For Turkey the genie is out of the bottle in Syria

Now that the U.S. has finally pushed the button for the long-planned Raqqa operation in Syria to dismantle the so-called caliphate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the genie is out of the bottle. The Pentagon expects intense fighting for Raqqa and is also aware that the ISIL threat will not disappear with the liberation of its twin capitals in Syria and Iraq: Raqqa and Mosul. Furthermore, the isolation of Qatar by the Gulf states under the patronage of Saudi Arabia, and the first major ISIL attack in Iran, also have a high potential to complicate the battle inside Syria. 

The battle of Raqqa has been at the heart of contention between Ankara and Washington since the last months of the Obama administration. The Turkish government repeatedly warned the U.S. of the possible grave consequences of partnering with the People's Protection Units (YPG) for the Raqqa operation and equipping them with heavy weapons, including anti-tanks. 

While Ankara's efforts to convince the Trump administration for a Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) alternative to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - the main component and command of which is the YPG - failed, the Turkish argument that the YPG is simply the Syria branch of the outlawed PKK started to win adherents in high offices in Washington. In private conversations I heard key officials close to the White House talking about the overlap between the YPG and the PKK. However, nobody should expect them to publicly call a cat a cat - at least until Raqqa is liberated. 

Meanwhile, Ankara has so far refrained from taking a bold step that would result in further antagonizing the U.S. military, which was seriously irritated by Turkish strikes hitting YPG fronts back in April. Pentagon spokesman Capt....