By Jim W. Dean, Managing Editor on January 19, 2016
… from Sputnik
News, Moscow
Erdogan has really gotten full of
himself
[ Editor’s Note: Erdogan is
scrambling to divert attention from his democracy crackdown in Turkey, with his
military moves to assist other countries with anti-terrorism military training.
With as big an army as Turkey has, he might as well do something for them, as
he sure as hell isn’t using them to fight ISIL.
He has converted the Army and the
Intelligence services into one of the biggest “palace guards” in modern times.
Although his long time crackdown and jailings of media people has brought
little UN or NATO condemnation, the current crackdown on academics could be the
tipping point, as in it triggering a general strike.
At some point the remaining institutions
who have kept their heads down will realize that the Erdogan mafia will
eventually subdue them all one by one, so it would be better to oppose him in a
coalition while there are still organizations that could join.
The NATO countries will also look weak
in not being able to influence Erdogan from the embarrassing path he has
chosen. Even the EU who has made a big show at bringing Poland and Hungary to
heel or limiting the press is playing the dunce hypocrite role for looking the
other way on Turkey. Poland and Hungary have not been jailing journalists on
vague trumped up charges solely for being in the opposition.
The EU needs a Putin, and not a Merkel,
and by that I do not mean a sex change operation for her. They need someone who
is not a graduate of Fantasyland University, and who can deal with real
geopolitics and be straight with their constituency, rather than acting like an
occupational force mandarin, totally disconnected from the people… Jim W.
Dean ]
___________
Will Erdogan pretend he is fighting
African terrorists now?
– First published … January 15, 2016 –
Ankara is determined to beef up Turkey’s
military presence in the Middle East and Africa; after concluding an agreement
with Doha to build Turkey’s first Middle Eastern military base in Qatar, Ankara
has unveiled its plans to create a new military installation in Somalia.
Ankara is seeking to expand
Turkey’s influence beyond the Middle East to Africa in a bid
to transform Turkey from the regional state into a sort
of neo-Ottoman Empire.
“Turkey is building its first base
in Africa… The Turkish army intends for the facility to be a
training center for Somali troops. The fledgling Somali National
Army — with the help of African Union troops and American
commandos — has been fighting a war with Al-Shabaab insurgents
for years,” American reporter Kevin Knodell writes in his article for WarIsBoring.com, quoting Turkish Foreign Ministry
official Emil Tekin.
The initiative has followed the
agreement signed between Doha and Ankara to kick off Turkey’s
first military base in the Middle East.
Remarkably, Qatar is already home
to the American Al Udeid military base, which has around 10,000 US
troops. According to diplomats, the new Turkish installation in Qatar
is expected to accommodate 3,000 soldiers.
“Turkey diversifies allies
with first Mideast military base in Qatar; is it possible also
in Djibouti and in Mogadishu, Somalia, Soon?” Geeska Afrika Online reported on December 26,
2015, as if they had seen it in a crystal ball.
“Though this will be Turkey’s first
permanent military base in Somalia, the Turks are hardly newcomers. During
the years of the Ottoman Empire, Turks frequently made their way
to Somalia as both warriors and merchants,” Knodell continues.
By strengthening military ties
with its Sunni Islamic allies, the Turkish leadership is behaving
like a bull in a china shop toward its neighbors, Syria and
Iraq.
On December 4, Turkey unilaterally
deployed 150 troops and 25 tanks in northern Iraq near Mosul
without permission from Baghdad. The de-facto “invasion” was carried
out under the pretext of war against Daesh (Islamic State/ISIL)
and the necessity to ensure the security of Turkish operatives
in the region.
The Iraqi government expressed its vocal
dissatisfaction with Ankara’s move; however, the Erdogan government turned
a deaf ear to Baghdad’s displeasure. At the same time, it is no
secret that Ankara has long been allowing foreign jihadists to penetrate
into Syria through the Turkish border.
Recep Erdogan’s request
to establish a US-Turkish ‘no-fly’ zone over Syria was aimed
at splitting up the country, Bangkok-based geopolitical analyst Tony
Cartalucci wrote in his article for New Eastern Outlook in October 2015.
“Long sought after ‘buffer zones’ also
sometimes referred to as ‘free zones’ or ‘safe zones’ still stand
as the primary strategy of choice by the US and its regional allies
for the deconstruction of Syria’s sovereignty and the intentional
creation of a weak, failed state,” the analyst emphasized.
Furthermore, while conducting its illegal oil trade with Daesh (thus facilitating the group’s
prosperity), the Erdogan regime cracked down on the Kurdish Peshmerga,
by bombing PKK and YPG fighters — the US-led coalition’s allies
in fighting Daesh.
Ankara’s aggressive military policy has
led to the ruining of the longstanding relationship
between Russia and Turkey, which nearly ground to a halt after a
Turkish F-16 jet shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in Syrian airspace.
In this light, Erdogan’s decision
to project Turkey’s military power outside of the country’s borders
should come as no surprise.
“In 2016, don’t be surprised to see
Turkish troops and advisers pop up in surprising places,” Knodell
concludes.
No comments:
Post a Comment