James Fetzer: Turkey wants to regain land in northern Syria
Press TV's interview with James Fetzer, a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth from Madison, about Washington's calls for Ankara to stop attacking US-backed factions of Kurdish militants in Syria
Press TV: How are Turkey and the United States going to come to terms with one another if one is fighting a group the other supports that is the Kurdish forces?
Fetzer: This is a highly volatile situation. Turkey has come into Syria without the permission of the Syrian government. This is a clear violation of international law. It’s obvious that there is a dual objective here but it has nothing to do with ISIS or Daesh. Turkey wants to regain land in northern Syria that it regards historically as belonging to itself and use the subterfuge of attacking ISIS to take out the Kurds whom they regard as a threat to Turkey.
Press TV: On the one hand, the Turkish forces are fighting Daesh militants, which apparently should be a positive thing; but on the other hand, they have invaded Syrian territory, you’ve mentioned, to which Syria has responded with condemnation. So what do you think is the solution for this apparent conundrum?
Fetzer: What’s evident to me that raising these issues is going to lead to a request from the United Nations, for the United Nations to intervene, which the United Nations will decline to do. And the next step will be to request the Russians who have been in Syria at the request of the Syrian government to take measures to repudiate the Turkish attack, which I believe will follow.
Press TV: I come back to my first question which was how are Turkey and the United States will come to terms with one another over this group?
Fetzer: It’s an impossible situation in so far as the United States is supporting the Kurds who have been among the most resilient fighters [against] ISIS. With the exception of the fact that the United States created ISIS, there is a clear conflict here that appears to be unresolvable ... the United States and its support for the Kurds and Turkey’s desire to take them out. We have a situation here that is fraught with a potential to produce the unspeakable outcome of World War III.
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