FM criticizes lack of int'l strategy against DAESH


Turkey's top diplomat on Wednesday criticized the U.S.-led coalition against DAESH for lacking a strategy, saying: "Today there are 65 countries against DAESH in the coalition, but we do not have a proper strategy to destroy them. We have several fragmentary strategies, many of which have failed."

Speaking at an event in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Antalya, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu added: "The 65 most influential countries in the world should not be capable of failing to act in the face of a terror organization. I hope we produce more effective policies in the days ahead".

Çavuşoğlu also rejected drawing distinctions between terrorist groups, saying: "We should show a joint stance on global issues with strong resolve. There cannot be any ideas that say my terrorist is good, yours is bad."

He added: "Just because someone dangerous is not attacking you at the moment does not mean you are justified in ignoring or approving it," alluding to a Turkish proverb about snakes to that effect, and disparaged trusting one terrorist group just because it is fighting another, comparing such a situation to a "drowning man clutching at straws".

Turning to the five-year Syrian crisis that has killed more than 260,000 people and displaced millions of others, Çavuşoğlu said the entire world has been affected by the stalemate there.

"Today, foreign terrorist fighters arriving to join terror organizations in Syria are coming from 120 countries around the world, from every continent," Çavuşoğlu said.

Çavuşoğlu stressed that even if radicalization exists in one place, it is not limited to that place. "That's why it's everyone's responsibility to solve this issue," he said.

Citing the many facets of radicalization, Çavuşoğlu said: "There is migration flow, the refugee issue. ... Likewise there is terrorism, human trafficking, international organized crime. And not only drugs, I am mean organized crime in general."