nytimes : Obama Administration Considers Arming Syrian Kurds Against ISIS

Obama Administration Considers Arming Syrian Kurds Against ISIS

American commanders view the plan to arm the Syrian Kurds, whose population straddles the border with Turkey, as an incentive to keep them on board for the fight against the Islamic State.Asked if the recent volatile military and political situation around the Syrian-Turkish border had slowed the pace for taking Raqqa, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the head of Central Command, said last week that it might have."We don't necessarily control the timeline ourselves," General Votel told a security conference here sponsored by the Institute for the Study of War.

What could go wrong? Obama mulls arming Syrian Kurds against ISIS — RT America

The US may send weapons to Kurdish militias in Syria, hoping to launch a major offensive against ISIS while Obama is in office, the New York Times said, citing government sources.The plan would put the US on collision course with both Turkey and Syrian "rebels."President Barack Obama "has told aides that he wants an offensive well under way before he leaves office that is aimed at routing the Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] from Raqqa, the group's de facto capital in northern Syria," the Times reported Wednesday, citing five senior US officials who wished to remain anonymous.Obama administration is weighing a military plan to directly arm Kurds in Syria fighting ISIS | #YPG#Rojavahttps://t.co/D2P66mLcKH — Samira Ghaderi (@Samira_Ghaderi) September 21, 2016Currently under review by US Central Command (CENTCOM), the plan calls for providing the Syrian Kurds with "small arms and ammunition, and some other supplies" but "no heavy weapons such as antitank or antiaircraft weapons," the paper said.

Why Obama may arm the Syrian Kurds against Turkey's wishes.

Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty ImagesThe New York Times reports Wednesday that the Obama administration is considering a plan to provide direct military aid to Syrian Kurdish fighters to launch an offensive to retake ISIS's capital, Raqqa.This is a sign, along with the ongoing campaign to retake Mosul in Iraq, that the administration plans to make the destruction of ISIS a priority in its final months.After the recent collapse of the Syrian cease-fire made a more comprehensive settlement of the Syrian conflict all but impossible, this may be the best Obama can hope for.