Ignoring Türkiye’s fight against terror is a risk zone for the US: experts

The United States’s support for PKK/YPG terror groups has long been a proven fact, despite continuing concerns from Türkiye.

This stance has become a defining feature of the often aggravating relationship between Türkiye and the US, fostering further mistrust between the two NATO allies.

The US is walking a tightrope, on which it has to balance its geostrategic policy with regards to the Middle East with common objectives of NATO, as Türkiye is one of the members of the security pact, experts say.

This endangers the future of the pact as losing Türkiye might be expected due to the conscious actions of the US which clash with Türkiye’s national security concerns, military and security analyst Abdullah Agar, tells TRT World.

Not only in Türkiye’s fight against terror but also in Israel's war on Gaza, US policy fails will lead to shrinking US hegemony in the world, experts point out.

Here the experts elaborate on the dangers of pursuing a policy that destroys the trust among the members of the pact, by fostering terrorism which has killed over 40.000 people and by fueling Israel's war on Gaza which has killed over 20.000 Palestinian civilians.

US’ multidimensional support for terrorism

The protection, funding, arming and training, Agar defines as the key tenets of US patronage of the PKK/YPG in the region.

The latest US defence budget, approved by Congress for 2024, allocates $156M for the PKK/YPG in Syria and $398M as the US claims that YPG counters the Daesh terror group in Iraq and Syria.

Although Türkiye repeatedly asked the US to stop arming the YPG terror group and allow Ankara to take the lead in countering Daesh in the region, Washington ignored Türkiye's call and continued arming the terror group.

The funds for Syria go directly to the YPG terror group-led SDF and according to the US, is the Pentagon’s main ally in countering Daesh.

Although the PKK is among the list of Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) of the US, the YPG is still not.

As it comes to the training and arming aspect of the relations, US troops conducting joint exercises with PKK/YPG terrorists, the most recent one took place last summer in northeastern Syria, as the footage reveals.

Also the US-made weapons are being used in terrorist attacks by PKK/YPG as photographic evidence and local sources suggest the list includes weapons, bomb detectors, fingerprint scanners and tracking devices.

Beyond financial, military and training support, the US provides access to political representatives in Washington.

Recent documents, reviewed by Anadolu Agency, reveal that the political branch of the SDF uses a US-based PR firm to represent its interests in the country.

Through the firm, the SDF lobbies for further financial support and meetings with the House and Senate leadership for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).

This is territorialisation of a terrorist cause, one which Türkiye strongly opposes.

Trust issues

US support for PKK, including its capacity building, has led to a trust deficit, Murat Aslan, Associate Professor of International Relations at Hasan Kalyoncu University, tells TRT World.

“When there is no trust between two allies, then do not expect the other to comply with the expected terms in case you're in danger,” he says, adding this is a 'risk zone' for the US.

He refers to past instances when Türkiye sent its troops on NATO missions, either in Afghanistan or the Balkans, as well as other military commitments and intelligence sharing.

Aslan adds that should there be another NATO call up for Turkish troops, the lack of trust with the US will definitely play a huge part in the Turkish government’s decision.

Linkage with Gaza war

Another risk zone for the US hegemony comes from its stance on the Israeli war on Gaza, experts say.

Complete disregard of international law by Israel, mass civilian killings and US’s continued use of veto at the UN to strike down proposed ceasefire resolutions has increased tensions between Türkiye and the US, Agar says.

“Türkiye's mission to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza has disrupted both the US and Israel,” Ali Fuat Gokce, the lecturer on terrorism and security at Gaziantep University, tells TRT World.

Aslan also points out that the Gaza War is directly connected to the rise in recent PKK attacks against Turkish forces.

Since the start of the Gaza War, as Turkish air strikes in northern Iraq and Syria have increased, 12 Turkish soldiers were martyred in attacks by the terrorist organisation.

With the increased PKK attacks on Turkish forces, agenda of Turkish media has turned away from the coverage of Gaza and that favours the Israeli cause, Aslan says.

Legitimising the terrorist cause

US support for PKK/YPG has long term consequences, legitimising the terrorist cause, experts urge.

“And unfortunately, the legitimisation process is in parallel with territorialisation of the PKK/YPG, especially at the east of Euphrates river in Syria,” Aslan says.

Through various patronage relations, the US constructs legal extensions and supports territorialisation of the terrorist organisation.

It is one of the concerns of the Turkish state that the YPG/PKK has long been trying to find a way to reach the Mediterranean Sea along the Turkish border, through the west of the Euphrates river in Syria.

The west of Euphrates river is a red line for Türkiye as Turkish officials have previously articulated.

Weakening the alliance

Although NATO delineated all security threats as terrorism at its summits in Lisbon and Istanbul right after the Cold War, it continues to exclude the PKK and subsequently adds to Turkish concerns.

For this reason, Türkiye is doubting NATO’s security assurance against asymmetric and irregular threats to its national security, Aslan says.

Towards the end of November last year, a video was released by PKK showed their recruits with US-made weapons such as M16 and M4 rifles and thermal binoculars.

There is more video evidence showing PKK’s arsenal of Swedish-made AT-4, US-made TOW and French-German MILAN anti-tank missiles.

“It is an inconsistency,” Aslan says, while supporting terrorism against Türkiye, it called for help in the past from other states in its global war on terror and continued pre-emptive strikes globally for this cause.

This means a breaking point and that the US should not expect further pledge or help from Türkiye as it did in Afghanistan or other regions if it continues acting in that way.