Article

2011-08-05 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Turkish Deputy PM: friendship with Syria cannot continue with Hama 'atrocity'

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Posted by 2011-08-05 10:55|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top

#1 Perhaps this is why Turkey picked up the smuggled arms -- response to the insult when PM Erdogan's personal friend President al Assad didn't back off as instructed...

Given that Assad is fighting for his life, and the survival of the Syrian Alawite community, I suspect he's not too concerned about prostrating himself before a Turk who's an Ottoman Caliph in his own mind.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2011-08-05 11:30|| 2011-08-05 11:30|| Front Page Top

#2 Sure, and it's not like we can know what's going on in Erdogan's mind and what nefarious motives he might have in all this. But it is modestly encouraging all the same to see the Turks call out the Syrians -- that's more than Obama is doing right now.

Posted by Steve White 2011-08-05 11:53|| 2011-08-05 11:53|| Front Page Top

#3 But it is modestly encouraging all the same to see the Turks call out the Syrians -- that's more than Obama is doing right now.

Given the Armenian genocides (~2m dead), which dwarfs anything both Assads have done by two orders of magnitude, I'm not sure the Turks have a leg to stand on. And the Turks weren't exactly fighting for their survival as a traditionally persecuted minority group.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2011-08-05 12:04|| 2011-08-05 12:04|| Front Page Top

#4 While I know the Turks aren't exactly open about the Armenian Genocide, I'm pretty sure all those involved are dead.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2011-08-05 14:26|| 2011-08-05 14:26|| Front Page Top

#5 I guess Erdogan is figuring on a Sunni Syria dominated by Turkey, instead of an Alawite one bound to Iran.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2011-08-05 14:27|| 2011-08-05 14:27|| Front Page Top

#6 I'd bet that deep inside, Erdogan doesn't see a "Syria" existing in the future.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2011-08-05 15:07|| 2011-08-05 15:07|| Front Page Top

#7 Or it might exist in the same way Lebanon exists.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-08-05 16:34|| 2011-08-05 16:34|| Front Page Top

#8 while most of the Turkish actions against the PKK have been justified, the Turks have committed a few atrocities of their own in that conflict (and the PKK has committed a lot of atrocities)

About 40000 have died in that conflict (which is now about 20+ years old) of which about 10-20% are civilians.

Posted by Lord Garth 2011-08-05 17:45|| 2011-08-05 17:45|| Front Page Top

#9 "Turkish Deputy PM: friendship with Syria cannot continue with Hama 'atrocity'"

Why not? It did before.

Posted by Barbara 2011-08-05 21:27|| 2011-08-05 21:27|| Front Page Top

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