U.S .And Turkey Sign Deal To Arm And Train Syrian Rebels

U.S Ambassador John Bass and Turkish Foreign Ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu. Daily Sabah

Bloomberg: U.S. and Turkey Sign Agreement to Train Syrian Opposition Force

The U.S. and Turkey signed an agreement on training a Syrian rebel force to combat Islamic State as well as seeking the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

The accord was signed in Ankara late on Thursday by U.S. Ambassador John Bass and Feridun Sinirlioglu, the undersecretary at Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, state news agency Anadolu reported. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki had told reporters earlier this week in Washington that an agreement on training and equipping the rebels was close.

More News On The U.S .And Turkey Signing A Deal To Arm And Train Syrian Rebels

Turkey, U.S. sign deal to train and equip Syrian opposition: official -- Reuters
US Embassy: Turkey, US Sign Deal to Train, Arm Syrian Rebels -- AP
Turkey, US sign deal to train Syria rebels -- Deutsche Welle
US & Turkey Sign Deal to Train Syrian Rebels -- Reuters
US and Turkey agree to train and equip Syrian rebels -- Al Jazeera
Turkey, US sign agreement to train Syrian opposition -- Al Bawaba

U.S. - Turkey Far Apart On Expanding The Bombing Campaign In Syria

Smoke and flames rise over a hill near the Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, October 23, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach

Washington Post: Plan to expand bombing campaign in Syria stalls amid U.S.-Turkey disagreements

Update: Expansion of bombing campaign in Syria stymied by U.S.-Turkey discord -- Washington Times

WNU Editor: This difference of opinion on how to expand the bombing campaign in Syria is just fueling more speculation that President Erdogan Erdogan has a different agenda from the West when it comes to the conflict in Syria .... Erdogan’s Turkey drifts away from the west (Financial Times). What my take .... it is very disturbing to read reports like this one .... ‘Sleeper cells’: 3,000 in Turkey linked to ISIS, police report says (RT), and reports like this one .... Escape to Syria of Charlie Hebdo suspect shows Turkey’s role as jihadi highway (Stars and Stripes/McClatchy News). But what really caught my attentions was this one .... Busted! Turkey caught smuggling weapons to al-Qaida (WND). Individually .... these reports can be treated as an aberration and/or a rogue operation. Unfortunately .... there are many of these reports happening together .... and you cannot help but wonder if there is more to what is happening in this conflict than what they are telling us.

U.S. - Turkey Have Agreed To Train And Equip Syrian Rebels

Convoy of peshmerga vehicles makes its way to the Turkish-Syrian border, near the town of Kiziltepe, in the southeastern Mardin province, Turkey, Oct. 29, 2014.

Al Bawaba: US, Turkey to launch Syrian rebels' training by March, says official

WNU Editor: Aside from this agreement, it should be noted that ties between the U.S. and Turkey are not positive .... U.S. Denies Turkey Leftover Warships (Eurasianet.org)

More News On U.S. - Turkey Agreeing To Train And Equip Syrian Rebels Starting March

Turkey, U.S. to finalize Syrian rebel training this month: official -- Reuters
Turkey, US to sign deal to train and equip Syrian rebels -- Today's Zaman
US, Turkey close to deal on Syrian training effort -- The Hill
Turkey, US to train Syrian opposition fighters for three years -- Daily Sabbah
Turkey Deal to Train Syria Rebels to be Signed This Month -- Naharnet

Report: US, Turkey Close To An Agreement On Joint Military Missions Against The Islamic State

US, Turkey Reportedly Close To Agreement On Joint Mission Against ISIS -- FOX News

The U.S. and Turkey are close to an agreement on a joint military action against the Islamic State militant group in northern Syria, according to a published report.

The Wall Street Journal, citing officials from both countries, reported that the proposed deal would allow the U.S. and its coalition partners access to Turkish air bases to use as launch points for air strikes. The agreement would also provide for a protected zone along part of the Syria-Turkey border that would be off limits to Syrian government aircraft and provide protection for moderate Syrian rebels and refugees fleeing the country's bloody, three-year-long civil war.

Turkey has already agreed to allow 2,000 moderate Syrian rebels to be trained on its own soil, and has sent members of its special forces to northern Iraq to train Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

Read more ....

Update #1: U.S., Turkey Narrow Differences on Islamic State Fight -- WSJ
Update #2: U.S. close to deal with Turkey over Islamic State mission: WSJ -- Reuters

My Comment: I have always been deeply skeptical on Turkey's intentions and goals when it comes to Syria .... and this report of an agreement to permit U.S. war planes to use bases in Turkey to launch airstrikes against .... let me put it this way .... I have to see it to believe it.

Turkish Nationalists Attack US Sailors In Istanbul

Nationalist Youths Attack U.S. Sailors in Turkey -- New York Times

ISTANBUL — Members of a Turkish nationalist youth group assaulted three visiting American sailors in Istanbul on Wednesday, hurling balloons filled with red paint at them, putting white sacks over their heads and calling them murderers.

The Turkish authorities later arrested 12 people in connection with the assault, which the American Embassy in Ankara described as “appalling.”

A video posted online by the group, the Turkish Youth Union, or T.G.B., shows a dozen of its members staging an anti-American protest in the touristy Eminonu neighborhood and attacking the sailors, who were not in uniform, in broad daylight.

The sailors had just disembarked from the guided missile destroyer Ross, docked in Istanbul for a few days. They escaped and returned to the ship, and all shore leave for the crew was canceled.

Turkey, a NATO member, routinely allows such port calls from the United States.

Read more ....

More News On Turkish Nationalists Attacking US Sailors In Istanbul

Three U.S. sailors attacked by Turkish protesters -- USA Today/AP
'Yankee, go home!': Moment US sailors were attacked by angry mob of Turkish nationalists who pelted them with rocks and put white bags on their heads in Istanbul -- Daily Mail
In new video, U.S. sailors attacked in Istanbul by Turkish mob -- Washington Post
Turkish Youths Attack American Sailors In Istanbul -- Time
Turkish nationalists attack US sailors -- Deutsche Welle
U.S., Turkey to investigate attack on sailors -- Global Post/Xinhua
It wasn’t ISIL that attacked US sailors in Turkey. That’s good… and bad -- Bobby Ghosh, Quartz

U.S. - Turkey Relations Are Showing Strains On How To Fight Against The Islamic State

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses the Turkish Parliament during a debate marking the reconvene of the parliament in Ankara October 1, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Umit Bektas

Turkey's U.S. Relations Show Strain As Washington's Patience Wears Thin -- Washington Post

(Reuters) - The U.S. decision to air-drop weapons to Kurdish forces in Syria on the same day Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan dismissed them as terrorists is the latest false note in the increasingly discordant mood music coming out of Washington and Ankara.

No matter how much officials on both sides publicly insist there is harmony, differences in strategy over the fight against Islamic State and the fate of the beleaguered Syrian border town of Kobani are straining relations between the Washington and its key regional ally, leaving Turkey increasingly isolated.

Read more ....

My Comment: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan regards the Kurds as a far greater threat to Turkey than the Islamic State .... while the U.S. has an opposite view. But what is surprising about this "strained relationship" is the decision that has been made (from the U.S. and its allies) to simply ignore Turkey. This is new .... and I am sure that it is not going over well in Ankara.

U.S. State Dept. Defends Arms Sales To Turkey Despite It's Support For Hamas

View of the Department of State in Washington, DC. (Kevin Lamarque/courtesy Reuters)

State Dept. Defends Arms Sales to Turkey Despite Hamas Ties -- Washington Free Beacon

State Dept. has been holding up shipments to Israel

The State Department defended missile sales to Turkey just hours after news emerged that Ankara is hosting and abetting a senior Hamas operative who planned to violently overthrow the Palestinian government in the West Bank and wage war on Israel.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf defended the transfer of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to Turkey just days after she was forced to explain why the White House had stepped in to block similar weapons shipments to Israel.

Reporters at Harf’s daily briefing expressed confusion as to why arms shipments would be stopped to Israel yet permitted to Turkey, despite the latter nation’s increasing anti-Semitism and efforts to bolster Hamas terrorists.

Read more ....

My Comment: So .... the U.S. State Dept. defends it's approval of arms sales to Turkey (even though Turkey supports Hamas) .... but holds up arms shipments to Israel during it's war against Hamas. Am I the only one who sees this for what it is .... a U.S. message to Israel that is explicitly saying that we are more closer to your enemies than we are to you.