The "peace corridor" that Turkey, along with the U.S., will form in the north of Syria has been a hot agenda issue.
The plan in question envisions the creation of a terror-free safe zone of 35-40 kilometers in depth on the Turkish border of the country, from the Euphrates River to Iraq, which has been dragged into chaos in the grip of civil war.
Ensuring authority in the region, which covers residential areas such as Kobani, Qamishli, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour, will reduce civilian deaths in the conflict. Moreover, this corridor is a hope for the return of Syrian refugees who have caused deep sociological, economic and political crises in European countries such as Turkey.
Turkey is an ideal partner because it has successfully conducted similar operations in the same region before. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has rendered the area secure by conducting operations in cities such as Jarablus, Afrin and al-Bab. It then transferred local governments to boards formed in accordance with the ethnic characteristics of the regions. The regions in question are the safest "oases" in the Syrian jungle today.
The agreement reached between Turkey and the U.S. on the operation has come to work in the field as well. Finally, a U.S. delegation of six members has come to the region for a Joint Operations Center to be established in Şanlıurfa on Turkey's border with Syria.
However, despite the developments, both public opinion and politics are cautious about this partnership. The vast majority of citizens think the U.S. is implementing Fabian tactics via the Peace Corridor project.
The government's statements indicate that Ankara is working extensively on other alternatives in the event of a possible "setback."
The reason for this distrust is not only because of the many frustrations embedded in the collective memory of Turks during the Barack Obama administration. There have been and are incidents that do not fit into the alliance in the era of President Donald Trump who implied that he was not very willing to stay in Syria, announcing that he intended to withdraw from the region just one year ago.
Even in the hours when the U.S. delegation arrived in Turkey, PKK/People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists in the operation zone were continuing their preparations for resistance. According to media reports of Turkish intelligence units, terrorists make it into the civilians and set bomb traps in streets and buildings. They dig ditches, take civilians hostage and force them to take up arms.
The PKK/YPG is the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to which the U.S. sent 200 trucks of weapons just last month on June 26.
I guess the U.S. did not send a military convoy, including pickup trucks, armored vehicles and fuel tankers, to be used against its own troops, which would patrol the peace corridor together with Turkish troops.
After all, we are talking about a huge state, which is not supposed to trust the pledge of terrorists whose only difference from Daesh is "secularism." They must have made a written agreement, right?
