Trump Comments on Turkey’s ‘Unfriendly Takeover’ of Syria Using Proxy Forces: Regular Forces Deploy to Aleppo

<p >Following the <a href=" >fall of the Syrian capital</a> Damascus to Turkish-backed Islamist paramilitaries on December 8, U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump has stated that Ankara conducted an “unfriendly takeover” of the country, and that control of Syria was something the country had sought to achieve “for thousands of years.” “Those people that went in are controlled by Turkey,” he stated, adding that  “that’s okay, that’s another way to fight.” “Turkey’s the one behind it. He’s a very smart guy, they’ve wanted it for thousands of years, and he got it,” he concluded. Since the outbreak of the insurgency in Syria in 2011, multiple sources have reported that Islamist paramilitaries fighting against the Syrian state have had Turkish special forces embedded in their ranks, with Turkish officers playing a key role in commanding these forces. Insurgents have also received <a href=" >considerable support</a> from other American strategic partners, most notably Qatar, Israel, and multiple European states, with the United States, and the CIA in particular, having also supported the insurgency. Turkey and Israel have been <a href=" target="_blank">particularly active</a> in providing air support to insurgent paramilitaries.</p><p ><img src=" title="Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin in Damascus After Capture By Turkish-Backed Forces"></p><p >U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on December 11 initiated an <a href=" >unscheduled visit</a> to Jordan and Turkey, with the shaping of Syria’s future reported to have been central to discussions. Achieving Turkey’s support to <a href=" target="_blank">transfer Syria’s </a>massive Soviet, Russian and North Korean supplied arsenals to Ukraine was expected to be near the top of the agenda. Insurgents advancing in to Syria’s most populous city Aleppo notably raised the Turkish flag over cities, while nationalists within the Turkish government have increasingly made calls for the city’s annexation into Turkey. This campaign has been pursued in parallel to Israeli efforts to annex large parts of the Syrian Golan Heights, and <a href=" target="_blank">rapid advances by Israeli forces</a> into Syrian territory. Reports have since emerged of a major buildup of Turkish forces on the Syria border, and of Turkish regular units entering Aleppo. The head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation Ibrahim Kalin has also been seen in Damascus, alongside his Qatar's head of state security Khalfan Al Kaabi, with the two American allied representing the primary backers of the insurgency in its final years. It is expected that Turkey will be partitioned between Turkey and Israel, representing a culmination of over a decade of close cooperation between the two states to overthrow the Syrian state and redraw its borders. </p>