The Fake War on ISIS: US and Turkey Escalate in Syria
Submitted by Glen Ford on Tue, 08/04/2015 - 11:47
by Eric Draitser
Turkey has long been the most important supporter of both ISIS and the other
al Qaida off-shoot, al Nusra. Indeed, since at least 2012, Turkey has been
the principal conduit for weapons flowing into Syria. Therefore, Turkeys
claim that it is now at war with ISIS is a ruse for deeper Turkish
involvement in a conflict that it fomented. What Turkey really wants is a
No Fly Zone along the Turkey-Syria border and outright war with Syria.
The Fake War on ISIS: US and Turkey Escalate in Syria
by Eric Draitser
This article previously appeared in NEO - New Eastern Outlook.
Turkey has done everything to foster and promote the growth of ISIS from
the very beginning.
The media is abuzz with the news that Turkey will allow US jets to use its
bases to bomb Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Syria. There is much talk
about how this development is a game-changer, and how this is a clear
escalation of the much ballyhooed, but more fictional than real, US war on
ISIS: the terror organization that US intelligence welcomed as a positive
development in 2012 in their continued attempts to instigate regime change
against the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad.
The western public is told that This is a significant shift
Its a big
deal, as a US military official told the Wall Street Journal. What the
corporate media fail to mention, however, is the fact that Turkey has been,
and continues to be, a central actor in the war in Syria and, consequently,
in the development and maintenance of ISIS. So, while Washington waxes
poetic about stepping up the fight against the terror group, and lauds the
participation of its allies in Ankara, the barely concealed fact is that
Turkey is merely further entrenching itself in a war that it has fomented.
Of equal importance is the simple fact that a war on ISIS is merely a
pretext for Turkeys military engagement in Syria and throughout the region.
Not only does Turkeys neo-Ottoman revanchist President Erdogan want to flex
his military muscles in order to further the regime change agenda in Syria,
he also is using recent tragic events as political and diplomatic cover for
waging a new aggressive war against the regions Kurds, especially Turkeys
longtime foe the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
In this way, Turkeys recent moves should be seen as merely a new phase of
its engagement in the regional war that it has helped foment. Contrary to
western corporate media talking points, Turkey has not just recently become
actively engaged in the conflict; Ankara has merely shifted its strategy and
its tactics, moving from covert engagement to overt participation.
Same War, New Phase
The immediate justification for the launching of renewed airstrikes by
Turkey and the US is the expansion of the war against ISIS. In the wake of
the bombing in Turkeys majority Kurdish town of Suruç, which killed 32
youth activists, the Turkish government has allegedly struck hard against
both ISIS and PKK targets. It is against this backdrop that any analysis of
the new phase of this war must be presented.
First and foremost is the fact that even if one were to accept the Turkish
governments official story the suicide bomber was linked to the Islamic
State (ISIS) not at all a certainty, the question of ultimate
responsibility becomes central. While Ankara would have the world believe
that its hands are clean, and that it is the innocent victim of
international terrorism, the reality is that Turkey has done everything to
foster and promote the growth of ISIS from the very beginning. As such, it
is the Turkish government who must shoulder much of the blame for the Suruç
bombing.
Since at least 2012, Turkey has been the principal conduit for weapons
flowing into Syria. In June of that year, the NY Times confirmed that the
CIA was smuggling weapons to anti-Assad forces from the Turkish side of the
border using agents of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, long-time assets of US
intelligence. Also in 2012, Reuters revealed that Turkey had set up a
secret base with allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct vital military and
communications aid to Syrias rebels from a city near the border
Its the
Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main
coordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and
Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom, said a Doha-based source.
Turkeys government is the primary supporter and sponsor of terrorist
groups in Syria.
It is now also documented fact that Turkish intelligence (MIT) has been an
active player in the ongoing campaign to arm and resupply the terror groups
such as the al Nusra Front and others. The evidence of this fact was made
public by the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet which published video footage along
with transcripts from wiretaps confirming what many eyewitnesses have
stated: Turkish security forces have been directly involved in shelling and
support operations for Nusra front and other jihadi groups in and around
Kassab, Syria, among other sites. Many of the very same terrorists who have
been armed and supported by the Turkish government are today being held up
as enemies of Turkey, and rationalization of the need for Turkish military
intervention.
So, with the inescapable understanding that Turkeys government is the
primary supporter and sponsor of terrorist groups in Syria, the
justification for war becomes flimsy at best. But, if its not about
fighting terror, then what exactly is Ankaras objective? What does it hope
to gain?
At the top of Erdogans agenda is using ISIS as a pretext for effecting the
regime change in Syria that he has failed to bring about for these past four
years. Despite providing weapons and cash, training sites and political
cover, Turkeys terror proxies have been roundly defeated by the Syrian Arab
Army, Hezbollah, and allied forces. As such, Erdogan now needs to provide
the overwhelming military superiority required to get the job done. This
means air support and a No Fly Zone along the Turkey-Syria border, one
which ostensibly will allow Turkey to fight ISIS, but in actuality is a
means of securing territory for the terrorists who otherwise have been
unable to do so. It is a de facto military intervention into Syria. Perhaps
not even de facto, but outright declaration of war a clear war crime.
Turkey acts as military muscle for ISIS and al Qaeda in Syria and now
Iraq.
Secondly, the alleged war on ISIS is a politically expedient cover for
Erdogan to wage a full-scale war on the Kurds, and the PKK specifically.
Within hours of announcing the new phase of the war, Turkish forces were
bombing Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq, effectively declaring war on both
countries, in blatant violation of international law, to whatever extent
such a thing still exists. Indeed, Erdogan made his position quite clear
when he stated, It is not possible for us to continue the peace process
with those who threaten our national unity and brotherhood. Essentially,
Erdogan has declared war on all Kurds of the region.
Perhaps most important, and almost never discussed in the West, is the
simple fact that Turkey is perpetuating an outright myth in their supposed
strategy to create Islamic State-free zones along the border; Turkey plans
to work with moderate opposition and Free Syrian Army in this endeavor.
However, the fact remains that there is really no such thing as the
moderates, and those terrorists that had at one time been labeled such
have all either gone home, fled the country, gone over to the Al
Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, or are now fighting under the ISIS banner. And
so, by stating such a plan, Erdogan is unwittingly admitting what this
author has already reported numerous times Turkey acts as military muscle
for ISIS and al Qaeda in Syria and now Iraq.
But of course, were Turkey the only relevant party, these developments would
not be of nearly the same global significance. Rather, it is the
participation and collusion of the US and NATO that makes this troubling
escalation far more dangerous.
Making Overt the Covert War
As of writing, NATO has not yet been convened to discuss Turkeys war on
Syria and the Kurds, though Ankara has called for the meeting under Article
4 of the NATO treaty which provides for consultation, but not necessarily
collaborative military action. However, regardless of how the meeting
proceeds, Turkey has been given overt support in its war by the US, which
is, in effect, NATO.
Although the US feigns concern for the Kurds and the expansion of the war,
Washington has in fact endorsed Turkeys policy. White House spokesman
Alistair Baskey noted that the US strongly condemns recent attacks by the
PKK, reiterating the fact that Turkey is an important US and NATO ally. As
Obamas close adviser on national security matters Ben Rhodes stated, The
US, of course, recognizes the PKK specifically as a terrorist organization.
And, so, again Turkey has a right to take action related to terrorist
targets.
Those terrorists who now provide the rationale for a new war were the very
same ones openly supported by the countries now waging the war.
While it would appear that Washington is taking a measured approach,
cautiously supporting Turkey while trying to limit the scope of the
operation, that illusion is merely for appearances sake. In fact, the
Brookings Institution just last month issued a policy paper entitled
Deconstructing Syria: Towards a regionalized strategy for a confederal
country, which brazenly laid out a plan to, as political analyst Tony
Cartalucci astutely pointed out, divide, destroy, then incrementally
occupy Syria using the pretext of ISIS and terrorism. And that is precisely
what were witnessing now.
But neither Cartalucci, nor this author, nor any other colleagues who have
predicted this turn of events are clairvoyant. Rather, this development was
very much expected. As noted above, those terrorists who now provide the
rationale for a new war were the very same ones openly supported by the
countries now waging the war. It was clear at the time that this would be
their ultimate role. Sadly, the world has not effectively mobilized to stop
this imperialist war thus far.
The question remains: will Syria survive? The answer depends on the
continued resolve of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies, and on the global
Resistances capacity to organize itself to effectively oppose the Empire in
Syria and beyond.
Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City,
he is the founder of StopImperialism.org and OP-ed columnist for RT,
exclusively for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook.
The Fake War on ISIS: US and Turkey Escalate in Syria
Submitted by Glen Ford on Tue, 08/04/2015 - 11:47
Islamic Jihadist Fighters
/fake_turkey_war_on_isis /fake_turkey_war_on_isis
by Eric Draitser
Turkey has long been the most important supporter of both ISIS and the other
al Qaida off-shoot, al Nusra. Indeed, since at least 2012, Turkey has been
the principal conduit for weapons flowing into Syria. Therefore, Turkeys
claim that it is now at war with ISIS is a ruse for deeper Turkish
involvement in a conflict that it fomented. What Turkey really wants is a
No Fly Zone along the Turkey-Syria border and outright war with Syria.
The Fake War on ISIS: US and Turkey Escalate in Syria
by Eric Draitser
This article previously appeared in NEO - New Eastern Outlook.
Turkey has done everything to foster and promote the growth of ISIS from
the very beginning.
The media is abuzz with the news that Turkey will allow US jets to use its
bases to bomb Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Syria. There is much talk
about how this development is a game-changer, and how this is a clear
escalation of the much ballyhooed, but more fictional than real, US war on
ISIS: the terror organization that US intelligence welcomed as a positive
development in 2012 in their continued attempts to instigate regime change
against the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad.
The western public is told that This is a significant shift
Its a big
deal, as a US military official told the Wall Street Journal. What the
corporate media fail to mention, however, is the fact that Turkey has been,
and continues to be, a central actor in the war in Syria and, consequently,
in the development and maintenance of ISIS. So, while Washington waxes
poetic about stepping up the fight against the terror group, and lauds the
participation of its allies in Ankara, the barely concealed fact is that
Turkey is merely further entrenching itself in a war that it has fomented.
Of equal importance is the simple fact that a war on ISIS is merely a
pretext for Turkeys military engagement in Syria and throughout the region.
Not only does Turkeys neo-Ottoman revanchist President Erdogan want to flex
his military muscles in order to further the regime change agenda in Syria,
he also is using recent tragic events as political and diplomatic cover for
waging a new aggressive war against the regions Kurds, especially Turkeys
longtime foe the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
In this way, Turkeys recent moves should be seen as merely a new phase of
its engagement in the regional war that it has helped foment. Contrary to
western corporate media talking points, Turkey has not just recently become
actively engaged in the conflict; Ankara has merely shifted its strategy and
its tactics, moving from covert engagement to overt participation.
Same War, New Phase
The immediate justification for the launching of renewed airstrikes by
Turkey and the US is the expansion of the war against ISIS. In the wake of
the bombing in Turkeys majority Kurdish town of Suruç, which killed 32
youth activists, the Turkish government has allegedly struck hard against
both ISIS and PKK targets. It is against this backdrop that any analysis of
the new phase of this war must be presented.
First and foremost is the fact that even if one were to accept the Turkish
governments official story the suicide bomber was linked to the Islamic
State (ISIS) not at all a certainty, the question of ultimate
responsibility becomes central. While Ankara would have the world believe
that its hands are clean, and that it is the innocent victim of
international terrorism, the reality is that Turkey has done everything to
foster and promote the growth of ISIS from the very beginning. As such, it
is the Turkish government who must shoulder much of the blame for the Suruç
bombing.
Since at least 2012, Turkey has been the principal conduit for weapons
flowing into Syria. In June of that year, the NY Times confirmed that the
CIA was smuggling weapons to anti-Assad forces from the Turkish side of the
border using agents of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, long-time assets of US
intelligence. Also in 2012, Reuters revealed that Turkey had set up a
secret base with allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct vital military and
communications aid to Syrias rebels from a city near the border
Its the
Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main
coordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and
Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom, said a Doha-based source.
Turkeys government is the primary supporter and sponsor of terrorist
groups in Syria.
It is now also documented fact that Turkish intelligence (MIT) has been an
active player in the ongoing campaign to arm and resupply the terror groups
such as the al Nusra Front and others. The evidence of this fact was made
public by the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet which published video footage along
with transcripts from wiretaps confirming what many eyewitnesses have
stated: Turkish security forces have been directly involved in shelling and
support operations for Nusra front and other jihadi groups in and around
Kassab, Syria, among other sites. Many of the very same terrorists who have
been armed and supported by the Turkish government are today being held up
as enemies of Turkey, and rationalization of the need for Turkish military
intervention.
So, with the inescapable understanding that Turkeys government is the
primary supporter and sponsor of terrorist groups in Syria, the
justification for war becomes flimsy at best. But, if its not about
fighting terror, then what exactly is Ankaras objective? What does it hope
to gain?
At the top of Erdogans agenda is using ISIS as a pretext for effecting the
regime change in Syria that he has failed to bring about for these past four
years. Despite providing weapons and cash, training sites and political
cover, Turkeys terror proxies have been roundly defeated by the Syrian Arab
Army, Hezbollah, and allied forces. As such, Erdogan now needs to provide
the overwhelming military superiority required to get the job done. This
means air support and a No Fly Zone along the Turkey-Syria border, one
which ostensibly will allow Turkey to fight ISIS, but in actuality is a
means of securing territory for the terrorists who otherwise have been
unable to do so. It is a de facto military intervention into Syria. Perhaps
not even de facto, but outright declaration of war a clear war crime.
Turkey acts as military muscle for ISIS and al Qaeda in Syria and now
Iraq.
Secondly, the alleged war on ISIS is a politically expedient cover for
Erdogan to wage a full-scale war on the Kurds, and the PKK specifically.
Within hours of announcing the new phase of the war, Turkish forces were
bombing Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq, effectively declaring war on both
countries, in blatant violation of international law, to whatever extent
such a thing still exists. Indeed, Erdogan made his position quite clear
when he stated, It is not possible for us to continue the peace process
with those who threaten our national unity and brotherhood. Essentially,
Erdogan has declared war on all Kurds of the region.
Perhaps most important, and almost never discussed in the West, is the
simple fact that Turkey is perpetuating an outright myth in their supposed
strategy to create Islamic State-free zones along the border; Turkey plans
to work with moderate opposition and Free Syrian Army in this endeavor.
However, the fact remains that there is really no such thing as the
moderates, and those terrorists that had at one time been labeled such
have all either gone home, fled the country, gone over to the Al
Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, or are now fighting under the ISIS banner. And
so, by stating such a plan, Erdogan is unwittingly admitting what this
author has already reported numerous times Turkey acts as military muscle
for ISIS and al Qaeda in Syria and now Iraq.
But of course, were Turkey the only relevant party, these developments would
not be of nearly the same global significance. Rather, it is the
participation and collusion of the US and NATO that makes this troubling
escalation far more dangerous.
Making Overt the Covert War
As of writing, NATO has not yet been convened to discuss Turkeys war on
Syria and the Kurds, though Ankara has called for the meeting under Article
4 of the NATO treaty which provides for consultation, but not necessarily
collaborative military action. However, regardless of how the meeting
proceeds, Turkey has been given overt support in its war by the US, which
is, in effect, NATO.
Although the US feigns concern for the Kurds and the expansion of the war,
Washington has in fact endorsed Turkeys policy. White House spokesman
Alistair Baskey noted that the US strongly condemns recent attacks by the
PKK, reiterating the fact that Turkey is an important US and NATO ally. As
Obamas close adviser on national security matters Ben Rhodes stated, The
US, of course, recognizes the PKK specifically as a terrorist organization.
And, so, again Turkey has a right to take action related to terrorist
targets.
Those terrorists who now provide the rationale for a new war were the very
same ones openly supported by the countries now waging the war.
While it would appear that Washington is taking a measured approach,
cautiously supporting Turkey while trying to limit the scope of the
operation, that illusion is merely for appearances sake. In fact, the
Brookings Institution just last month issued a policy paper entitled
Deconstructing Syria: Towards a regionalized strategy for a confederal
country, which brazenly laid out a plan to, as political analyst Tony
Cartalucci astutely pointed out, divide, destroy, then incrementally
occupy Syria using the pretext of ISIS and terrorism. And that is precisely
what were witnessing now.
But neither Cartalucci, nor this author, nor any other colleagues who have
predicted this turn of events are clairvoyant. Rather, this development was
very much expected. As noted above, those terrorists who now provide the
rationale for a new war were the very same ones openly supported by the
countries now waging the war. It was clear at the time that this would be
their ultimate role. Sadly, the world has not effectively mobilized to stop
this imperialist war thus far.
The question remains: will Syria survive? The answer depends on the
continued resolve of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies, and on the global
Resistances capacity to organize itself to effectively oppose the Empire in
Syria and beyond.
Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City,
he is the founder of StopImperialism.org and OP-ed columnist for RT,
exclusively for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook.
