The United States has continued to aid the Kurdistan Worker’s Party’s (PKK) Syrian offshoot the Democratic Union Party (PYD) with weapons and ammunition.
Following Turkey’s airstrikes against PYD targets, the U.S. amped up its support of the terrorist group yet continues to use Turkey’s strategic İncirlik Air Base.
The Yeni Şafak website asked its readers to participate in a poll regarding the alliance between Turkey and the U.S. and its continued support of terrorism. Close to 38,000 people took the poll.
Readers voted that the U.S. is a hostile enemy of Turkey because it aids and arms a terrorist organization. An overwhelming 16,774 people responded “Yes” to the question “Despite objections, the U.S. is providing heavy weapons to the PYD on the Syrian border. These weapons are a great threat to Turkey. With this attitude, is the U.S. a friend or foe of Turkey?”
That constitutes a staggering 96.9 percent of respondents who said yes, while 3.1 percent said no. The result showed that almost all of the citizens saw the United States as an enemy of Turkey.
Turkey and the U.S. are NATO allies. The United States is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities to 'protect' Turkey. The poll question regarding NATO was, "The United States pledges that NATO will fulfill its responsibility to 'protect' Turkey, which is an ally. Is NATO a threat or an ally to Turkey in the face of attacks against Turkey?”
An overwhelming 94.3 percent of readers, approximately 11,000 people, perceive NATO as a threat.
The United States, acting in partnership with terrorist organizations that threaten Turkey, uses the Incirlik Base in Adana. A great majority of readers want to shut down the base.
Close to 96 percent of 10,985 readers voted that the İncirlik Air Base should be closed to the U.S.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that Trump had approved the arming of the SDF ahead of an attempt to drive Daesh from Raqqa, the last Syrian city held by the terror group.
The SDF is spearheaded by the PYD and its armed wing, the YPG. Turkey views both as Syrian affiliates of the PKK terrorist organization, which has fought a 33-year war against Turkey and is also listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU.
However, the U.S. has used the PKK/PYD as its ally in Syria in combatting Daesh. Turkey has repeatedly called on the U.S. to end its ties to the PKK/PYD and has offered to help take Raqqah.
The PKK resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015. Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children.
