Is Trump ‘playing with fire’ by backing Kurds in Syria?
Turkey says it is threatened by a new US-trained army of 30,000 mainly Kurdish soldiers on its border.
US support for Kurds in Syria is leading to threats of retaliation from Turkey.
A coalition of countries led by the US is planning a 30,000-strong force in Syria, just across the border with Turkey.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks the Kurdish-led force is a threat and is vowing to attack the city of Afrin in northern Syria.
Afrin is a major stronghold of YPG Kurdish fighters. Turkey considers the YPG a “terrorist” group linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Its PKK fighters have waged a long war against Turkish dominance.
How much volatility will be added to the war zone?
Presenter: Jane Dutton
Guests:
Giran Ozcan – Peoples’ Democratic Party representative to the US
Metin Gurcan – security analyst and former military officer in Turkey
Joshua Landis – Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma