Could Syria War Alliances Get Any More Complex?

[Kate Turlington + 44]

So, now we learn that Assad has been aiding the Syrian Kurds to fight the Turks ... Keeping in mind that the Kurds are fighting ISIS and Assad as well, and anyone aligned with them. This is the biggest cluster$*%@ of alliances we've ever seen, but Turkey's push into northern Syria I guess leaves Assad with no choice but to pick is 'best' enemy and then try to balance it out later. 

[Seleskya + 50]

Looks like we're now going to war with Turkey ... Erdogan has playing multiple sides in this conflict from the beginning (well, others have as well, using ISIS as their little proxy war in the middle of it all). 

[Carlsbad + 19]

Erdogan's ego has been insulted, clearly. Read that he arrested hundreds for protesting Turkey's war plan in Syria. But also just read that in an uber mature move to irritate Tillerson, they've named a street by the US Embassy in Ankara after Turkey's Syrian offensive. Brilliant. 

[TraderTate + 186]

Yeah, anyone who thought this conflict was over (yours truly not included), should probably be ready for the real war over the spoils. Last week, Russia troops were killed by US-led forces fighting in clashes in Syria, but the Russians downplayed this at first, denying any were killed. 

[franco + 96]

Dangerous events of last 20 days in Syria - Turkey vs YPG, Assad regime massacres in Idleb and Ghouta, and downing of Israel F16 and subsequent airstrikes - show how war in Syria is not winding down, utter failure of world to deal with crisis many warned would spiral out of control.

[damirUSBiH + 327]

2 minutes ago, franco said:

Dangerous events of last 20 days in Syria.....

 

You are talking about last 20 days. Look at the last 24 hours! 

US bombs Russian mercenaries in Syria, 200 dead
Greek ship rammed by Turkish navy
US backed Kurdish forces bombed by Turkey
Turkey threatens US military
Israel bombs Iranian targets in Syria
Syrian forces join up with Kurds

 Where’s the tipping point?

[Pavel + 384]

Not to mention the utter failure of Sochi talks to resolve anything.  Each power is pursuing own geopolitical interests in Syria and assuming blowback will be dealt with by others. Clearly not working. 

[Petar + 76]

Syria will blow up in everyone’s face. Wild territory and too many foreign interests..

[Pavel + 384]

Let's be clear. If international leaders had any vision, any courage, they would immediately convene emergency UN summit on Syria with reps of all relevant countries and groups — Turkey, Iran, GCC, Israel, regime, opposition, PYD — and hash out transition from ongoing state of hyper-war.

[damirUSBiH + 327]

In the last few days a Russian plane, an Israeli plane, and a Turkish  helicopter have been shot down. Assad, Iranian proxies and Russian  mercenaries have attacked America's PYD-SDF proxy, and America destroyed  over a hundred of them in response...

[franco + 96]

Someone made an  "excellent  list" of Syria, where the battleground is:
Russia vs U.S.
Iran vs Israel
Israel vs Hezb
Turkey vs Kurds 
Kurds vs IS
IS vs Assad
Opp vs IS
Assad vs Opp
Turkey vs Assad
U.S. vs Iran
Hezb vs Opp
NATO vs NATO
Opp vs Kurds
U.S. vs U.S. 
Iran vs Opp
EU vs Refugees

[Petar + 76]

And, they said: "War is almost over". Yes, Syria's civil war is ending, but the war for Syria is just beginning.

[WaytoPeace + 62]

The hardest conflicts to resolve are those between different ethnic and religious populations that have a long bitter history.  Certainly the Sunni and Shia, and the Turks and the Kurds fit that description.  Those groups can sometimes be held in check by a strong, often ruthless, military dictatorship, but once that control is weakened, chaos erupts.  Political leaders are powerless to bridge those divides because they owe their allegiance  to their power base, which comes from one side or the other of the conflict.  Although Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of an independent India was based on religious pluralism, the ethnic-religious division was too great even for him, and the British ended up partitioning the British Indian Empire into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan.  When the British and the French, ultimately played a major role in establishing the boundaries of Turkey, Syria and Iraq after World War I, they failed to appreciate the sectarian differences and challenges those borders would present.  Until people can accept and respect one another as equals, and avoid favoritism and discrimination, perhaps the only solution is for a powerful international body to carve out and be ready to defend new nation state boundaries, similar to what was done in the case of Yugoslavia.  Sure, Turkey and Iraq would appose an independent Kurdistan, and there would likely be other serious problems, but in the long run wouldn’t this likely be preferable to all the inevitable continued killing and destruction, which will only be magnified when outside entities join into the fray for their own agendas?