Saving Kobani: What Can Turkey, US Air Power Really Achieve?

• Turkey’s refusal to step in before a bloodbath likely to happen in Kobani, a Syrian town besieged by ISIS [Deutche Welle], has been met with deadly protests locally, and heavy [USA Today] criticism [National Review] in the US. Not so fast, says Chris Kilford who until recently was Canada’s Defence Attaché to Turkey:

“The truth is that the Turkish military, without extensive preparation, is not able to conduct sustained cross-border operations against a determined opposition such as ISIL. In Turkey’s defence there are not that many militaries that would contemplate going it alone either. More to the point, a hastily planned unilateral intervention by the Turkish military could be extremely damaging politically if things went wrong.”

• Lt Gen David Deptula (USAF, Ret.) has choice words for the US Administration, based on his experience in Afghanistan:

“One can see [ISIS] tanks and artillery… in the open on TV, yet the coalition forces for ‘Operation Un-named Effort’ are not hitting them. Airpower can hit those targets and many others, but those in charge of its application are not—that’s the issue—not the limits of airpower.”

• How did we get there? Reuters looks at the US’ Syria policy stalled under the ‘analyst in chief’.