Donttread is a great highlighter on this thread. His policies absolutely defined blown opportunities in Syria.
Ransom (12-15-2018)
Captdon (12-15-2018)
Captdon (12-15-2018)
Trump Admin tries to head off Turkish assault on Kurds in Syria.
Perhaps Erdogan wants something from the US. We won't attack the Kurds in exchange for X?Top administration officials, including President Trump, scrambled this week to head off a Turkish attack against U.S. Kurdish allies in northern Syria, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced an imminent assault.
In a telephone call Friday with Erdogan, Trump discussed Turkey’s concerns and the two “agreed to continue coordinating to achieve our respective security objectives in Syria,” the White House stated. The call followed contacts earlier this week between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and their Turkish counterparts.
On Wednesday, Erdogan said Turkey would carry out a cross-border operation in “a few days” against the YPG, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units that forms the bulk of the U.S.-backed ground force fighting against the Islamic State in Syria. It is known by the U.S. military as the Syrian Defense Forces, or SDF. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish fighters to be terrorists allied with separatist Kurds in Turkey.
ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
As you can clearly ascertain, there were many more highly influential elements backing rebels and ISIL elements. And your "Assad would have" is all nice and what not, but it's still a would have and thus a guess. Let's try to remain within the parameters of reality, of what did happen. Iran and it's Quds forces, Turkey's influence detailed here, Saudi Arabia providing foreign fighters into the fray, Iraq having it's own interests and opposition to rebels such as the Kurds. The Russians were very influential in both arming Assad, proving intel, and stabilizing the Syrian regime.
The United States was in fact late to the table. And you'd know that, Late to the Table your middle name.
don't drag up your errors Pete, that's not wise.