Turkish armed forces have rolled over the border with Syria and attacked ISIS soldiers in the town of Jarabulus in Syria. The Turks have used planes, tanks, artillery and special forces in a move to drive ISIS out of a town that ISIS has long held. Meanwhile, nearly 2000 Syrian Sunni rebels have massed near the battle and are poised to join the fight along with the Turks to oust ISIS from their positions. US special operators are also there assisting the Turks.
This is major, major news for a number of reasons, but it is getting scant coverage by the media.
1. The Turks have an enormous military that could easily roll over ISIS. The fight for Jarabulus should be over quickly if the Turks truly commit to winning the fight. It ought to be a rout for ISIS.
2. Jarabulus is on the last road still open between the center of ISIS power at Raqqa and the Turkish border. If the Turks and allies take this town, ISIS will be cut off from most routes used by ISIS recruits and supplies.
3. The Turkish move is a direct slap in the face for Assad and Russia, even though they are not taking part in this battle. If the Turks oust ISIS and put the non-terrorist Sunni rebels in control in place of ISIS, it will be a blow against Assad and his allies. They would not be likely to try to retake the town if such a move might bring in the active participation of Turkey. Turkish forces in this area also will hinder the resupply efforts of the Iranians for Assad.
4. The Turks may have entered the fight here just to keep the Kurds out of Jarabulus. Most of the Syrian side of the border with Turkey is controlled by the Kurds. Turkey is very suspicious of the Kurds since it suspects that the Kurds want to create a new national state for Syrian, Iraqi, Turkish and Iranian Kurds. There has been a low level insurgency in Turkey by the Kurds for years. Turkey will oust ISIS from Jarabulus, but its main goal may really be to block the Kurds from taking the area.
5. For a long time, ISIS funded itself by selling oil produced in its territory by exporting it through Turkey. The loss of Jarabulus will end what's left of that trade.
So this is a big deal, but the mainstream media is hardly covering it at all. Maybe if one of the Kardashians were to parachute into Jarabulus we could get coverage. Otherwise, the media just doesn't seem to care.
This is major, major news for a number of reasons, but it is getting scant coverage by the media.
1. The Turks have an enormous military that could easily roll over ISIS. The fight for Jarabulus should be over quickly if the Turks truly commit to winning the fight. It ought to be a rout for ISIS.
2. Jarabulus is on the last road still open between the center of ISIS power at Raqqa and the Turkish border. If the Turks and allies take this town, ISIS will be cut off from most routes used by ISIS recruits and supplies.
3. The Turkish move is a direct slap in the face for Assad and Russia, even though they are not taking part in this battle. If the Turks oust ISIS and put the non-terrorist Sunni rebels in control in place of ISIS, it will be a blow against Assad and his allies. They would not be likely to try to retake the town if such a move might bring in the active participation of Turkey. Turkish forces in this area also will hinder the resupply efforts of the Iranians for Assad.
4. The Turks may have entered the fight here just to keep the Kurds out of Jarabulus. Most of the Syrian side of the border with Turkey is controlled by the Kurds. Turkey is very suspicious of the Kurds since it suspects that the Kurds want to create a new national state for Syrian, Iraqi, Turkish and Iranian Kurds. There has been a low level insurgency in Turkey by the Kurds for years. Turkey will oust ISIS from Jarabulus, but its main goal may really be to block the Kurds from taking the area.
5. For a long time, ISIS funded itself by selling oil produced in its territory by exporting it through Turkey. The loss of Jarabulus will end what's left of that trade.
So this is a big deal, but the mainstream media is hardly covering it at all. Maybe if one of the Kardashians were to parachute into Jarabulus we could get coverage. Otherwise, the media just doesn't seem to care.
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