We＇ve met a Shangri－La and we met at the Manila Clark City －－ excuse me， Clark City， Philippines ASEAN event. So both Shangri－La －－ so I＇ve got relationships with both of the MODs we＇re going out to see， here. And I －－ I －－ I spent a lot more time on what＇s on their mind than where I＇m coming from. You know？ That＇s －－ both of you， you＇ve got good questions， I just －－ just not －－ you caught me flat－footed， here.
What else is on your minds？
Q：Sir， just to change gears really quick. There＇s a lot of －－ lot of breaking news since you last spoken with Turkey and Syria and the （inaudible）. Could you just bring us up to date about how you see the situation there？ Do you think it＇s going to escalate？ Is this going to draw the Kurds away from the mission that you think is the priority？ And has this kind of wrecked the relationship between U.S. and Turkey？
SEC. MATTIS：Yes. Turkey is a NATO ally. It is the only NATO country with an active insurgency inside it＇s borders. And Turkey has legitimate security concerns. We work very closely with Turkey. They have been very supportive of our Defeat－ISIS campaign， allowing us to use Incirlik to fly out of and other NATO countries.
We have ongoing collaboration consultations. They are constant. The SACEUR and his NATO hat. Obviously General Dunford has been there numerous times and has very close phone connections and in －－ in NATO forums， close connect with the Turks. The area where we＇ve had disagreement on our tactical collaboration with the Syrian Democratic Forces， which include a sizable percentage of －－ of which is YPG.
YPG had historic connections to the PKK by having our officers and NCOs on the ground， we monitor that they are using what we are giving them for support to go against ISIS and they have proven their effectiveness. It has cost them thousands of casualties， but you have watched them， with －－ with the coalition support， shred ISIS caliphate in Syria. I mean， that＇s a matter of arithmetic.
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