US intel report presented to Congress says YPG is ‘PKK’s Syrian militia,’ searching for autonomy
WASHINGTON - Cansu Çamlıbel
An official report prepared by U.S. National Security Director Daniel Coats and presented to the U.S. Congress on Feb. 13 defined the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as the Syrian wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), acknowledging that it is searching for autonomy.
“The Kurdish People’s Protection Units—the Syrian militia of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—probably will seek some form of autonomy but will face resistance from Russia, Iran, and Turkey,” read the report titled “Worldwide Threat Assessment.”
The report’s Europe section also mentioned strained ties between the U.S. and Turkey and made predictions on the future of the row.
“Turkey’s counterterrorism cooperation with the United States against ISIS is likely to continue, but thwarting Kurdish regional ambitions will be a foreign policy priority [for Ankara],” the report said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the report said he “is likely to employ polarizing rhetoric, straining bilateral relations and cooperation on shared regional goals.”
Syria is addressed in the “Middle East and North Africa” section of the report, which warns that “Russia and Iran are planning for a long-term presence, securing military basing rights and contracts for reconstruction and oil and gas exploitation.”
It also argued that “Iran is seeking to establish a land corridor from Iran through Syria to Lebanon.”
Turkey has long criticized the U.S. support provided to the YPG in northern Syria, saying it presents a threat to the Turkish national security for a PKK-linked group to gain authority on its southern borders.
The U.S. argues that the support provided to the YPG is only tactical and said the YPG is at the forefront of the fight against ISIL.
On Feb. 13, U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s planned visit to Turkey on Feb. 15-16 “shows just how serious this matter is,” referring to stark differences of opinion on the Syrian issue in Turkey and the U.S.
Turkey last month launched an incursion into Syria, which it calls “Operation Olive Branch,” to sweep the YPG from its southern border. It has also threatened to press on to Manbij - currently under the control of an YPG-led force - and has warned U.S. troops stationed there not to get in the way.
The top U.S. general in the coalition fighting ISIL vowed on Feb. 7 that American troops would remain in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, despite Ankara’s demands for a U.S. pullout.