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The Turks and the Kurds in Syria

(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman - As Turkish forces pursue their long-overdue campaign in northern Syria, it is increasingly clear that their main goal is to reduce or destroy the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, largely Kurdish in composition, rather than fight IS. ; A far preferable alternative would be if both sides - backed by a strong and coherent U.S. policy - overcame their long history of hostility and struck a compromise under which the Kurds give up their dream of a long western territorial arm reaching the Mediterranean, while Ankara accepts the reality of Kurdish autonomy in northeastern Syria. The writer is a former deputy for foreign policy and international affairs at Israel's National Security Council.
2016-09-16 00:00:00
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