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Instead of Thanks, Syrian Kurdish Militia, a U.S. Ally, Faces More Threats
(Washington Post) David Ignatius - The Syrian Kurdish militia has been a great partner for the U.S. and one of the extraordinary survival stories of the Middle East. Its commander, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, enumerates the sacrifices made by his group, the Syrian Democratic Forces, in the obliteration of the Islamic State in Syria: 11,000 of his fighters were killed, 24,000 were wounded, and many thousands of civilians perished or were driven from their homes. "That was the price we gave to defeat ISIS," Mazloum told me this week in Kobani. "The people here desire to have the fruit of the sacrifices they made." Turkish President Erdogan threatened this month to invade the Kurdish area, to crush what he claims is the Kurdish terrorist threat. Mazloum said he's ready to support a U.S. proposal for joint U.S.-Turkish patrols in northeast Syria - if it will forestall the Turkish attack. Mazloum warned that if Turkey does invade, "we will not keep the battle just in areas Turkey wants," but wage counterstrikes all along the 600-km. border between Turkey and Kurdish areas. Mazloum's forces have detained 12,000 Islamic State fighters who were captured when the caliphate was crushed. They include 2,500 foreign fighters, including about 1,000 Europeans, in addition to 3,000 Iraqis. If Turkey invades, he said, his fighters won't be able to guard the prisons - which means that thousands of potential terrorists could be loosed on the world.