Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu uttered the following words in a statement he issued last Saturday. "It is not easy to be an island of stability in the midst of a circle of fire and to achieve and sustain this stability. The condition that will enable us to remain an island of stability is providing peace and stability in the region. If a military operation or resolution method aims at bringing peace and stability to the region in the last instance, we will support it. But if an approach adopts some moves for the public with palliative solutions, we will frankly give our opinion on it. We will take all the precautions required for our national safety. We are open to all segments."
Also, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who just returned from the U.N. General Assembly in New York, agreed that the Kurdish regions in Syria and Iraq preserve their existence through the air attacks of the U.S.-led coalition, adding that in case of a possible Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) attack that threatens Turkey's borders, the army would organize a military operation. "The main factor creating ISIS is Bashar al-Assad's mass murders committed against his own people in Syria and the terror created by Nouri al-Maliki against the civilians in Iraq. So, the fundamental concern of both countries should be providing political stability." Erdoğan said.
Though Turkey secured the release of its 49 citizens held hostage by ISIS, the country is worried about the strategy of the anti-ISIS coalition led by the U.S. There is no hesitation on the idea of ending the mass murders of ISIS. However, the lack of a political plan after bringing about the end of ISIS could bring new and more radical complications even though ISIS can be eradicated. Turkey thinks that the measures taken against Assad's murders and the authority gap in Iraq are more urgent than the suggestions of no-fly and secure zones since they are the main sources of the problem. Bombing ISIS without reinforcing the Free Syrian Army (FSA) would only empower Assad. The ISIS crisis has so far helped Assad. While fighting against ISIS, it is required to support Assad's opponents and exercise strict control over the Syrian regime in order to drain the swamp.
The same goes for Iraq. Just like the Assad issue, Turkey had also warned the U.S. and EU about Maliki, the former Iraqi prime minister, for years. After U.S. troops clumsily and hastily withdrew from Iraq, Maliki committed so many murders and imposed so much pressure on the Sunnis in Iraq that Sunni tribes and groups welcomed ISIS as a savior. Although this war mostly influences Turkey since it has a 1,300-kilometer-long border with Syria and Iraq, all the appropriate warnings from the country were subjected to unjust and senseless blames such as being sectarian or pro-ISIS. The findings of Dr. Mehmet Şahin, who specializes in foreign politics and international relations, successfully summarize Turkey's ISIS strategy and its doctrinal difference from the U.S. "Turkey will be included in an operation organized against ISIS. But while it is included in the coalition,
Turkey seems to determine its own role in the process according to its own wishes rather than performing the role the U.S. assigns to it. It is very hard for Turkey to welcome a new wave of migration. Turkey wishes to form a secure zone until the region extending to the tomb of Suleiman Shah. A no-fly zone will be formed parallel to the secure zone. Then, Turkey is likely to take over a military responsibility at the point of protecting [those areas]. Turkey's aim is to prevent a new wave of migration, to keep them within Syria's borders and to send the refugees in this country to the secure zone. If new camps are formed in the secure zone, the U.N. will have to deal with it. And Turkey does not want to have to share in this burden at all."
If that possible difference in vision between the U.S. and Turkey is resolved, a significant change in the structure that links Israel's security to military power might be achieved. And such a change would not only put an end to ISIS, but also solve the Palestine issue in the Middle East.
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