JERUSALEM – President-elect Trump could be the key factor in stopping the reported Turkish destruction of the pro-U.S. Syrian Kurdish community, Fox News senior strategic analyst and retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane told Fox News’ Mark Levin on “Life, Liberty & Levin” on Saturday.
“Erdoğan is a real problem here. He has a corridor in northern Syria. He backed the radical leader who took over, al-Golani, in deposing Assad because he’s been wanting Assad to go like we all did for years, but now what is he doing? Now he’s attacking the Syrian Kurds, who we support, in eastern Syria.”
Keane said, “Biden is not going to do anything about it, but President Trump has a huge opportunity, and I know for a fact that President Trump dealt with Erdoğan once before over the same issue. And it stopped as a result of a phone conversation that he had with President Erdoğan.”
“We are under threat from Iraq and Syria. Over the past decade, the PKK has sought to exploit the chaos in Syria, attempting to restructure itself within the SDF organization. We continue to combat PKK/YPG terrorism, targeting them wherever they are.”
He added, “Our aim is to distinguish the Syrian Kurds from the terrorist organization PKK/YPG. We support the legitimate representatives of Syrian Kurds in their efforts to advocate for their rights in Damascus.”
The YPG is the main U.S.-allied force that contributed to the defeat of ISIS. The U.S. classified the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization. The YPG falls under the rubric of the Syrian Kurdish organization, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF.)
Turkey’s government has intensified its rhetoric against the Kurds. Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said on Sunday “Our primary agenda is the dissolution of the PKK/YPG.”
Displaced Kurds leave the refugee camp in the north of Aleppo, fleeing to Afrin, on Dec. 4, 2024. (Ugur Yildirim/DIA Images/Abaca/Sipa USA(Sipa via AP Images)
Incoming freshman Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, R-Ariz., whose parents are Syrian immigrants, told Fox News Digital, “As we evaluate Turkey’s recent airstrikes on Syrian Kurds and reports of Hamas operatives in Turkey, it’s clear that our alliances must be anchored in mutual respect and shared goals. For decades, Turkey has been a strategic partner, but hosting groups like Hamas without clear steps toward dismantling their operations undermines that relationship. Turkey must seize this opportunity to demonstrate it is committed to fighting terror, not enabling it.”
When asked by Fox News Digital if the U.S. was contemplating sanctioning Turkey, a State Department spokesperson said, “As a general matter, we do not preview sanctions.”
The State Department referred Fox News Digital on Friday to comments made earlier on Friday after Blinken’s meeting with Fidan in Turkey.
The statement said, in part, “Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of U.S.-Turkish cooperation in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS mission in Syria.”
