Turkey Launches Military Operation in Syria

President Donald Trump made a surprising move by pulling troops back from the Syria-Turkey border. In response, Turkey launched a military operation in northern Syria on October 9. 

Samer Abboud, PhD, a professor of Global Interdisciplinary Studies, says he's interested in how the Turkish offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will impact the Syrian regime's campaign to resume control over all of Syria. 

"The Turkish decision to intervene has been effectively sanctioned by the tripartite powers (Iran, Turkey and Russia) as was the Russian-led intervention into Idlib that began earlier this year," Dr. Abboud says. "The Turkish government and the Syrian regime have a common interest in eliminating the power of the SDF and the main Kurdish political party (the Democratic Union Party, or PYD) in Syria. This eliminates the threat of a Kurdish autonomous region along Turkey's borders as well as any threats to Syria's territorial integrity. Eliminating the power of the SDF and PYD is one of the few common goals of the Turkish and Syrian governments."

Dr. Abboud is able to discuss issues concerning the Syrian geopolitical situation as it relates to the United States or Syria's neighbors.