U.S. Aid to Syrian Militia Strains Turkish Ties
The United States could provide the Kurdish fighters with enough weapons to seize Raqqa while restricting the flow of arms and ammunition they would receive after
that battle, said Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the head of the United States Central Command.
The question is whether the United States could arm Kurdish fighters without producing a violent backlash, such as a Turkish military
offensive to take control of Manbij or Turkish restrictions on the use of their Incirlik Air Base by American forces.
American officers appear heartened there is an increasing number of recruits, but they also say
that an assault against Raqqa would pit the lightly armed Syrian fighters against an enemy that is equipped with stolen Syrian tanks, antitank missiles and an abundant supply of car bombs.
ISIS said that They are essentially a light, irregular formation with fairly light weapons,
"They are going to need additional combat power." To take on ISIS in its lair, American officers say
the Syrian fighters will need antitank missiles, mortars, heavy machine guns and armored vehicles.
"We could meter things like ammunition." Another argument American officers make is
that because the United States and Turkey are NATO allies, Washington is in a position to look after Turkey’s interests in a way other nations would not be.
This is a critical moment for the Syrian Democratic Forces, which the American military says is 50,000 strong
and which it has nurtured to roll back the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL.
