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Across Syrian Kurdish Regions, a Sense of Betrayal by Washington Is Setting In
(Washington Post) Sudarsan Raghavan and Liz Sly - The Pentagon's decision to arm a mostly Syrian Kurdish force has paid big dividends in northern Syria, where the Islamic State has been on the run in recent months. Then Turkish tanks and warplanes entered Syria last week and began targeting the Kurds, their long-standing enemy. But what happened next blindsided Kurdish leaders: Their American allies sided with the Turks - and ordered the Kurdish forces to hand over hard-won territory. "Unfortunately, as Kurdish allies fighting against terrorism and making a lot of victories, we expected more from the United States," said Idriss Naasan, a former official in the Kurds' self-proclaimed government in Syria. In Turkey, as well, there is mounting anger at the Obama administration for demanding that Turkish forces stop battling the Kurds in northern Syria.