So today is all about the M4 highway and the name of the game is driving around. As per the new usual.
But there are some twists here, and there is a definite Storm Brewing vibe going on, especially in the Ain Issa — Kobane region.
First, consider the various permutations of driving around Rojava and who is driving with whom.
Obviously, the M4 is totally important for tactical and strategic purposes—even the economy depends upon it.
Almost all reports of activity today concerned the M4 and, specifically, which combination of US, Russian, Turkish, and Syrian Arab Army forces were patrolling where. Or just driving around as the case may be, though that’s usually the same thing as patrolling for Russia and the US.
So the M4 is open, clear, and being patrolled.
But where the hell are the Americans?
How are they always going from west to east. It should be physically impossible, but it’s like nobody ever sees them going east.
We once had a cat that learned to get outside through an open basement window under the deck. We realized something was up when the cat needed to be let in five times in a row without us ever letting her out. This is a lot like that.
Now, we know it was apparently an unusual trip for them, but was it unexpected?
Because something happened such that the SAA forced the US vehicles to reroute.
I wonder if the SAA guys who had to tell the US troops to go back was excited or terrified. It’s gotta be one or the other.
Russia was obviously gleeful—they love putting stuff like that out in their media.
This wasn’t the only unusual activity though, as some of the patrols to the west were, well, missing?
Um. No patrol? Hasn’t there been skirmishes there not so long ago? And that’s the reason for no patrols? Isn’t the prevention of fighting the whole reason for the patrols?
Remember the TFSA? Worse than ISIS? And yet nobody is patrolling.
Not sure why the patrols were so irregular and sometimes absent. Given that, it probably makes sense to recall that there is concern on the part of the US military about the reliability of some of the other parties to the conflict.
One way or another, there is something up. And something is up near Ain Issa.
So, yeah. Storm’s brewing.
So that’s the situation on the ground. A few other notes.
Brett McGurk is jumping up and down about everything again and has a new thread of a dozen or so Tweets. Nothing new to anyone following this blog, but it’s a good run down to see that yeah, everything is as bad as it has seemed.
It’s a nice summary of things.
So that’s fun. Poor McGurk.
Meanwhile, the United States pretends to get serious with Erdogan and Assad by sanctioning an already wrecked economy and maybe recognizing something bad Turkey did a long-ass time ago.
Solid work there.
But, as usual, the people on the ground get it. Some even had words of encouragement for people in England where apparently an election of some sort happened.
So yeah, they endure.
They do so much more too.
Rojava to Rock 