by Boaz Bismuth
In an effort to distance the Kurds from the Turkish border, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan found the perfect solution: A war against the Islamic State group • When it comes to Turkish military actions, always look for the Kurdish angle.
A Turkish tank near the
Syrian border
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Photo credit: Reuters  |
Turkey launched an unprecedented attack
on Syria Wednesday in an effort to liberate the town of Jarablus from
the clutches of the Islamic Sate group and to distance terrorists from
its borders to prevent future attacks on Turks. This is the official
version. But there are, of course, additional reasons behind Turkey's
most significant action in Syria since the beginning of the civil -- and
religious -- war there, which has now entered its sixth year. When it
comes to Turkish military operations, always look for the Kurdish angle.
Since Turkey entered the fighting in Syria in
the summer of 2015, when it allowed coalition forces to use its Incirlik
air base in the country's south, it has been focused on the Kurdish
underground fighters. Islamic State was never a main target. Moreover,
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime had a perverse policy
when it came to Islamic State. He never saw the jihadi terrorists as a
threat, but rather as an opportunity.
Erdogan viewed the Islamic State terrorists as
mercenaries who would attack the Kurds instead of him. He wasn't even
concerned when Islamic State operatives began running around Turkey. The
Turkish intelligence services noted that in January, 2015, there were
3,000 of them in Turkey. The border between Turkey and Syria served as a
porous sieve for Islamic State members. Ankara turned into the jihad
highway.
If anyone has any doubt regarding Erdogan's
clear preference of Islamic State over the Kurds, they are welcome to
bring to mind the difficult events of October, 2014 in the Kurdish city
of Kobani in Syria. Islamic State massacred the poor Kurds while
Erdogan's army watched on the sidelines in complete indifference just
across the border. Erdogan was convinced at the time that he could
accommodate Islamic State -- that is, until the terrorist attacks began
and Islamic State gunfire and rockets began crossing the Syrian border
into Turkey.
The most recent attacks, especially the one at Ataturk Airport at
the end of June, made it clear to the Turks that Islamic State had
crossed the border. But Turkey was still willing to show restraint. It
may have even refrained from retaliating for the attack
on the Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep, in which 54 people had been
killed, if the Kurdish YPG militia had not begun to take control over
swathes of territory near the Turkish border.
If the Turks have a red line, it is the
establishment -- or even the potential establishment -- of an
independent Kurdish entity. The Turks cannot accept it. In an effort to
distance the Kurds from their border, and with the consent of the
American patron of the Kurds in Syria, Ankara found the perfect
solution: a war against the Islamic State group.
The war on Islamic State has amazing effects:
It can unite the Americans and the Turks, the Kurds and the Syrian
rebels, the Russians and the Americans, the Americans and the Iranians,
and even the Russians and the Turks. What would we do without Islamic
State? One could even say that the war on Islamic State saved Syrian
President Bashar Assad to a certain extent.
Turkey is in the midst of an ongoing conflict
with the Kurds within its territory. Ankara's biggest nightmare is a
contiguous stretch of Kurdish territory in northern Syria and Iraq. This
Turkish zone already took shape in 2014 and was considered to be one of
Erdogan's biggest failures. Wednesday's operation, "Euphrates Shield,"
could also be called "Shield Against the Kurds." The United States is
prepared to cooperate with the Turks on the condition that the Islamic
State group be taken down. That is the only way to interpret U.S. Vice
President Biden's call on the Kurdish militias not to advance west of
the Euphrates.
The fall of the city of Manbij, near the
Turkish border, into Kurdish hands on Aug. 12, prompted the Turks to
prevent the capture of more towns by the YPG, which is tied to the PKK.
There is no doubt that the protracted war in
Syria has shuffled the deck in the region, perhaps more than once: The
Turkish operation comes at a time when Ankara has normalized relations
with Moscow, stepped up relations with Tehran and even reconciled with
Israel. The current cooling of ties between Turkey and a number of
Western capitals that were not quick to condemn the attempted coup in
Ankara last month could explain Turkey's reconciliation with Russia and
Iran.
Turkey, like several other countries, has many
interests in Syria. It understands that it likely will not be able to
overthrow Assad now, so it has joined those who are protecting him --
Russia and Iran. But this is not a natural coalition. The connection
forged with Washington during the operation on Wednesday also wasn't
necessarily natural.
In our Middle East, there is no love, only interests.
The Turks have one clear interest: preventing an independent Kurdish
entity. They will get what they want in exchange for a war on the
Islamic State group.
Boaz Bismuth
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=35925
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