Quote (Handcuffs @ Oct 11 2019 06:08pm)

It was accidental, and Turkey stopped upon receiving information from the US about the special forces' location. At least, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry.



Trump has a vested interest in the success of Turkey's economy because of his Trump Towers. He even said that he had a conflict of interest with Turkey many years ago. Seems wholly inappropriate then that Trump would make such swift decisions.

Quote (Arsenic_Touch @ Oct 11 2019 03:12pm)

"All precautions were taken prior to opening fire in order to prevent any harm to the U.S. base. As a precaution, we ceased fire upon receiving information from the U.S. We firmly reject the claim that U.S. or Coalition forces were fired upon." from turkey.

According to a middle east corespondent that spoke to coalitions forces, he said “They know we are there, we told them our position. There’s no other target in the area. They’re trying to drive us out. If Turkey can get us to leave so they can siege Kobane, it’s all over.”

And another statement “A senior Pentagon official said shelling was so heavy that the U.S. personnel considered firing back in self-defense.”

Quote (Arsenic_Touch @ Oct 11 2019 04:18pm)

So reports state that turkey bombed US special forces in syria, no reports of casualties as of now.

Quote (Arsenic_Touch @ Oct 11 2019 06:12pm)

"All precautions were taken prior to opening fire in order to prevent any harm to the U.S. base. As a precaution, we ceased fire upon receiving information from the U.S. We firmly reject the claim that U.S. or Coalition forces were fired upon." from turkey.

According to a middle east corespondent that spoke to coalitions forces, he said “They know we are there, we told them our position. There’s no other target in the area. They’re trying to drive us out. If Turkey can get us to leave so they can siege Kobane, it’s all over.”

And another statement from Natasha Bertrand “A senior Pentagon official said shelling was so heavy that the U.S. personnel considered firing back in self-defense.”

Quote (Arsenic_Touch @ Oct 11 2019 06:12pm)

"All precautions were taken prior to opening fire in order to prevent any harm to the U.S. base. As a precaution, we ceased fire upon receiving information from the U.S. We firmly reject the claim that U.S. or Coalition forces were fired upon." from turkey.

According to a middle east corespondent that spoke to coalitions forces, he said “They know we are there, we told them our position. There’s no other target in the area. They’re trying to drive us out. If Turkey can get us to leave so they can siege Kobane, it’s all over.”

And another statement from Natasha Bertrand “A senior Pentagon official said shelling was so heavy that the U.S. personnel considered firing back in self-defense.”

Quote

Turkish forces who launched multiple artillery rounds near a U.S. Special Operations outpost in northeastern Syria on Friday have known for months that Americans were there, according to four current and former U.S. officials, raising questions whether Turkey is trying to push American troops farther from the border.

Quote (IceMage @ Oct 13 2019 03:22am)

https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1182756792675139584

I was skeptical of this tweet initially... but:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/10/12/us-forces-say-turkey-was-deliberately-bracketing-american-forces-with-artillery-fire-syria/



That's kind of insane.

Quote

(CNN)President Donald Trump is ordering most of the remaining US forces out of northern Syria, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday.

"We have American forces likely caught between two opposing, advancing armies and it's a very untenable situation. I spoke with the President last night, after discussions with the rest of the national security team, and he directed that we begin a deliberate withdrawal of forces from northern Syria," Esper said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Which is where most of our forces are."

In explaining the decision, Esper also said that "in the last 24 hours" the US had learned that America's primary ally in the fight against ISIS, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, were "looking to cut a deal" with the Syrian regime and their Russian backers in order to "counter attack against the Turks in the north," something the SDF leadership had told America it would do in the absence of US assistance in the face of Turkish attacks.

Despite Esper saying the US only learned of the effort in the last 24 hours, CNN has reported that the SDF commander told a senior US diplomat Thursday that this was his intent.

The withdrawal order comes as Turkish forces are pushing further south into Syria. Last week, the country launched its long-threatened incursion into the country after Trump ordered a small contingent of about 50 US troops to be pulled back from the border area amid a belief that a Turkish incursion was imminent.