Thread: This week marks the anniversary of the 2nd Turkish invasion of Northern #Syria ( #Rojava). President Erdogan threatens initiating new offensives against Syrian Kurdish-led forces. This thread recaps key related developments. 1/43
Oct 7 2019: US troops withdraw from some SDF-held areas paving the way for the Turkish offensive. The move leads to strong criticisms at home and abroad. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-49960973 2/43
Oct 9 2019: Turkey attacks Western-backed SDF, a multiethnic anti-ISIS Syrian force led by Kurds. At a Senate hearing @SenatorMenendez says US withdrawal was a "hell of way to send a global message. Don't fight w/ US b/c when they're finished w/ you, they will let you die." 3/43
December 2019: Russia and Turkey welcome US President @realDonaldTrump plans to withdraw SDF-allied US forces from Syria. US Congress and govt officials oppose the move. 4/43
US SecDef James Mattis and Pres. Envoy @brett_mcgurk resign against the withdrawal decision. McGurk says could not execute such a reckless decision, Mattis maintains firm stance on treating allies with respect
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/20/politics/james-mattis-resignation-letter-doc/index.html 5/43
Critics of the decision argue that 1) it would re-energize ISIS, 2) endanger Kurdish partners and 3) will boost Russian and Iranian interests. Ankara openly says it will bury Kurdish forces soon after US withdrawal announcement
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkey-threatens-to-bury-kurdish-militants-in-syria-amid-us-withdrawal/2018/12/20/06d8eb18-0460-11e9-958c-0a601226ff6b_story.html 6/43
Congressional leaders voice concerns. On Dec 21 2019Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC requests the admin to clarify for American people what would happen to the Kurds after withdrawal. Following a meeting with Trump on Dec 31 2019, Sen. Graham tweeted: 7/43
Feb 21 2019: @WhiteHouse announces a peacekeeping US force of 200 soldiers to remain in Syria
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47330402
US-Turkey talks ongoing on creating safe-zone along Syria-Turkey border. Envoy James Jeffrey leads US negotiations team. 8/43
Mr. Jeffrey served as US Amb in Turkey (2008-2010) and was awarded as American Friend of Turkey by TurkofAmerica magazine
https://turkofamerica.com/index.php/others/life-style/item/4876-american-friends-of-turkey-have-been-announced
When appointed as Special Rep for Syria in 2018, the US-based Turkish scholar Soner Cagaptay stated:
9/43
Safe-zone negotiations failed meeting Turkish demands. Ankara threatened to invade N. Syria. In July 2019, Jeffrey said he understands both Turkey’s concerns about SDF and Syrian Kurdish concerns about a Turkish military offensive
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/b2cc6d2c-6adb-4b92-9200-0afb127b3868 10/43
uly 17 2019: Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency leaks positions of 10 US military posts in Syria.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/342830-turkey-reveals-secret-us-military-locations-in-syria. 11/43
July 20 2019: @statedeptspox says @SecPompeo spoke with Turkish FM @MevlutCavusoglu and reaffirmed US commitment to addressing Turkish border security concerns, also reiterating obligation to ensure protection of local partners
https://www.state.gov/secretary-pompeos-call-with-turkish-foreign-minister-mevlut-cavusoglu-3/
12/43
August 2019: US and Turkey agree to establish a “Security Mechanism '' along the Turkey-Syria border. Kurdish-led YPG of SDF agreed to 1) withdraw its forces and heavy weapons from the border 2) destroy its fighting positions
https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/1945646/us-and-partner-forces-implement-security-mechanism-in-northeast-syria/
13/43
Despite the Security Mechanism agreement, in Sep 2019, @RTErdogan presented a map during his speech to UN General Assembly, showing areas to establish a "safe zone" under full Turkish control to resettle Syrian refugees, aiming to ethnically cleanse the Kurdish areas. 14/43
Oct 6 2019: @WhiteHouse releases a statement on @realDonaldTrump and @RTErdogan phone conversation and that Turkey will move forward with its long-planned operation in Syria
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-85 15/43
The @whitehouse statement was seen as a greenlight for Turkey to attack the Kurds. It was widely criticized by in Washington and elsewhere. On the following day, @MeghanMcCain blasted Trump on @TheView for the decision: 16/43
Senator @LindseyGrahamSC issues a strong statement, warning Turkey that there is a massive bipartisan opposition in the Congress against a Turkish invasion against SDF in Syria https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1181714248977833984?s=20 17/43
Ignoring the warning, Turkey began "Operation Peace Spring" against Syrian Kurdish-led forces, using Turkish-backed radical jihadist groups of the Syrian opposition to “bring peace to the region,” per @RTErdogan
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49983357 18/43
Senator @marcorbuio criticized Trump’s deal with Erdogan to attack the Kurdd. 19/43
Oct 9 2019: Senators @lindsaygrahmsc & @chrisvanhollen announce proposal for sanctions against Turkey
https://twitter.com/ChrisVanHollen/status/1182034387145302016?s=20
https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1182034455764094976?s=20
20/43
. @NyTimes, October 10th, 2019. 21/43
Oct 10 2019: Israeli prime minister @IsraeliPM offers humanitarian support for the Syrian Kurds, Turkish invasion continues to be widely criticised in the international community
https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1182268451269857281?s=2 22/43
Hamas, on the other hand, supports the Turkish offensive: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/hamas-turkey-has-right-to-remove-threats-along-borders/1613947 23/43
Per @StateDept officials, the USG refused to 1) endorse the invasion, 2) provide military support for Turkey, 3) oppose the invasion militarily and 4) if Turkey breaches the lines set by @realdonaldTrump, US would impose significant costs on Turkey
https://www.state.gov/senior-state-department-officials-on-the-situation-in-syria/
24/43
The red-lines per @StateDept officials were ethnic cleansing, indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Per @jakesNYT, @DeptofDefense officials accused @StateDept of being too passive about the issue, but the State Dept. denied the accusations https://www.state.gov/senior-state-department-officials-on-the-situation-in-syria/ 25/43
In an act of war crime, Turkish-back Islamist extremists murder female Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf. When @StateDept prepared condemnation letter, James Jeffrey blocked the letter!
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/exclusive-inside-state-departments-meltdown-kurds-90241
Video contains graphical images:
26/43
According to a report by @ForeignPolicy, Turkey used white phosphorus weapons against the Kurdish forces https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/17/turkish-proxies-chemical-weapons-syria-kurds/#:~:text=Turkish%2Dbacked%20forces%20appear%20to,Syria%2C%20Foreign%20Policy%20has%20learned.
Teen Mohammad Hamid was one of the victims of the banned weapon. His photo taken at a hospital was widely circulated in local and int'l media. 27/43
In an act of solidarity, the American city of Nashville lit the Korean Vetern Bridge with the colors of the Kurdish flag @MetroNashville 28/43
In another act of solidarity, the wife of an American soldier who had fought with Kurds in Iraq wrote a letter to the Kurdish soldiers, which was read by CNN’s @brikeilarcnn

29/43
As the war intensified US troops came under fire by Turkish-led troops. Trump then ordered US troops out of Northern Syria for redeployment in Iraq https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/10/12/us-forces-say-turkey-was-deliberately-bracketing-american-forces-with-artillery-fire-syria/ 30/43
Feeling abandoned, a group of local Kurds pelt the US convey with rotten vegetables
https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2019/10/21/us-military-convoy-withdrawing-from-syria-pelted-with-garbage-by-angry-residents/
31/43
Iraqi government officials announced that US troops leaving Syria cannot stay in Iraq after Secretary @EsperDoD stated that withdrawing forces will conduct anti-ISIS activities from Iraq
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-us-troops-leaving-syria-cant-stay-esper-defense-2019-10-22/
32/43
After the US withdrawal, the Syrian Kurds, short of options, moved to strike a deal with Damascus & Moscow to have Syrian govt & Russian military police deployed in some areas to fend off the Turkish attacks
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/syrian-army-deploy-turkey-border-orders-pullback-191013191238367.html 33/43
Famous American Hollywood actor George Clooney, the American Televangelist Pat Robertson & democratic presidential candidate @JoeBiden strongly criticized Trump for allowing Turkey to attack the Kurds:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-clooney-calls-trump-kurds-world-war-2-comment-pretty-shocking-1247025
https://www.newsweek.com/televangelist-trump-middle-east-kurds-christians-massacred-syria-1463680
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1182019902204334080?s=20 34/43
Turkish invasion united Kurdish people. Kurdish activists organized condemnation protests and a campaign to boycott Turkish goods. SDF commander @MazloumAbdi became a rising commander in Kurdish public opinon. 35/43
President @realDonaldTrump reached out to @MazloumAbdi who informed Trump that the city of Kobani is of paramount importance to the Kurds. Trump later ordered Turkey to refrain from attacking the city when @RTErdogan requested to speak with Trump
https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1183865854686986241?s=20 36/43
Trump enacted an executive order to sanction Turkey and tasked VP @mike_pence and @robertcobrien to lead a delegation to Turkey to negotiate a ceasefire between Turkey and SDF. @SecPompeo & James Jeffrey were part of the delegation. 37/43
Oct 17 2009: VP @mike_Pence announced ceasefire agreement reached with Ankara
https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/syria-turkey-10-17-2019/index.html 38/43
Turkish invasion, Kurdish agreement with Assad and Russia and repositioning of American troops in Syria drew a new political/military map. 39/43
Oct 22 2019: Jeffrey testified before the Senate on the offensive. In his introductory remarks, Jeffrey stated that Turkey felt that its existential security was not advanced by American policies, in a clear reference to SDF.
Full video:
40/43
In an exchange with @SenatorCardin, Jeffrey stated that US troops in Syria did not have orders to engage Turkey militarily. Senator Cardin stressed that the Turkish offensive could have been prevented if US troops had remained in the area. 41/43
Three months after the Turkish invasion, @amberinzaman interviewed SDF Commander @MazloumAbdi in an undisclosed location. He stated that Kurds are ready for dialogue if Ankara is sincere
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/01/syria-turkey-kobani-kurds-russia-us-sdf.html#ixzz6XwUlQbPq 42/43
A year after the Turkish-backed mostly Islamist Syrian armed groups were accused of human rights violations. @UNHumanRights called on Turkey to investigate possible war crimes in North Syria. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/18/un-urges-turkey-to-investigate-possible-war-crimes-in-north-syria 43/43
You can follow @KamalChomani.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
There are a lot of misconceptions about the Turkish diaspora in Germany. Since i just finished writing an essay about this topic I thought it's time to give other people
Read more
Las mejores calculadoras online en 2020A thread http://totumat.com/2020/11/26/las-mejores-calculadoras-online-en-2020/ Cuando se estudian asignaturas que requieren de cálculos complicados, nada mejor que contar con una buena calculadora.
Read more
Mitigating #ClimateChange is as much about taking up new techs as about leaving others behindMost studies focus on #coal's global downfall but another #energy tech decline is loomingRead my new
Read more