US Tells Turkey Ground Incursion in Syria ‘Will Not Resolve’ Its Security Concerns

The Turkish bombardments come after months of ground invasion threats from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who considers the SDF to be terrorists. This rhetoric has only intensified since the Istanbul bombing. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that Washington was “not in a position to say who was responsible” for the bombing in Istanbul and that the White House “did not want to see any actions within Syria”.

Jonathan Lord, senior fellow and director of the Middle East Security Programme at the Centre for a New American Security, argued that Washington's cautious tone is “almost permissive” of Turkish escalation, and it is clear that the US is “picking its battles”. “The primary objective is to cajole Turkey to be a good ally in Europe and support US efforts in Ukraine and Nato accession for Finland and Sweden,” Mr Lord told The National. “As long as Turkey doesn’t do damage to US interests, they have a green light.” But he added: “The very nature of the [Turkish] operation is undermining US interests and further destabilizing the region.”

Read the full story and more from The National.