Turkey is seeking U.S. support to lead a ground offensive against Islamic State’s main stronghold in Syria, a Turkish official said, a move that could give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more influence in the conflict and undermine Kurdish groups linked to separatists he’s fighting at home.
Troops and Syrian rebels loyal to Ankara would advance on Raqqa through areas controlled by Kurdish fighters whom Turkey classifies as terrorists, the official said. The attack could start within a month but hinges on U.S. support, which would include airstrikes and intelligence sharing, the official said.
A go-ahead by the Trump administration would bring an immediate gain for Erdogan by signaling that the U.S. no longer sees Kurds as an essential element in the fight against Islamic State, a view that has infuriated its NATO ally. Turkey, embroiled in a three-decade conflict with Kurdish separatists, regards Kurdish attempts to establish autonomy in northern Syria as a direct national security threat.
The proposal, however, may face opposition from people who still consider Kurdish fighters the most effective force against Islamic State in Syria, said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, who runs the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund, a think tank.
