Turkey’s Erdogan Wages a Dangerous War on Many Fronts by Ishaan Tharoor – Washington Post
Without a trace of irony, Turkey has dubbed the military offensive it is waging across its southern border with Syria “Operation Olive Branch.” It's hardly an apt name, given both the bloody nature of the offensive and the wide-reaching geopolitical havoc it has caused.
Since Jan. 20, Turkish forces and Turkish-backed militias have been engaged in battles with Syrian Kurds holding an enclave called Afrin, northwest of the Syrian city of Aleppo. Turkish authorities say they are fighting units that are an extension of the PKK, a violent Kurdish separatist group in Turkey that's seen by both Ankara and Washington as a terrorist organiBlog postAn entry in the SWJ Blog. Typically a short commentary, Op-Ed, or quick hit piece. Distinct from the separate and longer Journal Article.zation.
Reports suggest Turkish air and artillery strikes have damaged villages and killed civilians there, in addition to killing dozens of Syrian Kurdish fighters. Images are circulating online of the destruction wrought by a Turkish airstrike on an ancient temple complex dating back to the first millennium B.C.
“Step by step, we will clean our entire border,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared over the weekend. But the operation has created an international mess…