page_title: American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
section_title: Turkish involvement
hierarchical_section_title: American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War / Turkish involvement
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. and Turkish soldiers conduct the first-ever combined joint patrol on Nov. 1, 2018, outside Manbij, Syria
context_page_description: The American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War refers to the United States-led support of the Syrian rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces during the course of the Syrian Civil War, including Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, the active military operation led by the United States and involving the militaries of the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Australia and others against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and al-Nusra Front since 2014. Since early 2017, the U.S. and its partners have also targeted the Syrian government and its allies via airstrikes and aircraft shoot-downs.
  During the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, the U.S. initially supplied the rebels of the Free Syrian Army with non-lethal aid but quickly began providing training, money, and intelligence to selected Syrian rebel commanders. At least two U.S. programs attempted to assist the Syrian rebels, including a 2014 Pentagon program that planned to train and equip 15,000 rebels to fight ISIL, which was canceled in 2015 after spending $500 million and producing only a few dozen fighters.
context_section_description: Turkey, a NATO member, has been involved in the Syrian Civil War since the beginning of hostilities. Turkey has trained and armed the Free Syrian Army and Al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda in Syria),, has been involved in certain spillover incidents, been repeatedly accused of collaboration with ISIL, and from 2016 occupied large sections of Syrian territory along the Syria-Turkey border.
  In October 2014, the Turkish Parliament authorized direct military action in both Iraq and Syria including using military force as well as allowing Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve members to use bases in Turkey. The same month, US Vice President Joe Biden accused Turkey of funding al-Nusra and al Qaeda, after which Turkish President Recep Erdoğan demanded an apology, adding that if no apology was made, Biden would become "history to me." Biden subsequently apologized.
  Turkey also holds sovereignty over the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, an exclave which had been located 27 kilometres (17 mi) inside Syria, where it maintained a small garrison of 38 Turkish special forces. In February 2015, the Turkish Army launched Operation Shah Euphrates across the border to evacuate its soldiers from the Tomb of Suleyman Shah and relocate the tomb. The Turkish convoy of 572 troops in 39 tanks and 57 armoured vehicles transited through the People's Protection Units-held city of Kobanî en route to the tomb. One Turkish soldier was killed in what the government of Turkey described as an accident.
  Anti-American sentiment in Turkey has increased since the start of the Turkish invasion of northern Syria in January 2018 aimed at ousting the Syrian Democratic Forces from the enclave of Afrin District. A poll conducted in Turkey during the operation revealed that 90 percent of respondents believed that the United States is "behind" the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and People's Protection Units (YPG). After the start of the Turkish invasion, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis stated that "Turkey is a NATO ally. It's the only NATO country with an active insurgency inside its borders. And Turkey has legitimate security concerns." Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag urged the United States to end its support for the YPG, saying: "Those who support the terrorist organization will become a target in this battle."
caption: U.S. and Turkish soldiers conduct joint patrols, Manbij outskirts, 1 November 2018
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