{"id":871,"date":"2014-09-12T22:28:58","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T22:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/?p=871"},"modified":"2014-09-12T22:28:58","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T22:28:58","slug":"nature-of-turkeys-engagement-in-the-anti-isis-alliance-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/nature-of-turkeys-engagement-in-the-anti-isis-alliance-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature of Turkey\u2019s engagement in the anti-ISIS alliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

In its lead article<\/a>, the British daily The Times comments that the US president Obama\u2019s response to the menace of Islamic State (ISIS) is the correct one. \u201cThis is a smart war, it must be well-fought and well-led, a war for modern times\u201d <\/strong>the newspaper editorial said.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that ISIS represents a serious threat beyond the region it is wreaking havoc in. It needs to be tackled urgently and efficiently.<\/p>\n

An international conference to be hosted by France on 15 September may help towards co-ordinating the battle against ISIS . By the time President Obama gathers regional and international leaders at a summit in New York on September 24, we may have a more coherent and clear alliance.<\/p>\n

As things stand now, the war against ISIS is anything but smart.<\/p>\n

An open ended campaign of air strikes against ISIS has been welcomed by Iraq\u2019s new government.\u00a0 Deputy Prime Minister, Kurdish politician Hoshyar Zebari calls the ISIS a \u201cmortal threat to everybody\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fighting ISIS on Syrian soil is altogether another matter. \u00a0Syrian government has made it clear that any attacks within Syria would be considered a violation of its sovereignty. Iran and Russia also would see it against the international law.<\/p>\n

Russia should be concerned about the rise of ISIS just as much as the US.\u00a0 It is highly vulnerable to Islamist radicalism in the North Caucasus, especially in Chechnya.\u00a0 However, while it squares up for its showdown with the west over Ukraine, Russia is not likely to co-operate either at the UN Security Council or on the ground. .<\/p>\n

Germany is also saying that there are legal and military questions about carrying out airstrikes in Syria.\u00a0 As for Britain, the Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond seems to have a different understanding of the situation than his Prime Minister David Cameron. \u00a0His comments in Berlin that the UK would not join in bombing raids over Syria was promptly corrected by a spokesman from the Downing Street, saying that Mr Cameron has not ruled anything out.<\/p>\n

John Kerry, the US secretary of state managed to rally America\u2019s Arab allies in Jeddah on Thursday. On Friday, he was in Ankara, trying to explain where Turkey fitted in the picture. Sources in Ankara confirm that a frank exchange of views took place behind the closed doors. The main concern seems to be still inadequate control of Turkey\u2019s borders with Syria and the undeniable existence of radical Islamists in Turkey.<\/p>\n

John Kerry acknowledged the sensitivities of Turkey and the reasons for its reluctance to be seen to be publicly engaged in the battle against ISIS, while 49 of its citizens kept hostage by the movement. Nevertheless, Mr Kerry insisted that Turkey is very involved, very engaged.<\/p>\n

With more than a million Syrian refugees in its camps and cities, 900 km frontier into northern Syria and 352 km border with Iraq, Turkey is indeed fully engaged and \u00a0on the frontline.\u00a0 But its involvement with the conflict is not limited to its geographical position.<\/p>\n

If the \u00a0comments<\/a> by the former US ambassador to Ankara, Francis Ricciardone to the Atlantic Council think-tank on Thursday confirming Turkey\u2019s support for Islamist groups in Syria was not convincing enough, \u00a0a Newsweek exclusive<\/a> \u201cISIS Starts Recruiting in Istanbul\u2019s Vulnerable Suburbs\u201d by the excellent investigative reporters Alev Scott and Alexander Christie-Miller should be a real eye-opener.<\/p>\n

For now, the Obama administration is maintaining a respectfully diplomatic front towards Turkey but it is not always possible to mask the frustration felt by others in Washington. \u00a0The resentment is not limited to Turkey\u2019s support for the Islamists in Syria, either. \u00a0\u00a0Turkey\u2019s backing of Hamas is another bone of contention.\u00a0 On September 9, the criticism<\/a> voiced in the Congress against Turkey was one of the strongest to date.<\/p>\n

When it comes to maintaining strategic ties with unsavory regimes and be responsive to the legitimate concerns of the American public, Mr Obama has an increasingly difficult balancing act. A new national survey<\/a> by the Pew Research Center shows that the worries among the population about the rise of Islamist extremism are growing. Six in ten (62%) are very concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism around the world; 53 % is very concerned about the possibility of rising extremism in the US. At the same time, there has been a substantial drop in the public\u2019s ratings of the government\u2019s efforts to reduce terrorism.<\/p>\n

The other side of the coin is the rising anti-west sentiment in countries with large Muslim populations. \u00a0In Turkey\u2019s case, coupled with anti-Semitism, the hostile attitudes towards the US and the west in general have become very visible. So much so, after their one hour meeting at the NATO summit in Wales last week, the White House put a line in their brief statement: \u201cThe president and President Erdo\u011fan also discussed the importance of building tolerant and inclusive societies and combating the scourge of anti-Semitism.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In its lead article, the British daily The Times comments that the US president Obama\u2019s response to the menace of Islamic State (ISIS) is the correct one. \u201cThis is a smart war, it must be well-fought and well-led, a war for modern times\u201d the newspaper editorial said. There is no doubt that ISIS represents a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}