As Turkey and the United States lurch from crisis to crisis, the latest flashpoint centers around Mazlum Kobane, commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led militia that crushed the Islamic State (IS) in Syria with US backing.
Turkey is furious that a group of congressmen, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have invited Kobane to Washington and are pressing the State Department to issue him a visa. Turkey calls Kobane a "terrorist" and has issued a red alert for his arrest via Interpol. Turkey has also placed a multimillion-lira bounty — with a value that shrinks alongside Turkey’s national currency — on his head.