U.S. or Trump logic would be those that will fight and kill ISIS we want to arm. However, in some ways if Trump wants to get along with Erdogan in Turkey this is going to freak them out totally because they have been killing the Kurds in Syria lately. But, Erdogan also took Turkey from Democracy to Dictatorship and in some ways the Kurds have been much more useful in getting rid of ISIS than Turkey has been by the way. So, in this sense arming Kurds for the U.S. makes perfect sense.
President Donald Trump has approved a plan to
arm the Syrian Kurdish militia — an important U.S. ally in Syria in the
fight against ISIS.
The Pentagon said the move is significant
because it supports the notion that the Syrian Democratic Force is the
fighting force that will eventually go in to Raqqa,
a city in Syria's center which has been under ISIS control since 2014.
The move also reinforces the idea that the entire Syrian Democratic
Force, Syrian Kurds (YPG) and the Syrian Arab Coalition, has the backing
of the U.S.
"The (Syrian Democratic Force), partnered with
enabling support from U.S. and coalition forces, are the only force on
the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future," chief
Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said Tuesday in a statement.
Fighters
from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) stand guard at the
site of Turkish airstrikes near northeastern Syrian Kurdish town of
Derik, known as al-Malikiyah in Arabic, on April 25, 2017. Delil Souleiman / AFP - Getty Images file
Trump and members of his Cabinet spoke about
it during a meeting late Monday at the White House with Secretary of
Defense James Mattis joining by video teleconference.
The order has been signed and that "allows the
process to begin to function," one official told NBC News. Once the
order comes to the Pentagon, the U.S. can begin providing the Syrian
Kurds with arms and equipment fairly quickly since some equipment is
pre-positioned.
The officials could not say what might flow in first or how it would get there, but among the expected options are:
More effective infantry equipment: rifles, ammunition, armor and communication gear (radios)
The officials said the equipment could be
delivered by any number of methods: Ground convoys, C-130s, and air
drops are all possible, depending on what the equipment is and the area.
It is unclear whether the U.S. may provide bigger equipment.
The news about the U.S. plan to arm Syrian Kurds comes as the The Trump administration mulls sending as many as 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan,
a military official told NBC News, and as the White House makes moves
it believe will help American forces "start winning" again in the
region.
The Turks will be notified about the decision
on arming Syrian Kurdish forces soon and the Pentagon expects a strong
reaction. In March, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled to Turkey
to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who sees the YPG as terrorists.
U.S.-Backed Militias Battle for ISIS Capital0:39
Erdogan is expected to travel to Washington
D.C. to meet with the president next week — their first face-to-face
meeting since Trump took office — and one in which divisions over U.S.
support of the Syrian Kurdish militia are likely to be a point of
contention.
" We are keenly aware of the security concerns
of our coalition partner Turkey," White said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We want to reassure the people and government of Turkey that the U.S.
is committed to preventing additional security risks and protecting our
NATO ally."
Last week, the White House said Trump and
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed by phone ways to resolve the
Syria crisis — a six year old civil war which has left more than 500,000
civilians dead, displaced millions and drawn international outrage.
That conversation included a "discussion of safe, or de-escalation,
zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons."
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