How does Washington read: Palmyra, Tadef, and Raqqa?

Written by Nasser Kandil,

As a result of the Russian-US communication that followed the Russian-Syrian raids on the hills in the northeast of Tadef which the Syrian army and its allies entered, and then they proceeded toward the north after surpassing the points of deployment of the Turkish army in Al-Bab city, and which has led to the rise of  the US concern because they were near the points of the deployment of troops trained by the Americans an understanding that led after mutual accusation and denial statements to the Russian-US cooperation to prevent any accident  that may cause due to the lack of the coordination between the Syrian army and its allies on one hand, and the worked units under the US sponsorship or the Democratic Forces of Syria or the Committees of the Kurdish protection on the other hand.

As the concerned follow-up resources say; the Americans expressed their surprise to the speed of the progress of the Syrian army and its allies along with their high professionalism militarily and their strategic plans in a smart timing toward the north battles and Palmyra battle, they described the encirclement of Palmyra and Tadef around Raqqa with the equation of a practical entry to the battle of Raqqa by the Syrian army that is no longer be ignored as a partner. And how this army which fights on ten deployed fronts in the Syrian geography since years is still has these competencies, capacities, vitality, and the ability to put the plans related to strategic visions not just emotional simulation of the reality of the field in defense and attack.

The Kurdish leaderships which are concerned with the battle of Raqqa with the coordination of the Americans say that the technical, practical, and the human complexities which face this battle according to the Americans was a justification for the Americans to propose this cooperation with Turkey, but the Kurds refused this cooperation and asked for a decisive US position specially in terms that the Kurds are not ready to leave Manbej. They got clear US pledge that is translated by deploying US units there; nearly three hundred soldiers, they met the Kurdish demand with anti-aircraft missiles, which the Americans know that they will be used against the Turkish aircraft in case the Kurds are exposed to the risks of new confrontations, while the Kurdish leaders deny the hypothesis of reaching to tripartite understanding US -Kurdish-Turkish under US sponsorship to ensure the battle of Raqqa, as they deny strongly what is rumored about the success of the talks of the Head of the CIA in Ankara about this issue. They describe the battle of Al Bab according to the Turks with the trap which set by the Syrian army leaving them get stuck in it in order to prevent them from heading to Raqqa across Manbej. The Kurdish leaders add if the matters reached to zero-hour and that they have to choose an allied force that participates in the battle of Raqqa they would notify the Americans that they prefer to cooperate with the Syrian army within Russian US cooperation to any Turkish role.

The entry of the Syrian army and its allies to the castle of Palmyra and its progress in it in order to have a full control on the city makes it at the gates of Raqqa and Deir Al Zour. During its entry later to Al Sokhna city  its forces which reached to Tadef will meet with its other forces which move from Palmyra to the north, so Raqqa will be besieged with the Syrian army in the south and west and the Kurds in the east and north, as Deir Al Zour which be surrounded with the Syrian army in the west and south and the Kurds in the north, while the Iraqi popular crowd in the east. Therefore the Turks will be practically in front of difficult choices to impose their presence as the challenge of the process of the military incursion to the areas under the Kurdish dominance. It is an impossible matter in the light of the US cover and presence, and the Americans will be in front of the challenge of waging small unguaranteed battles that are subject to failure or to submit to the field need and to cooperate with the Syrian army after the name of the Free army has become mere a shadow of the Turkish army after the battles of Aleppo.

Translated by Lina Shehadeh,