US Presence in Syria Is Illegal Enough - Turkey Shouldn’t Make the Situation Worse

Rasa - The Iranian foreign ministry has called on Ankara to immediately end military operations against the Syrian border city of Afrin which is controlled by Kurds, warning that the invasion could create the needed chaos for the terrorist groups to resume operations in the region.

News ID: 436005

Date: 25 January 2018 - 03:29

RNA - Likewise, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri says Turkish military operations in Afrin must not harm the Arab country's territorial integrity, independence and national sovereignty.

Turkey launched "Operation Olive Branch," a new air and ground operation targeting the Afrin region, on Friday to oust the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

No doubt such moves could give a perfect excuse for the United States and its regional allies to exploit the situation to achieve their own goals i.e., regime change, something they couldn’t do after years of support for various terrorist groups in the war against Damascus. They could also harm and derail the fragile tripartite political negotiations and the Astana peace talks, which have so far managed to produce success.

For all that matters, Iran, Turkey, and Russia are the guarantors of a countrywide ceasefire in Syria. The three have been mediating a peace process since January 2016 among Syria’s warring sides in Astana, Kazakhstan, and no party, including Turkey, is expected to undermine this constructive humanitarian effort.

As part of the Astana format, four de-escalation zones have been established across Syria amid ongoing political efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the country. The zones have helped reduce fighting significantly, while giving Turkey a breath to beef up security along its southern borders after all al-Qaeda terrorists are expelled from the region that has become a stronghold of militants from various terrorist groups, including the Al-Nusra Front and the ISIL.

Nor is that all. The agreement could help dislodge the remnants of ISIL and Al-Qaeda from Syria and eventually lead to international pressure on Washington to withdraw its occupying troops from the northern energy-rich regions of the Arab country as well. US forces operate illegally in Syria – aiding and abetting terror proxies, including numerous covert operations.

America is unaccountable for Nuremberg-level crimes worldwide, including crimes against peace – defined as “planning preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances.” It’s guilty of crimes of war and against humanity in Syria as defined under Nuremberg principles. They include murder and wanton destruction.

The UN Charter is binding international law as well. The US war on Syria was and continues to be an act of naked aggression, defined as unauthorized attacks by one nation against another, including military occupation – flagrant UN Charter violations. Simply put, the United Nations Security Council has not asked outside states, including the US - or Turkey - to send military forces into Syria. The United States has not been invited by the government of Syria. The same conclusion could be made about Turkey.

Turkey’s military operations in Afrin could give the bogus pretexts the United States has used over the years to justify its indirect and direct aggression against Syria. Russia and Iran are in Syria at the valid request of the Syrian government, which makes their presence lawful under international law. By comparison, the United States and Turkey intervened militarily into Syria without any permission from the Syrian government.

US and Turkish operations lack UN Charter Chapter 7 Security Council authorization. They stand in gross violation of the United Nations Charter, as well as the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment and Principles. International law doesn’t say that the US can go after ISIL to take them out in Syria or anywhere else. Nor does the UN say Turkey can go after the YPG to take them out in Afrin. No UN authorization exists for their military operations anywhere.

Fact: Washington created - through its regional allies or through its intentional inaction - and supports ISIL and Al-Qaeda deploying their fighters where the Pentagon and CIA want them used in Syria as imperial foot soldiers – a proxy US army, doing its killing and dying, other terrorist groups used the same way.

Fact: The allied forces of Iran, Syria, Russia and Hezbollah defeated ISIL in Syria. This takes away the bogus pretext from the US to keep its occupying troops there permanently. President Bashar Assad rightfully calls US forces in Syria lawless “invaders” – aiming to topple his government, install pro-Western puppet rule, and isolate Iran ahead of targeting the Islamic Republic the same way. That’s how imperialism works, raping and destroying nations to control them.

But Turkey still has the chance to change course. Security Council Resolution 2249 (November 2015) calls on member states “that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL,” as well as other terrorist groups – “in compliance with international law” and it means within their geographical borders.

However, America’s military presence in Syria and other war theatres is illegal. The presence of the US forces or any foreign military presence in Syria without the consent of the Syrian government constitutes an act of aggression and an attack on the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic as well as a gross violation of the Charter and principles of the United Nations. Turkey’s military operations in Afrin only leads to prolonging this crisis and further complicating it.

In this respect and others, Turkey shouldn’t make itself complicit by helping the US make the situation worse than what it is right now. If Turkey means to secure its border with Syria, it should first continue its shared efforts with Iran and Russia within the framework of the Astana talks to take any excuse away from the US as the main backer of the YPG and undermine Washington's presence on the scene instead of giving the US an excuse to expand its aid to the Kurdish militants on the pretext of protection against Turkish aggression.

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