Target in Syria is more ethnic tension

The Tribune’s editorial, “Eye on the target in Syria” explained well the complexity of alliances in fighting ISIS in Syria but overlooked the fact that Assad and Iran are both not only fighting ISIS when not fighting insurgents but offering pointing out cooperation against ISIS as an inducement for both keeping Assad in power and an inducement for the nuclear agreement or the US temptation to get Iran’s assistance. The editorial also overlooks just how much the Kurds have suffered under Iran, under Assad, under Saddam Hussein who gave the Kurds the unique claim of being targeted on the basis of ethnicity with WMDs.  Turkey faces terror problems from the PKK but they had been negotiating with the PKK until the recent elections when the Kurds refused to give Erdogan a needed majority to enact constitution changes to make Erdogan an autocratic ruler. This is the same Turkish government that has turned a blind eye to anti-Shia ISIS inside their borders and considers Hamas a legitimate political party. As we are not sending ground troops into Syria, I wish the editorial board spent more time explaining why the savings on jet fuel that using Incirlik air base gets us is worth harming the Kurds and perhaps enabling the rise of a Sunni Islamist regime in Syria.  Couldn’t we just bomb from where we were, wouldn’t a peaceful Kurdish state be a great buffer for all the nations concerned about Iran and Syria long term? If Turkey wants to fight the PKK in Turkey, that is their right but they should apply that standard to their foreign policy and if they want to justify their right to rule over Kurdish parts of Turkey then sometimes they need to make choices that are in the collective interest of the Kurds. The US should be able to afford the jet fuel to make good long-term choices in Syria.