I have often thought that since Turkey is a member of NATO that Turkey might be a better Choice (for NATO members) to be in charge of Syria than Iran or ISIS. So, what we might be seeing the the beginning of that. However, this wouldn't be good new for the Kurdish people because Turkey doesn't want Kurds to have their own country or countries in that region.
Turkey Turns Guns on Islamic State as Clashes Spread Into Syria
Turkey’s
army clashed with Islamic State fighters across the Syrian border,
signaling the NATO member may be ready to take a more active role in the
fight against jihadists. There were also reports that Turkish special
forces were carrying out operations inside Syria, and that the
government will…
Thu, Jul 23, 2015, 4:52pm EDT - US Markets are closed
Turkey Turns Guns on Islamic State as Clashes Spread Into Syria
By Benjamin Harvey
3 hours ago
Turkey
officially joined the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State yet it
has hitherto stayed in the background, putting a higher priority on
ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and preventing Syrian Kurds
from creating their own statelet.
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The apparent change of course follows a suicide bomb
blamed on Islamic State that killed more than 30 people, mostly
pro-Kurdish activists, in a border town on Monday. Since then, a wave of
violent reprisals has alarmed authorities and spooked markets, because
it suggested that the four-year civil war in Syria was spilling into
Turkey.The country’s benchmark stock index was the world’s worst performer on Thursday, posting a 3.6 percent drop. Bonds and the lira also plunged.
Haberturk television said Turkey has taken the fight against jihadists into Syria, with special forces crossing the border to carry out operations there. It didn’t give details, and the report couldn’t immediately be confirmed.
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American RequestTurkey’s National Security Council met on Thursday. CNN-Turk television said that officials have agreed to give the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State access to the airbase at Incirlik, which has regularly been used in the past for American military operations in the Middle East.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier discussed enhanced cooperation against Islamic State by telephone, according to the White House.
Under
Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey has been accused by
its NATO allies, as well as the domestic opposition, of getting its
priorities wrong in Syria.
While the U.S. has provided air support
to Syrian Kurds, who have been among the most effective fighters
against Islamic State, Turkish leaders have shunned them because of
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Coalition Vacuum
Critics,
including the Kurds, also say that Turkey’s emphasis on the need to
topple Assad has led it to turn a blind eye to Islamist militants
fighting against him.
The
lira slid 1 percent against the dollar on Thursday, hitting a one-month
low, and yields on benchmark two-year debt jumped 17 basis points to 9.5
percent. Investors cited the combination of spreading violence from Syria and political stalemate at home.
In
elections last month, Davutoglu’s party lost its parliamentary majority
for the first time in more than a decade. It hasn’t yet been able to
stitch together a coalition, raising the risk that the country will be
forced to repeat the vote.
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