I had wondered whether Putin was acting as something of a master puppeteer however that idea is refuted by Erdogan's decision to target the Syrian Army / Militia. Others had pondered whether the good cop / bad cop play was aimed at the Afrin defenders but in any case it now seems to be directed at Erdogan.
I still hold to the view that Assad needs the Kurds if he is to 1) facilitate any form of national cohesion that is independent of the external puppet masters and 2) achieve proper engagement with the majority of Syrians who are Sunni Arab. At best it will take time .... a lot of time, flexibility and compromise from all parties. The worst case scenario is that Erdogan now tries to roll over the North ...... which apart from the local catastrophe will impact all our investments and savings.
