Planned US-Turkey operation center meant to keep Syria off balance: Analyst

A political analyst says the US’s plan to set up a joint command center with Turkey to coordinate a so-called safe zone in Syria is aimed at blocking the Syrian army’s advances on the battlefield against foreign-backed militants.

“The United States is trying to disrupt the consolidation of the Syrian government over its country so that it keeps it distracted by that particular task,” and prevent it from working with  its allies, namely Iran and Russia, in the battle against terrorism, Michael Lane, founder of American Institute for Foreign Policy, told Press TV.

“The United States’ purpose or vision is to keep Syria from becoming part of a triangle of Iran, Russia and Syria,” he said.

Last week, Turkey and the US reached an agreement on the establishment of the joint in the wake of Ankara’s threats to launch an operation against the US-sponsored Kurdish militants in northern Syria to push them away from the Turkish border.

A US delegation arrived in Turkey on Wednesday to set up the operation center in the country for the stated purpose of creating a “safe zone” in Syria.

PressTV-US team begins establishing op center in Turkey

A US delegation has arrived in Turkey to set up an operation center in the country for the stated purpose of creating a “safe zone” in Syria.

The political commentator further said “Syria has won this war but the United States does continue to have interests and objectives in the theater in the region and therefore keeping Syria off balance.”

James Jatras, former US Senate foreign policy analyst, who also attended the show, described as “significant” the recent victories of Syrian government forces against the foreign-sponsored militants, saying “Washington wants to keep things as chaotic as possible.”

He further said that the “primary” objectives of the United States for establishing the joint command center with Turkey is “to avoid a war” between Turks and the US-backed Kurdish militant group, known as the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian branch of the homegrown Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, which has been fighting for autonomy for decades.

Like Ankara, the US has listed the PKK as a terrorist group, but views the YPG as an ally in its so-called fight against the Takfiri Daesh terror group.

Damascus has condemned Ankara and Washington’s violation of its sovereignty.

He further criticized the US, whose forces have been “illegally” operating on Syrian soil, challenging Washington’s claim that it is fighting the Daesh terrorists in Syria.

“It is a very ugly side of the American policy” to claim that we are fighting terrorists in Syria,” said the analysts, adding that this “is how bizarre American policy has become.”

The political analyst said that the US has for long been using terrorists as proxies to advance its objectives.

Criticizing the US administration for its failure to withdraw American forces from Syria, he said the advisers in cabinet that President Trump has assembled “collectively have been able to persuade him to go very very slow in implementing his withdraw.”

PressTV-Trump defends withdrawing US troops from Syria

US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to withdraw American troops from Syria.

“He assembled a team that doesn’t agree with him” and “want to carry on the same policy of failure.”

Trump announced his decision to withdraw the US troops from Syria on December 19, 2018, asserting that Daesh had been defeated.Trump’s unexpected announcement shocked top US officials and allies.

The decision to withdraw ran counter to Defense Department and State Department messaging on US policy in Syria, and led to the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis.

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