Submit your comments on this article |
The Grand Turk |
Turkey Is Going Down a Highly Dangerous Path |
2012-10-07 |
Turkey's retaliation against Syria marks a dangerous new phase in the conflict -- one that threatens to grow into a regional confrontation. That, though, might be what Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has in mind, say German editorialists on Friday. It could lead to greater Turkish influence in the Middle East. Pencilneck's shooting artillery into Erdogan's country and killing his citizens. What the hell's he supposed to do? Retaliatory strikes by Turkey against Syria on Wednesday have created an entirely new dimension to a civil war that now threatens to become a full-fledged regional conflict in the Middle East. The moves by Ankara came after shelling by Syrian forces that killed five women and children in the Turkish border town of Akcakale. European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle have strongly criticized the shelling by Syria. And on Thursday, the United Nations Security Council overcame divisions to issue a statement condemning the shelling "in the strongest terms." The statement, which had been watered down at Russia's behest, said the incident "highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability." Turkey's intensified role in the crisis is raising serious concerns that the country, a member of NATO, may ultimately drag the rest of its partners into war with Syria by invoking Article Five, which stipulates that all alliance members must come to the defense of any other member country that has been attacked. On Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also sought to assuage concerns his country might be preparing for war. "We as Turkey just want peace and security in our region," he told reporters. "The consequences of war are plain to see in Iraq and Afghanistan." Syria has not formally apologized to Turkey for the incident, but Russia has said it was given assurances from Damascas that the shelling of Turkey had been a tragic accident, according to wire reports. Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja'afari said Thursday: "The Syrian government is keenly interested in maintaining good neighborly relations with Turkey. The Syrian government is not seeking any escalation with any of its neighbors, including Turkey." Although there is no indication Ankara will take steps to further escalate hostilities with Syria, worries over that potential outcome still consume the editorial pages of Germany's leading newspapers on Friday. The leftist Die Tageszeitung writes: "For decades, Turkish policy tended to be isolationist, with a focus in the country on maintaining what it already had. But this foreign policy abstinence ended when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu entered office. During his time as foreign minister, Turkish President Abdullah Gül has focused mostly on Turkey's deeper integration into Europe. But Davutoglu has also pushed for a new, more powerful role for the country in regions that include the Middle East and the Balkans -- areas the Ottoman Empire once ruled. Indeed, his opponents accuse him of pursuing neo-Ottoman policies with the aspiration of Turkish dominance in the region with a more modern twist. Initial successes by Davutoglu and Ergogan were jeopardized by the Arab Spring and threaten to collapse completely with the Syrian civil war. That's why the two opposed (Syrian dictator) Bashar Assad at a very early stage. They had hoped that the regime would quickly collapse and that they could play a role in installing his successor. But nothing came of that and now Erdogan is faced with a choice of abandoning his ambitions or raising the stakes." The center-right daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: "It's apparently true that the shelling of the Turkish border town was indeed a 'tragic accident,' as the Syrian government described it in its apology. Assad cannot feasibly have any interest in starting a military conflict on the border with Turkey. He needs his troops in his own country to hold onto power. A massive Turkish military intervention (with a degree of political support from NATO) would presumably lead to more freed areas in Syria, which could quickly turn into internationally protected safe zones -- which would virtually legitimize the collapse of the Syrian state under international law." The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "Turkey is in the process of going down a highly dangerous path. It is intervening in a war. With a decision by its parliament this week mandating a deployment of the Turkish military into Syrian territory, the NATO member state has also established the pre-conditions for a highly dangerous internationalization of the Syrian conflict." The conservative Die Welt writes: "Many people, such as the Syrian rebels, might hope this situation offers Ankara a reason to support the Syrian opposition not only with words, weapons and money, but also with military force. In reality, hardly anyone is interested in allowing the situation to escalate any further. Damascus doesn't want that because the Assad regime needs its soldiers to put down the uprising. Ankara doesn't want that because a large majority of Turks are opposed to it and because Syria would be an opponent to take seriously. If it came to an all-out war, the Syrian army could also use chemical or biological weapons from its well-stocked arsenal. The consequences would be unforeseeable. But NATO also doesn't want to be pulled into a new war in the Middle East and a civil war in Syria with unclear front lines. Europe has enough to do with its economic and currency crisis. And, during its election campaign season, America might not want to be bothered with what's happening in the outside world." The business daily Handelsblatt writes: "The conflict now threatens to escalate. One shouldn't believe that Turkish Prime Erdogan is acting disinterestedly with his retaliatory strikes or that he only pushed through a kind of enabling act permitting the foreign deployment of his military solely for purposes of making a show. The step means a conscious fuelling of the conflict. NATO now has an avenue for getting into things itself if there are more Syrian encroachments." The Financial Times Deutschland writes: "The Syrian attack on Turkish territory has made one thing clear: Each military incident along the border of the two countries could trigger a war. And because Turkey is a NATO member state, it is a war that Germany and the other NATO partners would inevitably get pulled into." |
Posted by:Steve White |
#13 I simply cannot believe you are espousing the classic divide and conquer Obama technique g(r)om. :-) I've never figured out the fuss about divide and conquer. The idea seems to be that some evil genius cooks up a scheme to sow discord among a group that was one big happy family. I think it's BS on wheels. If they're one big happy family, how can you sow discord among them? Are they children, that you can distract them by pointing in the air at some imaginary thing while you're rearranging the tableau? Reality is that everyone in the game is trying to get useful allies that he'll try to persuade to fight his battles for him until they're weakened enough for him to stab in the back and take their territory for his own. Reality is not a Hollywood movie. It is a war of all against all. |
Posted by: Zhang Fei 2012-10-07 23:27 |
#12 Ya know we keep hearing about how dire a situation Pencilneck is in, but I have yet to see him dead. It's annoying, yet at the same time nice since the Jihadi's are going into a meatgrinder. |
Posted by: Charles 2012-10-07 22:00 |
#11 Obama had used that tactic with great success against his republican adversaries. I don't think he ever had a plan for the rest of the world. Then again the world is his friend to be talked to and coddled, not an enemy that might want to dethrone him. |
Posted by: rjschwarz 2012-10-07 15:05 |
#10 Obama claims divide & conquer as his invention? |
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-10-07 13:33 |
#9 I simply cannot believe you are espousing the classic divide and conquer Obama technique g(r)om. :-) |
Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-07 12:18 |
#8 Faster please. |
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-10-07 12:10 |
#7 Syria can send fighters but I suspect Turkey could defend herself now that she's ready. Beyond that all Syria could do is support Kurds. That might be a real pain to the Turks but I suspect it would take longer than Assad has. |
Posted by: rjschwarz 2012-10-07 09:29 |
#6 Pencilneck's shooting artillery into Erdogan's country and killing his citizens. What the hell's he supposed to do? Supposed to do? SUPPOSED to do what the Israelis are supposed to do, stand there and take it; or petition the UN. |
Posted by: AlanC 2012-10-07 09:28 |
#5 Germans 4th Reich what is the difference? |
Posted by: Angiting Snore1647 2012-10-07 09:07 |
#4 Yep it's real hard for someone to shoot into a country from the middle of nowhere and or over run one position and turn the weapon didn't Gump hold his own against many? |
Posted by: Angiting Snore1647 2012-10-07 09:06 |
#3 Erdogan will do what he wants. This has been his show so far. He needs the diversion because he has many within his own country against him. The economy stinks also. Then a very large area of diverse peoples about them dislike the Turks. They have a history that is still fresh in the minds of others. Erdogan is no Hitler. Those of the time said Hitler pulled the country together out of desperate times. Several areas around the world could produce such a person again in my opinion.We have them now but they are stillborn. Someone who is very good communicator, population control, create enemies within , media control, are their tools. Most will follow slavishly.Even to the death. Belonging to something greater than themselves. Erdogan doesn't have it. So a long draw out conflict which is good for business which the Turks are renowned for. |
Posted by: Dale 2012-10-07 08:55 |
#2 The Third Army's smart enough to stay out of it, B. |
Posted by: Perfesser 2012-10-07 07:16 |
#1 The Germans and other NATO members are smart enough to stay out of a Muslim border skirmish, particularly with the Russians sitting on the other end. Syria is likely not going to invade Turkey and everyone knows it. Any misfortune befalling the Turks will be welcomed by the average German I assure you. The question now is, are we smart enough to stay out of it ? |
Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-07 06:39 |