For the first time, U.S. special operations forces entered territory in northern Aleppo held by fighters other than the Syrian Democratic Forces on Sept. 16. They were immediately confronted in the town of al-Rai by the Free Men of the East, a rebel group that is displeased with the United States' support for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The rebels forced the U.S. troops to temporarily withdraw from the town until Turkish-backed fighters contained the situation. Though the incident in al-Rai was significant, it overshadowed a far more important development in the Syrian civil war: Turkey has finally succeeded in securing direct U.S. ground support for its operations in Syria....
