Turkey and "Islamic State"

[Colwyn]

What is going on between Turkey and the "Islamic State" groups in Syria and Iraq. The lead headline in today's New York Times states "Turkish Inaction on ISIS Advance Dismays U.S.". Is Erdogan more concerned with overthrowing Assad than in preventing a massacre in Kobane just one mile away from the Turkish border with Syria with Turkish soldiers watching on? What game is Erdogan playing? Does he believe Assad is a bigger threat to Turkey than IS? Or is he less interested in Turkey's national interest than in Assad's threat to a future Islamic Caliphate? 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/world/middleeast/isis-syria-coalition-strikes.html?emc=edit_th_20141008&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=48388843&_r=0

[JohnF]

It appears that the governments hatred/fear of all things Kurdish is overriding everything.  The recent events in Kobane have highlighted this.

Thousands of Turkish troops (and hundreds of tanks/armoured vehicles) sitting idle while the mainly Kurdish inhabitants (including old women and children) of Kobane try to defend themselves against the advancing IS.  In addition, they are actively preventing Kurds who wish to assist from crossing the border.

This is a new low for the AK party and the little man.  It would appear that Davutoğlu has RTE's hand stuck so far up his arse he doesn't know whether to go to a dentist or a manicurist.




As regards Assad, I suspect its got a lot to do with the fact he is a Shia Muslim who is running a country that is predominantly Sunni - and of course his outspoken views of Turkey (and the US & Israel).  We only have to look at the current strained relationship with Egypt after the little man publicly backed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, then very publicly criticised the current ruling regime, to see where his allegiances lie.

JF

[scorcher]

He would seem to take on the role of an interested bystander and hope that the IS faction will deal with the bothersome Kurds thus saving him the bother. Grim situation for sure!

[JohnF]

Not so sure how long they can stand by, the death count in demonstrations within Turkey stood at twelve last night with several regions now imposing curfews.

JF

[Colwyn]

Erdogan - we must support the ground troops fighting against Islamic State

VERSUS

Erdogan - must prevent arms falling into the hands of the Kurds.

[scorcher]

Kurds I think.

[JohnF]

Erdogan - we must support the ground troops fighting against Islamic State

His mouth puppet agrees, but with a very significant proviso:

Ground troops can be used in the operation targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as part of a comprehensive strategy also targeting the Bashar al-Assad regime, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has reportedly said.

Davutoğlu made the remarks in an interview with CNN, CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour wrote via her Twitter account on Oct. 6.

The prime minister’s interview with Amanpour was set to be aired late Oct. 6.

“Turkish PM @Ahmet_Davutoglu tells me there can be boots on ground but only if the U.S. strategy includes going after al-Assad too,” Amanpour wrote on Twitter.

Davutoğlu also reportedly said Turkey will join the coalition against ISIL “only with a no-fly zone and safe havens inside Syria.”

Full article

JF

[Colwyn]

Thanks Scorcher for pointing out the necessary correction, which I have made.

Erdogan in June

I am busy making deals with the Kurds so I can pick up some of the Kurdish vote the presidential election.

VERSUS

Erdogan in July
Demirtas {HCP} is sweeping up Kurdish votes so I am busy making hard line anti-Kurd speeches
to pick up some of the Nationalist {MHP} vote.

[kevin3]

I think the Turkish government are finding various excuses for not attacking ISIL because they have helped them
to get where they are.It is noticeable that ISIL hasn't harmed Turkey or it's people and there are regular reports
of ISIL fighters receiving treatment in Turkish hospitals. There is also a clampdown on the media reporting on ISIL.
Perhaps there's an agreement in place.If ISIL thrive they could perhaps overthrow Assad and rule Syria.
RTE is skating on thin ice with his Nato allies, the EU, the coalition against ISIL, and world opinion generally.
He has also made a lot more enemies within Turkey by his actions.

[usedbustickets]

Old Reg thinks he has outsmarted everyone.  He and the Turkish Military Intelligence have been supporting the IS in Syria for months, allowing them arms and personnel safe passage through Turkey, and some say actually supplying them with arms, plus military intelligence.  He waits for the IS to defeat the Syrian Kurds - thus preventing a link up of all Kurds across both Iraq and Syria creating the semblance of a new Kurdish state - and then he will declare a military buffer zone in Syria, almost certainly around Kobaine, pushing in Turkish troops, who will probably find that the IS fighters have 'mysteriously' disappeared into the night, to concentrate the fight on Assad.

No wonder the Kurds are going mad, both in Turkey and Syria/Iraq.  Still they have supped with Reg and thought they had the beginnings of a peace deal, only to find that they are on the receiving end once again of the full forces of the Turkish state.  Perhaps they'll now stop voting for the AKP when they have little or no opportunity to vote for Kurdish parties.