"Turkey's requests for support and assistance from its NATO allies appear to have fallen flat." I agree with the analysis advanced by an expert at Sciences Po in this article. It tracks mine in tweets since last night.
The article touches on the critical issue of possible shifts in Turkish public opinion in the event of further significant TSK casualties (until now minimal). For now, I detect a predictable rise in patriotic sentiment. That can change, as the article suggests.
It's important for Americans to understand that the pocket of NW Syria being defended by Turkey against the Syrian regime (backed by Russian forces both official and unofficial) is the last redoubt of a mixture of jihadist forces, including Al Qaeda,
that Turkey has nurtured, armed, and used as a proxy force for many years. They are the forces that Turkey threw into the fight against Kurdish forces allied w/ the U.S. until Trump suddenly (and mysteriously) abandoned them. They are the perpetrators of vicious war crimes.
Trump was heavily attacked for abandoning the Kurds, including by allies like Lindsey Graham. For him to lift a finger now in defense of Turkey's position in Idlib would trigger a reprise of that politically painful episode for Trump. It's not going to happen.
All of which is to agree with the posted article's observation that Erdogan is now dangerously exposed, and faces critical decisions. End.
