Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish strongholds in northern Syria began around 4pm on October 9th – this puts the Sun in square to the war-like Saturn Pluto conjunction opposition North Node; and the Sun in an unrealistic inconjunct to Neptune which is turn is in an over-hopeful square to Jupiter. Uranus in Taurus is in an impulsive opposition to Venus Mercury in Scorpio. The late Aquarius Moon is on the Ascendant. Mars in early Libra will head for a high-stress quincunx to Uranus within days and a dangerous, threatening square to Saturn Pluto over the end of the month into early November.
Recep Erdogan, the increasingly autocratic Turkish leader for the past sixteen years, is facing financial and electoral problems which may well be why he decided on a potentially vote-catching attack on the Kurds. The country is going through a currency and debt crisis, high inflation, rising borrowing costs, and rising loan defaults.
The Turkey chart, 29 October 1923 8.30pm Ankara, is labouring through heavy seas from early 2020 to late 2021 with tr Pluto square the 4th house Saturn Mercury, which suggests austerity, hardship, cutbacks and deprivation. There’s also tr Uranus opposition the Scorpio Sun making a final exact and unsettling hit in April 2020. If the start time is accurate then there’s a disappointing and directionless tr Neptune conjunct the Midheaven as well now and into early 2020 and then a wandering few years thereafter with tr Neptune through the 10th. Mid this November to mid December look risky and frustratingly stuck with tr Pluto square the Sun/Mars midpoint. Tr Pluto sextile the Turkey Jupiter in 2020/21 will bring some upbeat news but there’s also an enthusiasm-denting tr Neptune opposition the Jupiter/Pluto midpoint.
Recep Erdogan’s 4th Term chart is running into blockages, obstacles and disruptions with the Solar Arc Sun opposition Pluto, exact in 18 months’ time and an insecure, over-reactive tr Uranus square Mars from mid 2020 on for a year.
The Jupiter Neptune theme would suggest endless refugees, and overwhelmed borders in every sense. Sadly, Saturn Pluto in Capricorn is there triggering things in the Turkish chart for a while. The January line up of planets in Capricorn looks quite intense. This is an awful situation, and must have been planned for a while. They just needed “permission” to begin. And it came. Some days it feels as if we are entirely surrounded by madmen.
One can thank Commander Bonespurs – the greatest commander ever in the history of the US.
Oh yes, he of the “great and unmatched wisdom”. At least there is now some vocal opposition inside the GOP. Perhaps they are finally beginning to see that he is a very unwell and therefore dangerous person. Albeit one with a remarkably high opinion of himself.
I agree. The whole affair of politically weaponizing refugees is incredibly Jupiter-Neptuny. Erdogan is also threatening EU by flooding the zone with 3.6 million Syrian refugees if EU countries object. Obviously, how this would happen, in practise, other than opening Greek-Turkish boarder, is unclear. There would definitely be big risks for Turkey, as well, since Syrian Refugee camps are near the boarder in Southeast. Giving them a chance to reach the EU boarder by land would mean letting them pass the whole Western Turkey. This is incredibly risky. By sea, they would actually pass the part of Turkey that receives the largest tourist influx. So, the risks on Turkish internal stability and economy would actually be considerable.
I’m deeply concerned about the various ethnic and ethno-religious minorities living in Northern Syria including: the Shabaks, Turkomans, Yazidis, Yarsanis, Alevis, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Armenians, and especially the many Kurdish tribes. Turkey could destabilize the region and force these minorities to assimilate for face oppression. Plus, there’s an even bigger risk: ISIS could regroup and instigate ANOTHER genocidal campaign against all of the groups I just listed.
Northern Syria is also hope many ancient archaeological sites and landmarks. We know ISIS have no respect for world history, art, or architecture. They damaged and destroyed many sites in Syria and Iraq when they were in power.
The Kurds are holding over 13,000 ISIS jihadist murderers in captivity. Now that Turkey is invading and performing airstrikes in the region, many Kurds will likely flee the area (many already are) and then who will keep the barbarian ISIS jihadists under control? Where are those 13,000 going to go?
The genocidal campaigns and forced assimilation of the Kurdish peoples (especially the Yazidis) by the Arabs and the Turks has made me an ardent supporter of an Independent Kurdistan – because the Kurdish peoples (and I say peoples because they are not just one single group) need to be able to control their own destiny.
The reason why the Kurdish peoples face so much racism and discrimination is due to the fact that they are Indo-Iranian peoples and they share many genetic and linguistic similarities with ethnic Persians, Lurs, Pashtuns, Nuristanis, Balochis, Ossetians, Tajiks, etc.
Also, the Kurdish people tend to practice less orthodox…or less conservative sects of Islam. For example, many practice Isma’ilism, Sufism, and some of the offshoot religions like Alevism. Some Kurdish ethnic groups and tribes still practice ancient Iranian and Mesopotamian religions such as Zoroastrianism, Yarsanism, and Yazidism (which the Yazidis have become their own ethnoreligious group).
ISIS adheres to some of the worst and most extreme sects (Salafist and Wahhabism) and they view the Kurds as heretics.
“The Kurds are holding over 13,000 ISIS jihadist murderers in captivity. Now that Turkey is invading and performing airstrikes in the region, many Kurds will likely flee the area (many already are) and then who will keep the barbarian ISIS jihadists under control? Where are those 13,000 going to go?”
Home to Europe, where they want to be. Obviously the vast majority of fighters captured are not Europeans, they are either locals or from Middle East and Africa.
But it’s stunning POTUS would say something like this.
@ Solaia,
Yes, I read what Trump (aka the Orange Idiot) said. I hate Trump more than you can possibly imagine. He made that asinine remark about ISIS fighters going back to Europe because he’s angry that Europe hates him as much as most of us Americans do.
Remember, Trump obviously has an IQ that is below average intelligence and he is emotionally immature. He barely knows how to read too.
Trump is also a spoiled brat; he’s used to everybody giving him everything he wants in life….and he HATES when somebody tells him “No” For example, remember how he snubbed Queen Margrethe II of Denmark all because Denmark informed him that Greenland was NOT for sale? People couldn’t believe how ridiculous and petty Trump could be over something as trivial as that – but it didn’t surprise me one bit, Trump is an idiot and a spoiled idiot at that.
And when the Orange Idiot Trump doesn’t get his way, he pulls a big temper tantrum (like an adolescent child) by getting on his little Twitter account and tweeting out disparaging tweets about those who upset him. Then, he bashes them at his stupid rallies (which are full of trashy, disgusting, and lowlife people [if you even want to call them people]).
In other words, the comments he made about ISIS “going back to Europe” infuriated me…but didn’t surprise me.
My one sad hope is that this would be Erdogan’s Vietnam. But it’s the Kurds who will pay the biggest price. Will they ever have their own homeland?
The Kurds are very spread out through Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq in considerable numbers – difficult to see where an established homeland would be set up without encroaching on other country territories which wouldn’t go down well.
@ Marjorie,
Well, there is the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan – they have a government that operates somewhat independently from the rest of the country. Perhaps if Iraqi Kurdistan could gain full independents (and I believe it is possible), then the goal for a sovereign Kurdish nation will have been somewhat achieved.
Anyway, given the level of ethnocentrism, racism, and persecution the Kurdish peoples (not to mention other ethnic, ethno-linguistic, and ethno-religious minorities) have had to endure for so many years, I can fully see why they would prefer independence.
My question about a Kurdish homeland was more or less rhetorical, but I do realize that the Kurdish section of Iraq could be such a base, de facto if not recognized political unit, as Chris notes below. Maybe someday we’ll have a new world order that honors the distinctions of all peoples.
Also to be noted: HDP, which is a pro-minority leftwing party has steadily grown in polls. This is a “great” pretense for Erdogan to arrest key figures from that party.