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Comment by 0x07c0 | Hacker News Reader

They also hit one of the rescue helicopters with a missile. Shooting down the plane, killing of the pilots in the air (by Turkish assets), ambush of rescue party. This looks like a planed provocation to me. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/24/us-mideast-syria-c...

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>(by Turkish Assets)

Source? Everything I've read says the Syrian Turkmen are certainly allies of Turkey, but not assets.

"..Turkish camps in Syria which the Turkmens are being trained, stating that it still takes place unofficially and in a secret way.[6][7] He added that Turkish Forces are training the Syrian Turks to protect their settlements and to join the fight with Syrian Turkmen Brigades in those secretly located camps. Nuceyfi also gave more information saying that Turkish officials have told that military supplies and weapons will be sent to Turkmens in Iraq and Syria in the near future but he isn't acquainted about the exact amount and date.

Later that day, Turkish 'officials' in Ankara, confirmed the statements of Esil Nuceyfi about the before and the positively promising future of the training of Turkmens both in Iraq and Syria" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Turkmen_Brigades#Brigad... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/1201...

Yes, it's readily acknowledged that Turkish special forces have trained the Turkmen. But that is not the same as the Turkmen fighters being "Turkish Assets", which suggests command over their actions.

It's a very weird stance. So if a country officially trains forces (wouldn't say soldiers) in another country, it isn't like it influences and directs them just a little bit?

I see it like directly comparable to what the US did in most of the significant conflicts ever since the ww2. It didn't say what Osama bin Laden should do (back when he was a "good guy"), but it did give him intel support, training and guns, which is almost the same.

Not saying that the US is unique in this, it's just the most prolific and egregious by far. Turky is just learning from the best.

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