Russian people who saw him as a weak stooge to the west. In order to stabilize Russia after the catastrophic collapse of their union Yeltsin had to give large amounts of power to the oligarchs.
Around this time Putin was a completely unknown unemployed ex KGB spy. The reason he was an Ex was because he was stationed in Dresden, East Germany and had to return home after East Germany was annexed by the west. Putin decided to enter politics and quickly became deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg. He consolidates his power by giving special treatment to friends and allies in the private sector. Using this network of politicians, oligarchs and crime organizations. He quickly ascends the political latter until 1999 when he is chosen by Yeltsin to be his prime minister.
Putin’s popularity skyrockets when a series of terrorist bombings are done all around Russia by Chechen separatists. He takes a hard stance against them. His forces enter the capital of Chechnya, Grozny and completely level it with tactics he would later use in Syria. In 2003, the United Nations called Grozny the most destroyed city on Earth around 8,000 civilians were killed.
Shortly after Yeltsin steps down. Putin pardons him of all crimes and wins the presidential election easily.
Patronage and corruption are his key tools to power and he quickly subjugates the oligarchs.
Russia has term limits, the Russian constitutation states: No one person shall hold the office of president of the Russian Federation for more than two terms in succession.
Putin finds his way around this in 2012 by hand choosing his successor, Dimitry Medvedev. Medvedev is a loyal protégée to Putin. Russians widely see him as a puppet
In addition to this Putin has garnered allegations of the assassinations of Journalists this and his corrupt mafia like way of ruling clearly show his dictatorial ways and Russians began protesting
However thanks to the booming oil economy of the mid 2000s Putin was still extremely popular, his massive oil reserves were boosting the Russian economy
Putin revitalized the economy with economic reforms in 2012 he joined the world trade organization
His aggressive foreign policy would catch up with him however, in 2008 and 2014 he invaded neighbors Georgia and Ukraine respectively. His reason for invasion was to protect Russians who found themselves in foreign borders. His wars were immensely popular back home, however the west imposed sanctions on Russia destroying their economy.
The ruble fell massively leading to more destabilization in the former superpower.
In response to these sanctions Putin realized the west was out to get him and he began forming an alliance with other powers that found themselves on the opposite side of the US alliance system.
Iran, Mortal enemy of the USA and Israel; Supporter of Hezbollah and the Assad Regime also found itself on the opposite side of the US alliance. President Bush in his 2002 state of the union speech included Iran in his “Axis of Evil” where he called out specifically 3 countries Iran, North Korea and Iraq, as supporters of Terrorism trying to bolster public support for his later wars.
Russia formed an alliance in response to NATO called the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Iran is the only country in Western Asia that has been invited to join it. Russia and Iran act as economic partners to one another, this is out of necessity because both of their economies have been heavily damaged by the Westerns worlds sanctions. Iran, and Russia are some of the worlds largest oil producers but find it difficult to trade with the heavily oil consuming west. Since Russia’s declaration both have had very cordial relations. They form an axis in the Caucasus alongside Armenia
Any of my dedicated fans of the show will know I did an episode on the war in Armenia (Karabakh) it was one of my first episodes so give it a listen if you want more information on this subject.
Armenia is locked between their mortal enemies, Azerbaijan and its larger brother Turkey. Turkey has been following a policy many political experts refer to as Neo-Ottomanism.
Iran, like Russia, "views Turkey's regional ambitions and the possible spread of some form of pan-Turkic ideology with suspicion".
Turkey, seen vicariously through its leader Erdogan, also seems to have a Napoleon complex. Turkey today is a regional power however it comes from the Ottoman Empire one of the greatest empires in history. The Ottoman Empire At its height, between the 16th and 17th centuries covered portions of three continents: Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.
Turks are very aware of this and it leads to their Nationalistic fervor, none so more than their President Recepp Tayipp Erdogan.
Erdogan is an interesting person, the best comparison I can give you is he is like the Turkish Donald Trump. He taps in to that populist Turkish spirit that Trump was so famous at doing with rural Americans.
However he does differ with Trump on his background. Erdogan came from poverty, when he was a teenager he used to take his 2.5 lira allowance (less than a dollar) which he used to buy postcards and resell them on the streets. Erdogan is also religious which has deeply polarized the nation of Turkey. In Turkey, traditionally a small educated anti religious elite ruled over the vastly uneducated religious populace, set in place by Ataturk, who declared Turkey a secular nation. The Turkish army was included in the constitution to defend Turkey from it sliding backwards as Ataturk saw it back to the religious times of the Ottomans, leading to massive instability, at least 6 coups since its creation . Before Erodgan the religious people in Turkey were persecuted, viewed negatively by the elite and unable to wear religious clothing in university,
Things have changed since Erdogan has come to power. In 1994 Erdogan was a darkhorse candidate in an Istanbul Mayoral election, He was mocked and treated as a (Koylu) a country Bumpkin by the mainstream media. He won however and did a great job tackling the many problems Istanbul had. Implementing surprisingly liberal reforms such as decreasing pollution and improving the cities infrastructure, He even was awarded The UN-Habitat award.
His term was going well until December 1997 he recited a poem from a Pan-Turkish activist while giving a speech. The poem was religious and translated as "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers...." Under a hate speech article in the Turkish Penal Code his poem was regarded as an incitement to violence and religious or racial hatred. He was given a 10 month prison sentence and banned from holding political office.
This emboldened him to the populace and his popularity skyrocketed. Erdogan along with his ally Abdullah Gul united and they formed a new party. Before this any form of religious party would have been blacklisted and banned from Turkish politics so Erdogan and Gul found a way around this, they did not explicitly lean into religion they stated the party was a center-right party with Islamic values. The party was named Adalet Ve Kalkinma Partisi, or the AKP party.
The party strongly values Islamist ideals but to this day has strongly denied it. They focus heavily on Turkey’s Ottoman past and Islamic identity contrary to Ataturk who wanted Turkey’s future to lie with the west.
Erdogan and Gul dominated the elections of 2002 with this new party winning 34% of the popular vote and 2/3 of the partliment. Think of the Turkish system as like the British system, the 2nd largest party in this election was CHP (the demigod, Ataturk’s party) only winning 19%. Erdogan was still banned so Gul became the prime minister, Gul later lifted this ban and Erdogan became Prime Minister.
Turkey Is a deeply polarized state, Imagine having Trump for 20 years instead of only 4… When Erdogan ran for president in 2007 millions of people began protesting for fear that if he won the presidential election he would alter the secular nature of the Turkish state.
Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for 20 years now.
In his first 10 years as leader he actually did great things, he passed a series of reforms from 2002 to 2011 that increased accessibility to healthcare and housing, distributed food subsidies, increased funding for students, improved infrastructure in poorer districts, privatized state-owned businesses, increased civilian oversight of the powerful military, overcame economic crises and oversaw high rates of growth of GDP and per capita income.
His goal was to get Turkey into the European Union. He was flying high but the Europeans kept increasing the requirements for entry out of fear of erdogans alleged islamist and authoritarian ideals.
Erdogans authoritarian side showed itself when he began limiting freedom of speech and increasing government control on the media,
Erdogan got caught up in a corruption scandal involving his son and with his aggressive stance on the Syrian Civil war eventually the situation reached a fever pitch when in 2013 nationwide protests broke out. Erdogan violently suppressed them and it turned into chaos with 11 fatalities and over 8,000 injuries.
After his brutal crackdown Erdogan passed laws giving the government the ability to censor social media, banning Youtube, he also allowed police to use brute force.
The EU responded by postponing Erdogan’s sought after European Union membership. Infuriating Erdogan
After this Erdogan began openly embracing his islamist ideals, speaking more open “women should be mothers” began restricting alcohol and abortions, started closing public schools. Converting some into Imam Hatip (religious schools) or building new ones.
Turkey as aformentiond has received scrutiny for its alleged support of Jihadist factions of the FSA as well as ISIS. Step aside Hillary you are small time when compared to Berat Albayrak Erogans Son-in-law, the website Wikileaks released over 57,000 emails between Erdogans son in law and alleged ISIS members about smuggling oil through Turkey.
During the 2014 siege of Kobani ISIS was reported by many newsoutlets to be attacking Kurdish defenders from Turkish areas.
This does not however mean that Turkey is an ally of ISIS, Turkey has been the victim of numerous terrorsits attacks from the Caliphate. But it should be noted Turkey is far more vindictive towards their Kurdish enemies who they have been at war with since 1978. ISIS and Turkey both Sunni states, as well as Assad the FSA, Iran, Russia , The Kurds and The USA are all willing to embrace Machiavellian means to achieve their end goal.
###
The great powers The USA, Russia, and China almost always disagree but could agree on one thing and that was that ISIS is bad news. They came together and agreed, that ISIS needed to be stopped. However, that didn’t mean they would be working together…
In Late 2015 Russia rapidly escalated its military involvement in Syria. Russia had always supported Assad (mostly politically and with small arms) but after a letter from Assad to Putin requesting heightened Russian Aid, Putin asked the parliament in Russia for access to use the air force in Syria. It was approved.
In the west many saw this as a Faustian bargain. Assad explains it differently
INSERT ASSAD ON PUTIN
The Obama administration refused to back down and Obama announced they would continue supporting the rebels (THE FSA who weren’t Jihadists) and the Kurds
Russia claimed they were targeting ISIS but the USA claims 90% of their attacks were against the Turkish supported FSA.
The war was now turning into an all out proxy war between the USA and Russia
After the US-backed airstrikes in the east, ISIS vowed revenge and began ramping up their attacks on the outside players.
In Mid-November 2015 Russian Flight 9268 exploded shortly after leaving an Egyptian airport With its death toll of 224 people,[6] Flight 9268 is the deadliest air disaster both in the history of Russian aviation[a] and within Egyptian territory. Isis later claimed responsibility,
2 weeks later, a series of coordinated terrorsits attacks in Paris occurred, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, during an international football match, after failing to gain entry to the stadium. Another group of attackers then fired on crowded cafés and restaurants in Paris, with one of them also blowing himself up. A third group carried out another mass shooting and took hostages at a rock concert attended by 1,500 people in the Bataclan theatre
The attackers killed 130 people,[3] including 90 at the Bataclan theatre.[16][17][18] Another 416 people were injured,[6][19] almost 100 critically.[7][8] Seven of the attackers were also killed.[5] The attacks were the deadliest in France since the Second World War,[20][21] and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid train bombings of 2004. ISIS again claimed responsibility.
RUSSIA AND TURKEY PROXY WARS LIBYA
Libya experienced a similar situation to Iraq, It was a land full of differing tribes, with an Iron ruler keeping the scene stable, Muammar Gaddafi.
When Gaddafi was deposed and killed -story- sectarian violence sprung up all over the region. Tribal chaos erupted with each tribe attempting to fill the power vacuum caused by his death.
Libya where many of the Jihadists now fighting for ISIS came from was also
In late 2015 the migrant crisis EU began closing its boarders to migrants
After this both Russia and France significantly intensified their strikes in Syria, France closely coordinating with the U.S. military. This led to a greater strain in relations between the two superpowers the USA and Russia.
On 19 November 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama, said he was unable to "foresee a situation in which we can end the civil war in Syria while Assad remains in power" and urged Russia and Iran to stop supporting the Syrian Ba'athist government. Making The United States intentions clear,
Tensions increased again when On 24 November 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane that allegedly violated Turkish airspace and crashed in northwestern Syria,
The Russian pilot and weapon systems officer both ejected from the aircraft before it landed. the pilot was shot and killed by Syrian rebel ground fire while descending by parachute,
Turkmen Syrian opposition rebel brigade in Syria, Alparslan Çelik (a Turkish citizen and member of the Grey Wolves ultra-nationalist group[65][66][67]), claimed his forces had shot dead the two pilots as they descended with parachutes,[68] and in a leaked video about the event, a person could be heard in the background repeatedly shouting "Stop shooting!" in Turkish as the parachutists descended
Shooting a pilot after his aircraft has been destroyed is considered a war crime.
the weapon systems officer survived but was alone and deep in enemy territory.
Two Mil Mi-8 helicopters were sent to find and recover the pilots from the crash site. One of the helicopters was damaged by small-arms fire from Syrian Turkmen Brigade militants, resulting in the death of a naval infantryman, and was forced to make an emergency landing.[80] All the surviving crew of the helicopter were later rescued and evacuated
As the Russian armed forces began planning an operation to extract the pilot, the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani contacted them and proposed a joint rescue operation under his supervision. The rescue team which General Soleimani put forth consisted of eight Hezbollah special forces personnel and 18 Syrian commandos, who were trained by Iran and had firsthand knowledge of the geography of the area, with Russia providing transport, logistical support, air cover and satellite intelligence.
The Rescue mission was a success and Konstantin Murahtin (the weapons systems officer) was returned to base safely and handed over the pilot to the Syrian Army. Vladimir Putin was reportedly closely following the operation.
this was the first Russian or Soviet Warplane shot down by a NATO member state since the Korean war. The USA defended its ally Turkey’s actions.
A coalition was beginning to form in Syria, and Qasem Soleimani the posthumously famous Iranian commander of the Quds Force secretly visited Moscow to work out the details of the joint campaign. The Coalition was known as 4 + 1, the 4 being Iran, Iraq, Russia and Syria and the 1 being the stateless Hezbollah.
According to Russian ministers both the USA and UK were invited to join the Baghdad-based information center but received what he called an "unconstructive" response
In late December 2015, Turkey′s president Recep Erdogan said that he had declined Russian president′s offer to join this alliance as he "could not sit alongside a president [Assad] whose legitimacy" was dubious to him”
In August 2015, Russia began to send Russian-operated warplanes, T-90 tanks and artillery, as well as combat troops to an airbase near the port city of Latakia in Syria
This was a politically significant move for Russia, after a decade of sanctions and isolation imposed on them by NATO and the west after sparking wars in Georgia and Ukraine, Russia was flexing its muscles to the world.
Russia also wanted to support Syria because it allowed them to control the piplines from the middle east to Europe, giving Russia dominance of European gas.
In the early months of 2016 the war began turning in favor of the Pro-Assad forces. With significant gains being made in the west due to Russian airstrikes and ground support from Iran and Hezbollah. The Syrian army was recapturing major cities. By the end of March, the Syrian Ba'athist government forces with support from Russia and Iran successfully re-captured Palmyra The UNESCO world heritage sight, from the ISIS.
The Russian tactics and weapons used in the offensive have been compared to those used in Grozny against Chechen separatists.The U.S. government publicly stated that Russia was committing ″flagrant violations of international law″ in Syria and urged investigation of war crimes
The Russian backed Assad began destroying the FSA with their tactic of
1) blockading a city and not allowing food or medicine in it
2) bomb – demolish an area until no resistance is left (using the Russian airforce)
3) evacuate – let survivors leave clearing bad guys
This tactic was used in Aleppo, which before 2011 was the largest city in Syira. The Siege of Aleppo had been raging on since the beginning of the war and saw numerous humans rights violations, The east of the city was controlled by the rebels, with the west by Government forces. (including Sheikh Maqsood the Kurdish neighborhood in the north)
The reason its called the siege of aleppo is because using the Russian airforce Assad was able to pin down the rebels in the eastern half of the city and surround them. Using tactic #1 Assad starved eastern Aleppo breaking the will of both the rebels and civilians.
Following this they bombed using the Russian airforce, demolishing the eastern half, destroying Old Aleppo a preserved ancient city.
And tactic 3 evacuate surviving civilians, the UN reported numerous Massacres after Aleppo was retaken.
In the closing days of the battle for the city, the Times of Israel reported that "Testimonies emerging from the city since Monday detail brutal atrocities being committed by pro-government Syrian forces.
The Kurdish district Sheikh Maqsood was spared from the Governments onslaught, The Kurds and government forces rarely fought each other has they were focusing on ISIS and the FSA respectively;
However the Kurds left the region to go defend the city Afrin and the northwestern districts which were under attack from another enemy of theirs; Turkey
The Turks had been shelling their Syrian Kurdish neighbors since the war began,
The Syrian Kurds with support from the USA and Russian Airstrikes were beginning to defeat ISIS and take more land, Eventually they crossed the Euphrates river (which runs through the middle of Syria cutting it in two) this frightened the Turks as they saw a Kurdish state growing in strength on their border.
On February 22, 2016, a U.S.–Russia joint cease-fire deal was announced to take effect in Syria on Feb. 27, but the "cessation of hostilities" did not include ISIL and the al-Nusra Front, the main jihadist factions. On Feb. 24, Turkish president, Erdoğan, during a speech said that "The PYD and the YPG (both Kurish groups) need to be out of the scope of the cease-fire, just like Daesh (ISIL) is,".[252] Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would continue shelling Kurdish militants across the border in Syria, despite calls from Washington and other Western capitals to halt the attacks.
This was significant as it showed the world Turkeys increased boldness, long gone were the days of submitting to American pressure. President Erdogan’s rhetoric also was changing. Erdogan regularly would spread propaganda about both the Americans and the Russians, depending on who he felt best benefited turkey.
On 4 March 2016, the YPG militia said that Turkey's tanks had fired dozens of shells at its positions in the area of Afrin in northwest Syria.[257] Russia's Defense Ministry reported that Turkey continued to shell Kurdish forces in Syria, hampering their operations against Al-Nusra, and at the same time funneling supplies to the militant-controlled areas at the border.[citation needed] The Ministry also stated that jihadists and Turkish trucks supplying them continued to freely cross the Turkish-Syrian border.[258] On 6 March, jihadists shelled Turkish areas from Syrian territory in an attempt to provoke a response that could lead to Ankara sending troops into the neighboring country.[citation needed] On 8 March, Mortar shells fired from Syria in Turkey and killed 2 civilians, the Turkish military returned fire into Syria. According to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Islamic State militants were responsible for the attack.
North of Aleppo on the west bank of the Euphrates river in an area called the Manbij pocket, the Kurds began the Manbij offensive against ISIS, Supported with USA airstrikes. The goal was to cut off supply links across the Turkish boarder for ISIS members. A mass airstrike campaign started the offensive from the USA. 55 separate airstrikes were conducted.
On 3 April, the U.S. asked for Turkey's support for the Manbij offensive, but the Turkish government made two demands in exchange for helping the international military intervention against ISIL; first, that the Syrian Arab tribes to be included in the Manbij operation should leave the SDF (kurds), and second, that the U.S. should increase its airstrikes in support of Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.[87] On 4 April, according to a Turkish source, a group of U.S. military and intelligence staff traveled to Turkey to work on a plan for an operation to capture Manbij.[87] The Turkish government later stated that it would not participate nor contribute to the offensive,[88] because of the involvement of the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units (YPG), and because it was beyond the range of artillery stationed in Turkey.[89][90] When the offensive started, the Washington Post reported it under the headline of "Ignoring Turkey, U.S. backs Kurds in drive against ISIS in Syria".
During the late summer 2016 Turkish military intervention in the Syrian Civil War in Shahba region, U.S. Special Operations Forces embedded with SDF (Kurdish) forces, to successfully deter Turkey and Turkish-backed jihadi rebels from attacking SDF forces south of the Sajur river.[223] Furthermore, the United States Department of Defense confirmed that U.S. Special Operation Forces were flying U.S. flags in the town of Tell Abyad in Kobanî Canton to deter Turkish harassment shelling or attacks against SDF forces there.
Even as early as March 2014 an audio tape recording of high-level Turkish officials discussing Turkey's Syria strategy was released on YouTube. The officials discussed a false flag operation that would lead to an invasion of Syria. YouTube was once again, blocked in Turkey
Erdogan has said he would "never allow the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Syria". a number of Turkish newspapers reported that Ankara was considering a ground operation to establish a buffer zone in Northern Syria to prevent Syrian Kurds from declaring an independent state, a zone 110 km long and 33 km deep along the Turkish border.
The military demanded legal backing for such a move,[276][277] and on 29 June 2015, Erdoğan chaired a meeting of the National Security Council to provide just that.
Leaked plans stated that, sometime during the first couple of weeks of July, up to 18,000 troops would invade Syria via the Jarablus and Aazaz border crossings (Located next to the Euphrates river) areas in the hands of ISIL and the Free Syrian Army, respectively,
and set up a buffer zone to which the massive number of Syrian refugees in Turkey could be repatriated.
On August 24th In Ankara Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "at 4 am this morning, operations started in the north of Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country"
Hezbollah said Turkey and Saudi Arabia were using the Islamic State group as a "pretext" to launch a ground operation in Syria.
Turkey no longer was taking orders from Washington, Now, Turkey was officially at war with Syria.