What's Turkey really up to in Syria?
Many observers think Turkey's true goal in entering Syria is to prevent the Kurds from dominating northern Syria, not to fight the Islamic State.
Turkey's military plunge across the Syrian border this week has all eyes focused on the Jarablus area, as observers wait for the possible fallout between Ankara and the Kurds.
It's evident that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is targeting pro-PKK Kurdish party seeking to dominate the north of Syria. He admits as much publicly, though he says he is also pursuing the Islamic State (IS).
Indeed, at 4 a.m. local time Aug. 24, Turkish planes penetrated Syrian air space and began bombing IS targets in the Jarablus area. At 6 a.m., about 1,500 Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters who had assembled at the Karkamis area of Turkey began crossing the border in an operation called Euphrates Shield.
Kurds control three separate areas in northern Syria on the Turkish border. Ankara fears that if the Kurds gain a stronghold on the west side of the Euphrates, they will be able to connect these areas and form a united territory right on Turkey's border. Turkey has demanded the Kurds withdraw to east of the Euphrates.
