Turks Begin Syrian Invasion

UPDATE (10:25 AM): Turkish warplanes have begun attacking the region, Kurds have requested American assistance and a no-fly zone.

Original Post:

Turkish forces have begun massing on the border

Mere days after President Donald Trump announced that American forces would abandon their Kurdish allies in northern Syria, Bloomberg is reporting this morning that the first Turkish forces have crossed into Syria: 

"The first Turkish troops have crossed into northeastern Syria in preparation for a full-scale offensive to force back Kurdish militants controlling the border area, a Turkish official said..."

Bloomberg's report comes on the heels of another report by The Guardian that noted Turkish forces have begun shelling Kurdish positions on both the Turkish-Syrian and Syrian-Iraqi borders. One of the assaulted Kurdish positions, located at the Serekaniye, is part of where American forces withdrew from earlier this week.

Kurdish forces, who played an instrumental part in clearing the region of ISIS in conjunction with American and allied efforts, are pledging to defend the area against Turkish invasion. Although spirited in their resolve, the Kurds are heavily outmatched by the NATO equipped Turks.

Turkey's advancement into Syria has come at a time when the Trump administration has begun backtracking on its promise to Turkish President Recep Tayyap Erdogan to clear the region for their invasion, but the American president is soon to discover that poorly made decisions cost lives when playing with war games. 

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, an adamant defender of a robust American foreign policy in the Middle East and advocate for the Kurds, made the following comment about the situation to Axios: 

"If I hear the president say one more time, 'I made a campaign promise to get out of Syria,' I'm going to throw up."