In the fight against ISIS, U.S. policymakers have been increasingly confounded by the fact that two crucial allies, Turkey and the Kurds, are locked in a violent conflict on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border. While Washington’s plans for defeating ISIS rely on airbases in Turkey and Kurdish troops in Syria, the Turkish government continues to insist that Washington’s Syrian Kurdish partners are no different from the Kurdish terrorists against which it is fighting at home. In the absence of a more effective U.S. plan for addressing the situation, Turkey’s domestic conflict now threatens to not only undermine the war against ISIS but also destabilize Turkey, damage U.S.-Turkish relations, and prolong the Syrian conflict.

The Bipartisan Policy Center hosted an expert panel discussion that addressed the evolving relationship among Turkey, Syria and the Kurds, with a focus on the implications for U.S.-Turkish relations and U.S. policy in Syria. As an already complicated situation risks causing a major crisis between Washington and its allies, understanding the dynamics has become more important than ever.

Read the Report

Authoritarianism and Escalation: Preparing for the Worst in Turkey’s Resurgent Kurdish Conflict

Join the discussion on Twitter: @BPC_Bipartisan #BPClive

Featuring:

Eric Edelman

Co-Chair, BPC’s Turkey Initiative

Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey

Aliza Marcus

Author, Blood and Belief

@AlizaMarcus

Ceng Sagnic

Junior Researcher, Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies

@cngsgnc

Amberin Zaman

Public Policy Fellow, Wilson Center

@amberinzaman

Moderated by:

Ishaan Tharoor

Reporter, The Washington Post

@ishaantharoor