Airstrike Hits Turkish Forces in Syria, Raising Fears of Escalation

Trump is waiting for Putin to issue his orders regarding what actions he will take.

Turkey has had a long animosity with Kurdish terrorists which attack from Syrian territory. That is why Turkey has a problem with Syria. But Turkey is not blameless here. They have oppressed and killed Kurds in Turkey for generations. Another reason for US to not take sides in any Middle East disputes. These non-stop attacks by all sides has gone on for generations and will never end. And the only reason Russia is involved is to annoy the US and keep the US out of Middle East.

If there is any promise that Trump should keep is to stop endless wars and stay our of foreign conflicts especially the middle east. Leadership is also not sticking your nose in other peoples business. You have a dictator in Turkey, invading a country ruled by a dictator, and a Russian dictator who is arming both. Stand back and let's see where this goes. And by the way, I am not a Trump supporter and I won't vote for him in November.

Years of pleading brought little reprieve for Syria. If Syria goes up in flames it will take the global economy with it. With CoV-19 stalking the planet, a televised war in Syria will ignite reprisals. Everyone is going to pay triple for gas and food.

Bashir al Assad Putin Erdogan Iraq What could go wrong? Add US stupidity, and determination to interfere at all costs. We've supported way too many bad people. For example, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden (we gave him $40 million in Afghanistan, and he turned on us when we stopped funding him!). We also wrecked Central America, Vietnam, and Iran (replacing Mossadegh with the Shah, leading to Khomeini and the rest). if you're thinking Castro, for example, what do you know about Batista? "U.S.-backed Military Dictator from 1952 to 1959" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgencio_Batista Again, what could go wrong?

Seems as if the snakes in the pit have turned on each other. God help the children in these countries at war.

Turkey seems to be having a hard time deciding which side it's on. Perhaps Erdogan could call up his close friend Nicolas Maduro in order to get military help from Venezuela. Oh wait. Venezuela is a close ally of Russia. Perhaps Maduro could mediate between the two sides. But what's this talk about . . . what is it ?? N . . . A . . . T . . . U ?? Or was it N . . . A . . . T . . . I ?? Sounds familiar. Something from long ago.

Turkey and Syria are effectively at war, and pretty soon things could get completely out of hand with Russia too. In past times, the United States would have played a leadership role in seeking an end to this crisis before it deteriorated into an even larger conflict. Even the best of our Presidents would have been severely taxed to help ameliorate the situation as it has now evolved. Unfortunately, we do not have our best in the White House at the moment. What we have is an ignorant narcissist and a team of sycophants. I'm waiting for the moment when Erdogan invokes Article 5, and Trump turns to Ivanka and asks, "What's an Article 5?"

“We want Turkey to understand that we are the ones that they’ve been allied with.” Really ? And now that Turkey is on the ropes listen to the change. But sorry Turkey, It is doubtful you will get help from NATO & most certainly not from Trump.

So Erdogan and Turkey angers NATO by agreeing to purchase Russian made missile systems then they decide to unilaterally carve a corridor into Syria against US advice. Why, exactly, should anyone rush to their defense? There are a number of comments about Trump, but none really about Erdogan a true authoritarian leader. The man who purged the military, judiciary and universities of anyone who had an inclining of not siding with him. This is his mess. Has the world flipped on its head?

An attack on Turkey? Turkey has invaded Syria and has no business being there and supporting forces hostile to the UN recognized government. The Syrian government and its allies have every right to attack this invasive force and get it to return to its own territory. Turkey invades another country, its forces are bombed and then it cries and says it was attacked and now NATO should get involved. Get real!

This is a test for NATO, and one for Erdogan's leadership. With growing tensions, what happens if this becomes a conflict between Turkey and Russia? Russia and Iran have always been with Syria. Russia's involvement in the region, has created millions of people to flee and seek refuge, later becoming a crisis in parts of Europe. That is part of Putin's strategy. Yet, Erdogan considers Putin and Russia to be a friend.

And we're led by the most clueless Commander-in-Chief in our nation's history. That so many can still support Trump is indicative of many things - not the least of which is our overall decline in intelligence and morality among citizens, and overall increase in greed.

Trump is most consistent in his absolute devotion to Putin.

Very BAD news, NATO Turkey in combat with Russian military and, no matter how much most commentors here hate to acknowledge it, but GOOD news and thank you Donald Trump for pulling us out of this Muslim civil war when you did. We went there to fight ISIS and thank the Kurds but there is no way were going to stay afterwards to get involved in this mess -now teetering on WW III- to intervene between our allies Turks and Kurds. Sorry, mission creep, just like Vietnam.

The Turks failed to notify the Russians about their troop movements in real time. The Syrian army was attacked by their proxies several times the days before and the Syrians hit back. Putin and Erdogan talked over the phone.

Luckily Russia has already hobbled our country by getting their stooge elected president. Buying a chump to be the US president was a brilliant move on Putin's part and one which might pay off big time for him now. I wish Americans had the intelligence and the information to make better political decisions but that is just a dream today. Be sure to watch Fox News to see what the official US response will be, since they are in control of our country under the rule of Trump.

Selective reporting of carefully vetted 'facts' conveniently focusing on the negatives committed by the usual 'bad actors' is not helpful. But as we all know by now, other, than facts, there are also 'alternative facts', or in other words, all coins have two faces. Here is the 'other side of the coin': Turkey reached an understanding with Russia that an all out assault on Idlib by the Syrian army will not be launched. That deal also included a commitment by Turkey to stop the rebels from attacking the Syrian army, which the Turks simply neglected to do, continuing to assist and supply the rebels (all factions of them, even the most radical ones). The result was that the rebels feeling emboldened increased their attacks against the Syrian army, which the army didn't take lightly and hit back hard, as any other would. Now Erdogan is running to NATO to do exactly what? Stop the legitimate Syrian government attempting to take back its own territory? Let me guess. It's all 'for the children'.

Turkey is not used to fighting when a superior force hits it. Watch for the cowards to back down as they attacked the Kurds but lack the backbone to take on Putin. Turkey has no role in Syria.

In a brilliant tactical placement, the US kept these forces apart using a handful of American troops supervising a Kurdish force who took the pressure in exchange for use of the land. Donald Trump ended that strategy without ever understanding it, leaving a dangerous and uncontrolled situation, to America's shame.

So Trump may very well abandon a NATO ally to his Russian buddy, Putin, using the excuse that he doesn't want us to get involved in another mid-Eastern crisis. Very telling indeed, how Trump may destroy NATO and do Putin's business for him! Trump's advisors and Trump himself become the most incompetent set of foreign policy failures in the history of the nation. And the Republicans who made national security one of their primary objectives for the past 70 years sit silent. The ironies abound!

Is this yet another chess move of Putin in his patient, long game to destroy the Western Alliances? First came backing Trump ("Russia, if you're listening..." back in 2016), then the fiasco called Brexit, and now this...

It is certainly horrible what Assad backed by Russia is committing in that region and throughout the entire civil war. But what is Turkey doing there, with troops in another country? "Safe zone"? First it appeared an action mainl against the Kurds in that region. And it was crazy Trump's politics that had allowed or provoked the Turkish invasion! Why should NATO share the Turkish interests, which are not primarily humanitarian, in that region?

This is Putin's move. Its objective goes far beyond Idlib, Syrian atrocities, a no-fly zone, or anything else that may have been the excuse for such a brazen attack. Because if NATO doesn't respond, Article 4 will have been rendered inoperative, which would be a major defeat for the west.

There’s so many things to say about this that it would take too long to say them all but here goes. First, good for Trump for keeping us out of this so far, it’s a quagmire and a stalemate and he would be relentlessly and brutally attacked by the Democrats if he were involved in this war.  Second, where is the outrage from the international community on the continued carnage in Syria? How does the obsessive, non proportional and continued focus on the Palestinian issue make any sense in light of this disaster against the Muslim world? Why doesn’t Erdogen suffer the same invectives and criticism that Netanyahu faces? Why does Russia get a complete pass in the international community with no outrage for their backing of the Syrian regime? And if anybody says they do how many articles are written in the New York Times about these kinds of issues versus the Israeli/Palestinian conflict I bet you’ll find it’s more tilted towards the latter. Third and finally, until Democrats find their voice against this complete humanitarian disaster in Syria including the four amigos in Congress, I cannot take their moral outrage at Trump, at Israel, and Republicans seriously since this issue clearly dwarfs everything else, their silence is an attack on Muslims, it is an attack on Western values and power, and it is enabling Russia’s impunity. 

Erdoğan played a dangerous game and now he is paying. He buys missile defense systems from Russia and expects NATO to come running when Putin pulls the double cross. My guess is he is probably on his own. There will be statements of support but thats about it. In this scenario Syria doesn't kill Turkish troops without the support, both military and diplomatic, of Putin. They aren't waiting till the end of the month to see if Erdoğan will make good on his threats. Erdoğan now appears weak and vulnerable. He can throw caution to the wind or withdraw. Any delay invites more attacks on Turkish positions and and an erosion of support for him at home. There is no advantage for the Syrians to agree to a pause and they know it. This is a tipping point for both sides and as usual the lives of so many innocent people are in the balance.

The stability we enjoyed for decades under the "old" world order with international alliances and treaties is coming undone. This is good news. Isn't it. At least to Steve Bannon and the Trump administration. Shake things up. Tear things apart. Drain the swamp. Down with the status quo. Create chaos. Out with the old, in with the "new?" Yet somehow I find all of this "progress" difficult to celebrate.

If a NATO member is invading another country it is not a NATO issues to care about. It is the sole decision of the Turkish government. I understood this is a clear message from Putin to president Erdogan. I am deeply sorry for all the victims. Russia did back Syria since the 1960´s so no surprise that they will not allow the Assad regime to fall.

This is Turkish military adventurism. NATO is a mutual defense organization. Not a mutual attack organization. If NATO would be obliged to support it there it would also be obliged to support the US in all its military adventures all over the world.