REUTERS/Murad Sezer Two key American allies are fighting against each other: Turkey and the Kurds in Syria. The US can approach this problem several different ways. Here's what they should do. As the U.S. government shut down last weekend, two key American allies started fighting against each other: Turkey and the Kurds in Syria. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attempted an exquisite balancing act around this dilemma, nodding to “Turkey’s legitimate security concerns” but also to the “multiethnic group of fighters who are defending their home territory” inside Syria.