Thread by @Charles_Lister

I've made my thoughts clear on how *bad* #Trump's decisions have been for #Syria policy (& the #SDF).

But let's just get something straight:

- The U.S. knowingly decided to ally with a designated terrorist organization (the #PYD/#YPG) in 2014 to fight #ISIS in #Kobani & beyond.

#pt: The State Dept, NCTC & CIA all viewed the #PYD as the #PKK's #Syria affiliate in 2013 -- that's in public documents.

That label was [quietly] removed in 2014.

In #Turkey - a #NATO state, whether we like it or not - the #PKK is viewed as *the* existential security threat.

#pt: #Turkey was complicit in terrible #Syria border control & ties to #Nusra. No doubt.

But put that aside for minute:

Imagine if a foreign state brought #ISIS to #Mexico & armed it to fight cartels, while assuring #Washington: "don't worry, they're only interested in Mexico."

#pt: There is a legitimate argument to de-list the #PKK.

But that's also mostly irrelevant.

What matters is the fact that U.S. policy vs. #ISIS engendered a dynamic that was *inevitably* going to explode at some point.

We appear to be at that point now. We did this knowingly.

#pts: The U.S may have been right to ally w. the #PYD; there were no perfect options.

BUT I & dozens of others have been shouting from the rooftops about how this was going to end.

The only response was to 'poo poo' #Turkey's concerns. That was naive... Now we & the #SDF lose.

#pts: I will reiterate, my comments here have nothing to do with *any* animosity to Kurds. I've engaged amicably with #Syria's Kurds - from all sides - for years.

This is *just* a comment about U.S. policy & the path to being squeezed out of #Syria that we paved for ourselves.

#pts: Finally, the recently published #SyriaStudyGroup report, mandated by the U.S Congress to propose #Syria policy, decided to 'come out' & honestly address the #PYD-#PKK issue, whilst still calling for giving it more support:

https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/status/1176585102299738112

#Ankara pounced on this.

Spot on @A_Sloat.

"The policy of assisting the #YPG to fight #ISIS has been a ticking time bomb since it began under the #Obama admin in 2014" -- no serious effort was made to assuage #Ankara's concerns & prevent the inevitable (what we're watching now).

washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/1…