U.S. senator John McCain made secret trip to Syria Kurdistan: WSJ
Posted on February 23, 2017 by Editorial Staff in Kurdistan
U.S. Senator John McCain, chairman of Senate Foreign Relations. Photo Courtesy/Aspen Institute
WASHINGTON,— Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) secretly visited Syrian Kurdistan, the Kurdish-held region of Syria, during a trip to the Middle East last weekend to meet with United States military officials, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A spokeswoman for McCain later confirmed the trip in a statement, as reported by NBC News.
“Senator McCain traveled to northern Syria last week to visit U.S. forces deployed there and to discuss the counter-IS campaign and ongoing operations to retake Raqqa,” the spokeswoman said, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (IS).
“Senator McCain’s visit was a valuable opportunity to assess dynamic conditions on the ground in Syria and Iraq. President Trump has rightly ordered a review of the U.S. strategy and plans to defeat ISIL.”
McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s Syria policy, traveled to the Kurdish town of Kobani in Syrian Kurdistan which sits on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border.
The town in 2014 was under siege by IS forces, which were successfully pushed out of the city by the Syrian Kurds, also know as the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
McCain’s trip comes as the U.S. military analyzes various options to oust IS from its Syrian stronghold in Raqqa, which it has held since January of 2014.
Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration had devised a plan to oust IS from Raqqa, which included arming Syrian Kurdish forces. Trump’s administration, when it came into power, believed the plan had “huge gaps in it,” according to a senior Trump official who spoke to the newspaper.
The Pentagon on Tuesday said that next week it would send the White House a strategy to defeat IS.
“It will address IS globally, and it is not just a [Department of Defense] plan,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, the Pentagon spokesman. “We’re charged with leading the development of the plan, but it absolutely calls upon the capabilities of other departments.”
McCain, who supported arming moderate opposition groups in the early days of the Syrian civil war, previously visited Syria in 2013 to meet with members of the Free Syrian Army.
Lawmakers do not travel to Syria often, as the country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011, with various rebel groups and Islamist groups fighting both the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and each other.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who was critical of United States policy to arm moderate opposition groups fighting in the civil war, said last month that she met with Assad during her own secret trip to the war-torn country.
Following his stop in Syria, McCain met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been pushing Trump not to arm the Syrian Kurdish forces. Sources in Erdogan’s circle told Reuters earlier this month that the president in a phone call told Trump not to arm the YPG.
Turkey has been embroiled in a years-long battle with Kurdish groups that it views as terrorists who are seeking independence from the Turkish state.
U.S regards the Kurdish PYD and its powerful military wing YPG of Syrian Kurdistan as key ally against Islamic State and the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria and has provided them with arms, air support as well as the military advisers. The Kurdish militia has seized swathes of Syria from IS.
Syrian Kurdistan’s ruling PYD has established three autonomous zones, or Cantons of Jazeera, Kobani and Afrin and a Kurdish government across Syrian Kurdistan in 2013. On March 17, 2016 Syria’s Kurds declared a federal region in Syrian Kurdistan.
Syrian Kurds on Dec. 30, 2016 have approved a blueprint for a system of federal government in Syrian Kurdistan, reaffirming their plans for autonomy in areas they have controlled during the civil war.
http://ekurd.net/john-mccain-syria-kurdistan-2017-02-23
Posted on February 23, 2017 by Editorial Staff in Kurdistan
U.S. Senator John McCain, chairman of Senate Foreign Relations. Photo Courtesy/Aspen Institute
WASHINGTON,— Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) secretly visited Syrian Kurdistan, the Kurdish-held region of Syria, during a trip to the Middle East last weekend to meet with United States military officials, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A spokeswoman for McCain later confirmed the trip in a statement, as reported by NBC News.
“Senator McCain traveled to northern Syria last week to visit U.S. forces deployed there and to discuss the counter-IS campaign and ongoing operations to retake Raqqa,” the spokeswoman said, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (IS).
“Senator McCain’s visit was a valuable opportunity to assess dynamic conditions on the ground in Syria and Iraq. President Trump has rightly ordered a review of the U.S. strategy and plans to defeat ISIL.”
McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s Syria policy, traveled to the Kurdish town of Kobani in Syrian Kurdistan which sits on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border.
The town in 2014 was under siege by IS forces, which were successfully pushed out of the city by the Syrian Kurds, also know as the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
McCain’s trip comes as the U.S. military analyzes various options to oust IS from its Syrian stronghold in Raqqa, which it has held since January of 2014.
Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration had devised a plan to oust IS from Raqqa, which included arming Syrian Kurdish forces. Trump’s administration, when it came into power, believed the plan had “huge gaps in it,” according to a senior Trump official who spoke to the newspaper.
The Pentagon on Tuesday said that next week it would send the White House a strategy to defeat IS.
“It will address IS globally, and it is not just a [Department of Defense] plan,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, the Pentagon spokesman. “We’re charged with leading the development of the plan, but it absolutely calls upon the capabilities of other departments.”
McCain, who supported arming moderate opposition groups in the early days of the Syrian civil war, previously visited Syria in 2013 to meet with members of the Free Syrian Army.
Lawmakers do not travel to Syria often, as the country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011, with various rebel groups and Islamist groups fighting both the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and each other.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who was critical of United States policy to arm moderate opposition groups fighting in the civil war, said last month that she met with Assad during her own secret trip to the war-torn country.
Following his stop in Syria, McCain met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been pushing Trump not to arm the Syrian Kurdish forces. Sources in Erdogan’s circle told Reuters earlier this month that the president in a phone call told Trump not to arm the YPG.
Turkey has been embroiled in a years-long battle with Kurdish groups that it views as terrorists who are seeking independence from the Turkish state.
U.S regards the Kurdish PYD and its powerful military wing YPG of Syrian Kurdistan as key ally against Islamic State and the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria and has provided them with arms, air support as well as the military advisers. The Kurdish militia has seized swathes of Syria from IS.
Syrian Kurdistan’s ruling PYD has established three autonomous zones, or Cantons of Jazeera, Kobani and Afrin and a Kurdish government across Syrian Kurdistan in 2013. On March 17, 2016 Syria’s Kurds declared a federal region in Syrian Kurdistan.
Syrian Kurds on Dec. 30, 2016 have approved a blueprint for a system of federal government in Syrian Kurdistan, reaffirming their plans for autonomy in areas they have controlled during the civil war.
http://ekurd.net/john-mccain-syria-kurdistan-2017-02-23
Today at 6:27 pm by Rocky
» In just two weeks, the Sudanese is awaiting an action plan from the relevant ministries in agreement
Today at 3:35 pm by Rocky
» A thousand dinars every month.. An expert predicts the shape of the final journey of dollar prices
Today at 3:32 pm by Rocky
» Parliamentary Oil: The budget deficit is under control
Today at 3:28 pm by Rocky
» Parliamentary proposals to impose an economic blockade on Iraq
Today at 3:18 pm by Rocky
» His advisor: Al-Sudani succeeded in digital transfer in banks
Today at 3:12 pm by Rocky
» Economist reassures: Financial liquidity is available and there are no risks to the Iraqi dinar
Today at 3:10 pm by Rocky
» Iraq is preparing to bid farewell to the blonde old woman and end the UNAMI mission
Today at 2:46 pm by Bama Diva
» utube MM&C 4/30/24 Projects - Confidence Building - National Bank of Iraq
Today at 7:24 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The government is serious about moving to a diversified economy and supporting the indust
Today at 7:18 am by Rocky
» Deputy: The dollar exchange rate is still high
Today at 7:12 am by Rocky
» The Finance Committee reveals the total transfers today in Iraq
Today at 7:08 am by Rocky
» Minister of Industry: Iraq does not have iron ores suitable for production and we depend on imports
Today at 7:06 am by Rocky
» “The Dilemma of Economic Decisions”... Implementing a gasoline price increase despite opposition fro
Today at 7:03 am by Rocky
» Ukrainian trade explodes with a “surprise”: Iraq has contracted with a “fake” Ukrainian company to d
Today at 6:55 am by Rocky
» Iraq is preparing to invest in the largest gas field
Today at 6:49 am by Rocky
» An economic expert for Nina: The World Bank’s expectations that Iraq will achieve a high growth rate
Today at 6:43 am by Rocky
» The UAE buys cheaper Iraqi oil to increase its exports of “more expensive crude”
Today at 6:40 am by Rocky
» The largest gas field in Iraq is close to seeing the light: a wealth that will reduce the import bil
Today at 6:39 am by Rocky
» Minister of Resources: Water storage in dams is at its best
Today at 6:37 am by Rocky
» Sadiqoun demands that Taqadum give up all positions in exchange for the presidency of Parliament
Today at 6:33 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani inaugurates the continuous casting factory at the General Company for Steel Industries in
Today at 5:28 am by Rocky
» Iraq exports to America more than 4 million barrels of crude oil and its derivatives in a month
Today at 5:26 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: We are committed to workers’ rights and reconstruction projects will not stop
Today at 5:21 am by Rocky
» The Parliamentary Development Institute organizes a workshop on the right to information law
Today at 5:15 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Integrity: The judiciary is making a great effort to resolve the theft of the century
Today at 5:11 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: The government holds responsible for the delay in sending the budget schedule
Today at 5:07 am by Rocky
» Economist: Iraq faces a shortage of 3.5 million housing units
Today at 5:06 am by Rocky
» Obelisk Hour: Sudanese’s visit to Washington did not address the “American exit”
Today at 5:04 am by Rocky
» Planning clarifies the position on contracts and wages from the job number platform
Today at 5:01 am by Rocky
» New country legalizes cryptocurrencies
Today at 4:57 am by Rocky
» The UAE's Dana Gas announces the resumption of work in the "Kormor" field
Today at 4:55 am by Rocky
» The International Comprehensive Shopping Festival kicks off in an Iraqi governorate
Today at 4:54 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Labor gives good news to the workers: Wait for next week
Today at 4:52 am by Rocky
» Iraq's water storage is at its best... Will it address the agricultural situation?
Today at 4:51 am by Rocky
» The government takes a number of new decisions
Today at 4:49 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Labor announces an increase in the salary of retired workers by 100 thousand dinars
Today at 4:46 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: Service projects in Iraq “will not stop”
Today at 4:44 am by Rocky
» 90 percent of it comes from across the border. Parliament unveils a new strategy to limit currency s
Today at 4:39 am by Rocky
» Iraq is implementing a "modern strategy" to get rid of a "Sumerian custom" that depleted the waters
Today at 4:37 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Transport announces the opening of 48 collective lines in six governorates
Today at 4:35 am by Rocky
» The Federal Integrity Commission announced the arrest of waste of public money, violations and manip
Today at 4:34 am by Rocky
» Government Media: 3 million citizens have registered so far on the Ur electronic portal
Today at 4:33 am by Rocky
» Labor Day in Iraq.. 6 million workers with an unknown future and stolen rights, and 90% of them “wit
Today at 4:31 am by Rocky
» Iranian Chamber of Commerce: Iraq's investment budget is 150 billion dollars, and our share in it mu
Today at 4:25 am by Rocky
» On International Workers’ Day... The President of the Republic: We stress the necessity of working t
Today at 4:23 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister: We affirm our commitment to all Iraqi workers, men and women, to provide a work envi
Today at 4:22 am by Rocky
» Progress threatens to withdraw from the political process in the event of infringement on its quota
Today at 4:20 am by Rocky
» Bloomberg: Iraq violated its oil export quota and did not adhere to OPEC+ decisions
Yesterday at 6:23 pm by Rocky
» Al-Sudani stresses the importance of following up on the understandings reached between Iraq and Ame
Yesterday at 3:56 pm by Rocky
» From "everything is imported" to "food made by one's own hands"... Parliamentary reference to Iraq's
Yesterday at 3:51 pm by Rocky
» The government hires an external auditor for the Trade Bank of Iraq
Yesterday at 3:45 pm by Rocky
» Among them relates to the path of development...the full decisions of the Council of Ministers sessi
Yesterday at 3:37 pm by Rocky
» Al-Maliki warns of the Washington Embassy's plans to threaten Iraqi society
Yesterday at 11:51 am by wciappetta
» utube MM&C 4/28/24 Iraq Dinar - IQD - Banks - Merge Regionally - Water - Labor -Jobs - Dinar Value
Yesterday at 10:44 am by Rocky
» Iraqi Business: There are no financial fears in Iraq for three years, and fear regarding the path of
Yesterday at 10:34 am by Rocky
» Parliament is discussing with the Finance and Retirement Law amending the Landlords Law
Yesterday at 10:27 am by Rocky
» Customs and taxes... Parliamentary Finance talks about huge sums of money that do not enter the stat
Yesterday at 10:23 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Oil threatens to sue the Ministry of Oil over raising gasoline prices
Yesterday at 10:21 am by Rocky
» Iraq begins installing radiation screening gates at border crossings
Yesterday at 10:17 am by Rocky
» Hong Kong launches Asia's first Bitcoin and Ether ETFs
Yesterday at 10:11 am by Rocky
» Al-Mandalawi discusses with the delegation of the Jordanian Senate the achievement of economic integ
Yesterday at 10:07 am by Rocky
» Parliament draws attention to the work of security companies in Iraq and identifies the party concer
Yesterday at 9:59 am by Rocky
» How does a Sudanese choose the countries he visits and what are his messages?
Yesterday at 9:54 am by Rocky
» Baghdad alerts Erbil of a “defect” related to agriculture and requests coordination regarding areas
Yesterday at 9:46 am by Rocky
» State real estate... between Parliament's movements and a new door to corruption
Yesterday at 9:38 am by Rocky
» Economist: The Central Bank committed a massacre against private banks at the expense of foreign one
Yesterday at 9:30 am by Rocky
» Without discussing the agenda, the House of Representatives adjourns its session
Yesterday at 9:20 am by Rocky
» Parliament reveals details of the “Law to replace custodial sentences in exchange for financial sums
Yesterday at 7:52 am by Rocky
» The Sudanese and his battle against corruption.. Where is the fault with the government or with the
Yesterday at 7:40 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Planning: The Federal Service Law will regulate the work of the public service
Yesterday at 7:30 am by Rocky
» A representative calls for amendments to the 2024 budget tables
Yesterday at 7:23 am by Rocky
» Al-Badri: America bears responsibility for restricting the security services and not providing monit
Yesterday at 7:18 am by Rocky
» State of Law: Sudanese’s recent discussions will impose another reality in relations with Washington
Yesterday at 7:15 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary warning about the delay in sending budget schedules
Yesterday at 7:10 am by Rocky
» Deputy: We will not allow the American ambassador to install herself as President of the Republic of
Yesterday at 7:03 am by Rocky
» The government and Parliament are discussing completing the 2024 budget and sending it to a vote
Yesterday at 6:58 am by Rocky
» "Finance" reveals the reason for the delay in disbursing the Kurdistan Region's salaries for the mon
Yesterday at 6:56 am by Rocky
» With "more than" one billion dollars.. Iraq is "fourth" on the list of "largest" importers from Turk
Yesterday at 6:55 am by Rocky
» The Interior Ministry discovers properties and houses that were usurped and seized in “Al-Bataween”
Yesterday at 6:54 am by Rocky
» “No province is devoid of it.” Shafaq News opens the file of a disease that “has no cure” in Iraq
Yesterday at 6:52 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: The Council of Ministers will vote today on the 2024 budget schedules
Yesterday at 6:51 am by Rocky
» Al-Halbousi party threatens to withdraw from the entire political process because of the “Sunni mino
Yesterday at 6:49 am by Rocky
» For the first time... adopting an “automation” system for transporting goods at the ports of the Kur
Yesterday at 6:48 am by Rocky
» Qatar.. The Iraqi Stock Exchange obtains the shield of the Arab Capital Markets Union
Yesterday at 6:43 am by Rocky
» An Iraqi court activates the electronic legal evidence and division systems
Yesterday at 6:42 am by Rocky
» What are the reasons for the Emirati-Turkish interest in the path of “development”?.. A British repo
Yesterday at 5:33 am by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers votes today on the 2024 budget schedules
Yesterday at 5:32 am by Rocky
» At a cost of 73 billion...exposing cases of fraud and suspicions of corruption in implementing a pro
Yesterday at 5:29 am by Rocky
» Labor announces the release of the salaries of retired insured workers for the month of May with an
Yesterday at 5:26 am by Rocky
» A parliamentary committee discusses a draft government program evaluation report
Yesterday at 5:24 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: We are keen to mature the amendment to the Landlords Law in preparation for i
Yesterday at 5:20 am by Rocky
» Al-Mandalawi and Al-Sudani discuss political efforts to complete constitutional entitlements and res
Yesterday at 5:17 am by Rocky
» Resources are taking action to conserve water
Yesterday at 5:12 am by Rocky
» Early 2025.. a date for the start of implementation of the “Development Road”
Yesterday at 5:10 am by Rocky
» Budget schedules postpone the House of Representatives' recess
Yesterday at 5:08 am by Rocky
» Next May 12.. is the date for opening bids for the Baghdad and Najaf-Karbala metro projects
Yesterday at 5:07 am by Rocky
» Tourism in the region is expected to grow by 60%.
Yesterday at 5:05 am by Rocky
» Najaf administrators and engineers are demanding appointments and job opportunities
Yesterday at 5:04 am by Rocky