Fears of a 'war within a war' in Syria

In recent days there have been crucial developments in the U.S. capital. Some of these will have direct effects and some will have indirect effects on Turkish-American ties. 

Let me start with the most imminent one for Turkey. Ever since Donald Trump entered office with his campaign right arm General Mike Flynn in the driving seat of the National Security Council, there were serious considerations at the White House that the Turkey file in the State Department would be removed from the European Bureau and moved to the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau. 

The motivation for such a change came from the fact that in the recent years Turkey has been mostly handled within the context of Syria or Iraq. The idea had supporters at the Pentagon because Turkey, which currently falls under the responsibility area of the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), has been causing a headache for the Central Command (CENTCOM) in their Syria and Iraq operations. 

The State Department is against moving Turkey to the Middle East, as it would complicate the nature of the relationship and send a dismissive message about Turkey's NATO membership. Although not many in Washington are interested today, this step would also end the U.S. diplomatic tradition of keeping the Turkey and Greece files together. After all, the decision to include the Turkey file in the European Bureau was taken by Henry Kissenger after the Turkish intervention into Northern Cyprus in 1974. 

From what I've heard, Ankara was disturbed by the rumors and cautioned the Trump administration to not take any steps to change Turkey's bureau. The crisis seems to have been averted for the time being and the plans have been put off indefinitely, officials have told me. 

But another development...