Mohnummers as cannon fodder

DESPITE SETBACK, KURDS APPEAR READY FOR WASHINGTON-MOSCOW SPOTLIGHT

While Russia’s sudden appearance in eastern Syria as the arbiter appeared to humiliate the US last week, it now appears the US and SDF might have an avenue to speak to the Russians about some shared interests. This is because the SDF now has signed agreements with the Syrian regime while Russia has signed an agreement with Turkey. Turkey is ostensibly an American NATO ally. Turkey’s main concern was to remove the SDF from the border and it has accomplished this. It has also provided Turkey’s government a way to pretend it won, and to funnel some unsavory jihadists into Syria so Turkey doesn’t have to deal with them in Idlib province. Turkey wants to dump as many Syrian extremists back into Syria as possible to cage them in and dilute them. Turkey didn’t commit many of its own forces to fighting the SDF between October 9 and 17, instead it sought to use the Syrian rebel groups as cannon fodder. Now the fodder has been used and Turkey and Russia signed their deal.

Mohummers seem unpopular in the Middle East. They are the barrel bottom.