Embedded with the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] advance is a massive P.R. operation deployed by Washington, involving a hilarious controversy on American boots on the ground. President Obama has always repeated non-stop there would not be US boots on the ground in Syria. The State Department parroted the White House line. But boots — as many as 250 — are indeed on the ground, even as they may disguise themselves with YPG insignia.

The Pentagon maintains they are only acting in an "advise-and-assist" role — as in trademark Obama "leading from behind" format. The boots are in fact Special Forces specialized in UW (unconventional warfare). Yet the theater of war — as established by Daesh — is quite conventional. Daesh is constituted as a small army, with heavy armor and considerable artillery, against which UW is meaningless.

The lame duck Obama administration — whose Syria "policy" hardly deviates from the "Assad must go" mantra — is trying to convey the impression for US public opinion that it is actively fighting Daesh. Yet this is a fiction. With no considerable "coalition" air power (apart from some bombing of Daesh targets south of Ain Issa) and no sizeable troops, no "leading from behind" will yield a US victory in Raqqa.

Pepe Escobar: The road to Raqqa is a ruse

"The speed of the SDF units' movement into Manbij shows that the liberation of the area under the control of the SDF, and with it the strategically important towns of Azaz and Marea in its west, is just a matter of time," said Selcen, who was the Turkish consul in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

"The liberation of Manbij enables the creation of a corridor between the Kurdish regions of Afrin and Kobani. Or course, this step would have a negative impact for Ankara and its Syrian politics. Nevertheless, I get the impression that Ankara has toned down rhetoric regarding Manbij."

There will be no "world war". President Putin said this in Vladimir Solovyov's film World Order. I am convinced that responsible politicians in the West will not allow this to happen either, because they still remember well the horrors of the First and the Second World Wars. Russia suffered the greatest losses during the war in Europe, China suffered the greatest losses in the Pacific as it fought Japanese militarism. Again, the politicians cannot let that happen.

Of course, we can rely on others, but above all, we need to think about us being prepared to prevent another war. Such attempts are being made in regard to building excessive military capabilities and in violation of international treaties.