There is a growing skepticism among people in Turkey as to whether the U.S. is indeed a friend and ally, and judging by the events in the past few years can anyone with a bit of common sense be surprised?
If you know that a secessionist terrorist organization is targeting your friend and ally, would you cooperate with that organization?
Would you supply the terrorists with arms, equipment and training even if you knew that there is a chance that your arms and equipment will one day be used against your friend and ally?
The U.S. is not naive. It knows very well what it's doing and why. It also knows very well that one day the arms and ammunition it provided to the PKK terrorist organization and its Syrian offshoots the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG) will be used against Turkey.
The Americans have been telling Turkey that they will not tolerate YPG and PYD elements in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are leaving the operation areas against Daesh and moving to Afrin to combat Turkish troops and the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Yet, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has already acknowledged that nearly half of the PYD and YPG fighting forces have moved to Afrin to confront the U.S.'s "friend and ally" Turkey.
The terrorists are armed to the teeth with sophisticated U.S. weaponry and they will have even more as the Congress considers sending additional military aid to the tune of $550 million.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will visit Ankara over the next few days, says Americans "are aware of Turkey's concerns" regarding the PYD, YPG and PKK. But is that any comfort to anyone in Ankara? No, on the contrary; it only angers people in Turkey even further.
Being aware of our concerns and doing something to eliminate them are two different things. The Turkish people do not want to hear fairy tales neither they want to hear the Americans speak in "ifs" and "buts." They want to know what solid action the U.S. will take now that the PKK is moving American arms and assets meant to fight Daesh towards Afrin.
People in Turkey know that the PKK, PYD and YPG used sophisticated weapons provided by Washington to kill their tank crew in Afrin and this only adds to the growing anti-American sentiment in the country. People now openly question the U.S. government's sincerity and friendship…
Now that the Daesh threat in Syria is over, it is becoming clear that the Americans do not only want to create a PYD, YPG and PKK enclave for them but also want to mold them into a fighting force that will counter Iran's presence in Syria. The idea is to secure the Syrian borders with Iraq so that the notorious Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi forces cannot infiltrate into Syria. To bolster the PYD, YPG and PKK, the Americans have allowed them to occupy the oilfields that count for 70 percent of Syria's crude output.
So while the PYD, YPG and PKK battle Iranian forces in the north, the Israelis are doing the same from the south, operating from the Golan Heights.
What the Americans do not seem to care about is the fact that the same YPG, PYD and PKK terrorists can pose critical threats to Turkey's security. Is this what Americans do to their so-called friends and allies?
