Another interesting chapter in the ISIS War, where they have laid siege to the town of Kobane on the Syrian-Turkish border. Visually, the town name reminds me of the Nirvana frontman's surname, but the name has three syllables, so the pun only works when written.
Kobane has a normal population of 44000, not much bigger than Midland. Syrian Kurds are running it at present as a third force, and are getting US air support in their effort to keep ISIS at bay.
That third-force issue comes into play, since NATO folks would rather not see the central government come in and pick up the pieces if ISIS is run off. Turkey could easily bop in with troops of its own if it wanted to, but that would both be escalating things to a dangerous level, as such intervention would be without Damascus' blessing and helping the Kurds.
That latter part comes very much into play for Turkey, as the Kurdish-led faction running Kobane is allied with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) grouping in Turkey. Turkey has tried over the years to (often forcibly) assimilate the large Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey, including banning the Kurdish language in the past, which has led to resistance, violent in the case of the PKK.
Thus, Turkey's likely not thrilled with the idea of helping an arch-enemy (the PKK is treated as a terror group by NATO and others) defeat an archer-enemy. Turkey's legislature has signed off on going into Syria if needed, but wants a broader (likely NATO) coalition before it pulls the trigger having its troops pull their triggers.
Lots of moving parts that look like a complicated strategy game gone berserk. Programs, get yer programs, you can't tell your players without a program.
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