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@TCFdotorg You should immediately read my just-published article on Trump's Syria decision: tcf.org/content/commen… and then you can scroll through this thread of relevant articles at a more leisurely pace:
U.S. Syria policy status update: Limited withdrawal on the ground, no withdrawal in the air, total withdrawal on Executive Branch Twitter.
NBC's @ckubeNBC & @carolelee on the Trump-Erdogan call: reinforces the idea that full retreat was a counter-threat or an emotional response to Erdogan's badgering. Not clear what current orders are—may still depend on Turkey—but Trump set the ball rolling. nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1… 
.@Charles_Lister's take on the Syria withdrawal decision. mei.edu/blog/trump-pav…
SDF/YPG's Mazloum Kobane hits the expected notes, saying he's been left with few choices except to pull troops from anti-IS duty to hold off Turkey and may seek a protection from Damascus as U.S. cover is withdrawn. @ckubeNBC & @MoshehNBC nbcnews.com/news/mideast/t…
Salim Idriss, head of the Turkish-sponsored SNA coalition, tries to reassure Kurds and minorities in northeastern Syria ahead of a potential attack and calls on SDF fighters to defect.
The brother leader has returned for yet another examination of the Syrian problem.
Ten minutes of @aaronstein1 picking apart Trump's Syria decision and the lunacy that led there. Best so far on the topic. warontherocks.com/episode/warcas…
@aaronstein1 Syrian Deputy FM Meqdad slams Turkey and the United States, tempts YPG with a deal: "the nation welcomes all its sons and we want to solve every Syrian problem in a positive and nonviolent way, but in a way that would preserve every grain of Syrian soil." alwatan.sy/archives/215316
@aaronstein1 Iran rejects any Turkish incursion in Syria, offers to mediate between Syrian and Turkish leaders on the basis of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the 1998 Adana Agreement. en.irna.ir/news/83508273/…
@aaronstein1 Important point here by @hxhassan: fears of a U.S. withdrawal (even if unfounded) may begin to unglue Arab groups from SDF: they are more American-dependent and more localized than YGP, and have more defection options. washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e… @KhattabAsser @LizSly @SarahDadouch
@aaronstein1 @hxhassan @KhattabAsser @LizSly @SarahDadouch On the Kurdish-Turkish lobbying war in Washington, by @SyriaDirect's Will Christou. It's David vs. Goliath in terms of resources. syriadirect.org/news/kurdish-t…
@TCFdotorg Anonymous NDF commander in Hassakeh weighs in on Trump's Syria decision, via @ajaltamimi. aymennjawad.org/2019/10/trump-… For more regime rage in print, SANA has published some sort of editorial, without the customary "a Foreign Ministry source told SANA" line. sana.sy/en/?p=175141
@TCFdotorg @ajaltamimi Turkey has moved troops to the Syrian border, including Akcakale/Tell Abyad, and the Turkish Defense Ministry says "preparations for the operation have been completed." bbc.com/news/world-mid…
@TCFdotorg @ajaltamimi The New Humanitarian's @annieslem looks at likely consequences for civilians if Turkey attacks northeast Syria. Aid workers say people in the region are "extremely worried" and some families near the border have already started to seek out safer areas. thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2019/10/0…
@TCFdotorg @ajaltamimi @annieslem Last time Trump wanted to leave northeast Syria, I wrote on how its aid infrastructure is bound up with the SDF. An Ankara/Damascus takeover will break current systems, scattering NGOs civilians depend on. Whatever your politics, this should be a concern. thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2019/…
@TCFdotorg @ajaltamimi @annieslem No good solutions, but soon-to-be new rulers could at least try to lessen the disruption: prepare, offer info, ensure safety/access, be open to re-registering NGOs, promise local staff won't be persecuted, etc. But this being what it is, neither Damascus nor Ankara seem to care.
If you liked the tweets, you'll love the movie.
Aljazeera English will feed you a steady diet of Syria-Turkey news on this link: aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/t…
The U.S. military has no plans to take charge of IS detention centers in al-Hol or elsewhere if the SDF guards shift to manning the lines against Turkey, write @LizSly and @missy_ryan. washingtonpost.com/national-secur… via @leloveluck
@LizSly @missy_ryan @leloveluck On al-Hol, don't miss:
• @OCHA_Syria's fact sheets, like this one: reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe…
• @leloveluck talking to BBC, at 52m: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0…
• @Elizrael's TNH report: thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2019/0…
• @Jake_Hanrahan & @khabat_abas on the IS women: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/50-…
• @OCHA_Syria's fact sheets, like this one: reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe…
• @leloveluck talking to BBC, at 52m: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0…
• @Elizrael's TNH report: thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2019/0…
• @Jake_Hanrahan & @khabat_abas on the IS women: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/50-…
@LizSly @missy_ryan @leloveluck @OCHA_Syria @Elizrael @Jake_Hanrahan @khabat_abas Damascus is double-signaling:
• To YPG: we're "ready to embrace all lost sons" if they help preserve "Syria's unity of land and people."
• To Turkey: "the Adana Agreement, if Erdogan's government were to respect and abide by it," can secure your border.
sana.sy/?p=1031236
• To YPG: we're "ready to embrace all lost sons" if they help preserve "Syria's unity of land and people."
• To Turkey: "the Adana Agreement, if Erdogan's government were to respect and abide by it," can secure your border.
sana.sy/?p=1031236
@LizSly @missy_ryan @leloveluck @OCHA_Syria @Elizrael @Jake_Hanrahan @khabat_abas SANA English leaves out the key bit about Adana's potential: sana.sy/en/?p=175254 However, I don't think this is some sort of elaborate Arabic-English doublespeak. It's more likely just due to Syrian state media being a steaming pile of nepotistic hiring practices and bribery.
@LizSly @missy_ryan @leloveluck @OCHA_Syria @Elizrael @Jake_Hanrahan @khabat_abas Erdogan says the Syria operation has begun. dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/…
@LizSly @missy_ryan @leloveluck @OCHA_Syria @Elizrael @Jake_Hanrahan @khabat_abas Factual errors aside, this is a conversation America should probably have had with itself some time ago and not necessarily through the medium of a human vuvuzela.
