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Turkey’s Failed Gamble in Syria

March 9, 2020

They Syrian Army liberating regions west of Aleppo and in Idlib Province

Syria-A Turkish Dilemma

Dispatches From The Edge

March 6, 2020

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest gamble in Syria’s civil war appears to have come up snake eyes. Instead of halting the Damascus government’s siege of the last rebel held province, Idlib, Turkey has backed off, and Ankara’s Syrian adventure is fueling growing domestic resistance to the powerful autocrat.

The crisis began on Feb. 25, when anti-government rebels, openly backed by Turkish troops, artillery, and armor, attacked the Syrian Army at the strategic town of Saraqeb, the junction of Highways 4 and 5 linking Aleppo to Damascus and the Mediterranean. The same day Russian warplanes in Southern Idlib were fired upon by MANPADS (man portable air-defense systems), anti-aircraft weapons from Turkish military outposts. The Russian air base at Khmeimim was also attacked by MANPADS and armed Turkish drones.

What happened next is still murky. According to Ankara, a column of…

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3 Comments leave one →
  1. Phil Jones permalink
    March 9, 2020 3:53 pm

    Good overview of the situation, Bob.

  2. tim mccarthy permalink
    March 12, 2020 2:57 pm

    it’s nice to see conn hallinan given some space

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