In Hussein’s Footsteps? Erdogan is Walking Straight Into Washington’s Trap

• In Hussein’s Footsteps? Erdogan is Walking Straight Into Washington’s Trap
  by http://sputniknews.com/  
  Washington has set a trap for impulsive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, US journalist Mike Whitney notes, adding that a ‘color revolution’ in Turkey may one day become a reality.
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  On February 19 Washington dismissed a draft resolution by Russia aimed at preventing a Turkish invasion of Syria at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC); by making move the Obama administration is in fact giving the green light to Ankara’s ground operation in Syria, US independent journalist Mike Whitney believes.
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  “It suggests that the Obama administration thinks that Turkish ground troops could play an important role in shaping the outcome of a conflict that the US is still determined to win. Keep in mind, if the resolution had passed, the threat of a Turkish invasion would have vanished immediately,” Whitney writes in his analysis for CounterPunch.org, adding that the quashing of the resolution clearly signals that Washington does not want peace in Syria.
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  Although it is believed that Recep Tayyip Erdogan has “dictatorial powers” and can launch the much-discussed ground operation in northern Syria whenever he wants, it is not true: Turkish generals do not want to bear the responsibility for invading a sovereign state. Therefore, Ankara is seeking either US/NATO or the UN’s blessing, the journalist explains.
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  Meanwhile, Ankara continues to wage a covert war against Syrian Kurdish militias by shelling northern parts of Syria and giving Sunni jihadists, fighting against the YPG (Kurdish People’s Protection Units) forces and the Syrian Arab Army, a free pass to cross the Turkish-Syrian border and re-enter the war zone.
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  Whitney underscores that the Obama administration is fully aware of what is going on. However, while admonishing the Erdogan government for shelling northern Syria, Washington has vocally recognized Turkey’s “right to defend itself.”
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  “This alone speaks volumes about the duplicity of Washington’s approach,” Whitney notes.
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