Turkey Allows Iraqi Kurds to Join the Fight Against ISIS

[k98nights]

Turkey Allows Iraqi Kurds to Join the Fight Against ISIS

The shift in policy—and alliances—underscores the importance of saving Kobani from the Islamic State.

Polly Mosendz

Oct 20 2014, 9:09 AM ET

People gather on a hilltop on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border (Lefteris Pitarakis/AP)

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced a new development on Monday in the fight to save Kobani: Iraqi Kurdish fighters will be allowed to cross into Syria through the border with Turkey, to assist the Kurdish fighters already on the ground holding off the Islamic State.

No further details were announced, as the minister only told BBC News that they would allow the passage of the fighters and discussion would be continued on the matter.

Thus far, Turkey refused to intervene in siege of Kobani, which sits just on the other side of their border with Syria. They have also refused to allow Kurds to cross the border to join the fight, in part because of their own conflict with the P.K.K., the internal Kurdish party that has battled the government in Ankara for decades. The P.K.K., which has ties to the Syrian Kurds, are considered a terrorist group by both Turkey and the U.S.

The change in policy came as "Turkey has come under pressure from its own Kurdish population, and more widely, to allow fighters in to help push IS out of Kobani, a town that has become highly symbolic of the wider battle against IS." The foreign minister echoed this feeling, telling the public, "Turkey has no wish see Kobani fall."

The United States has been aiding the Syrian Kurdish fighters, providing supplies and weapons, while also bombing ISIS targets in Syria. Overnight, just before Cavusoglu's announcement, 27 bundles of were airdropped into the area. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, has previously shown disapproval of this arming of Kurds by the U.S., however, he has not spoken out against this most recent airdrop.

Kurdish forces in Kobani are asking the U.S. for more aid, as they do not believe this most recent drop will be enough to fend off Islamic State terrorists permanently. "Certainly it will not be enough to decide the battle," Redur Xelil, a spokesperson for the Kurdish YPG group told Reuters in regards to the most recent airdrop. "We do not think the battle of Kobani will end that quickly. The forces of [islamic State] are still heavily present and determined to occupy Kobani. In addition, there is resolve [from the YPG] to repel this attack."

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/kurds-join-forces-with-turkey/381654/

[pontiyak]

The ALLOWED them to fight !!!! well golly gee whizzzz........

 

Every frickin' level headed muslim should be pouring into the region to eradicate these nut job terrorists.

 

sorry..I needed to rant..

 

The best things in life RV

 

yak

[Nadita]

Wonder what make them change their mind..? Turkey it's close to thanksgiving.. feeling the pressure huh...?????

Edited October 21, 2014 by Nadita

[gymrat76541]

I wonder how much Washington had to pay Turkey to allow that?

[Rayzur]

Wonder what make them change their mind..? Turkey it's close to thanksgiving.. feeling the pressure huh...?????

 

Yeah huh??? When I first read this last night, I decided not to post as it was hard to believe given their history.... Its kind of weird that the article calls them Iraqi Kurds versus Peshmerga.... which is the Iraqi / Kurdistan army.... of Iraqi Kurds... I know Obama called Erdogen and it was right after they got off the telly, like a few hours, and the announcement came... Would have love to heard that conversation....

Like hey Erdogan... you might want to turn on your internet even if you've banned it for everyone else, cause the entire world is watching ya'll's police arm ISIS on your borders in droves before they head off to Kobane...and we have to drop stuff to even the playing field so someone looked sane in this... Ya'll lost the UN Security Council seat...world peeps are demanding ya'll be dropped from NATO...and the Iraqi PM had to tell you not to shoot Kurds in Iraq.... oh... and the ISIS Embassy you allowed to open in Turkey... are you frickin nuts???  

Not sure why there's not much about this on the news in the US....but its all over the place around the world... The 400 reinforcements to ISIS yesterday came directly through Turkey... and Turkey turned away from the border, German, French and other EU countries who were taking medicine etc humanitarian into Kobane...

Erdogan has done everything but personally shoot at the Kurds on camera...his spin in addressing these many video accusations was the worst I have ever seen ... almost schizophrenigenic and Obama must have said  that we were not able to cover his alternate agenda anymore.... Hard to tell... but whatever happened... it was in direct contrast to everything Erdogan had publically stated up to that point.... 

And as another thought... if PYG is absorbed into Peshmerga...that would tie them more directly to Kurdistan to Iraq and therein the US control... (to the extent either one has any control over Kurdistan)  I think YPG has always been very clear... send us guns to match the US weapons ISIS captured.. and we will win.... It will be interesting to see how the Peshmerga will be received...