Turkey has spent years allowing jihadist groups to flourish...

[TER]

Turkey has spent years allowing jihadist groups to flourish - so beware its real reasons for shooting down a Russian plane


Turkey is getting desperate. Under President Recep Tayip Erdogan and his party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), its policies toward the conflict in Syria over the past four years have been misguided and costly. When conflict broke out in 2011, Ankara mistakenly under-estimated the strength of the Assad regime and supported hardline Islamist groups seeking its downfall. In the process, Turkey also marginalised the Kurds and alienated regional powers like Iran.

Four years on, Assad looks set to hold onto power and his regime will be a central part of a transition plan, one that foreign powers were negotiating last weekend. Turkey’s regional rival, Iran, is a key player which can no longer be ignored by the West. Not only does the pro-Assad alliance now have Russian support firmly on its side, but the international community is no longer focused on defeating the regime – instead, it is concerned with defeating jihadist groups like Isis.

The shift in focus is a significant drawback for Erdogan. Years of support for, and investment in, Islamic fundamentalist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria) and Ahrar al-Sham are about to go to waste. Ankara has played a significant role in allowing Isis and other jihadists to flourish in Syria and the region. Turkey has acquiesced to jihadist groups entering Syria via Turkey as well as their use of Turkey as a transit point for smuggling arms and funds into Syria.

Read more at link. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/...-a6747161.html

[DFF]

All this time, I thought Turkey was one of the good guys...

So much for that line of thinking.

Now it's time to dump these Jihadist $#@!ers before they get us into big trouble!

[AngryCanadian]

[TER]

Turkey knows how to commit genocide. They seem to want to know how to commit suicide.

[heavenlyboy34]

Turkey knows how to commit genocide. They seem to want to know how to commit suicide.

True. May the memory of the murdered Armenians be eternal. :'(

[Brian4Liberty]

Now where would Turkey ever get the idea that supporting radical jihadists against another government is a good idea?

[William R]

bump

[Ronin Truth]

As ye sow, so shall ye reap.

[dusman]

A big motivation for Turkey is they are very much opposed to Kurd's in Northern Iraq. They frequently carry out attacks against them near the Northern border. I assume Turkey probably supports ISIS for this purpose of preventing the Kurd's from gaining any political influence in the region.

[luctor-et-emergo]

True. May the memory of the murdered Armenians be eternal. :'(

Funny actually how where I live, the Netherlands, it is ILLEGAL and punishable with time in jail to deny the holocaust. Yet, the same government who says they are for freedom of speech has still not said that the Armenian genocide actually was a genocide. They'll do everything to appease Turkey.

It's quite funny, really, people say Iran is the problem in the Middle-East or Israel... The Palestinians, the Saudis etc. I must say I've never considered Turkey to be a big factor in all of this but as it appears now, well, they might be among the biggest instigators in the region. With NATO as their backup in case everything goes tits up.

There's a lot of Turks living around here, most of them are pretty decent people, I don't think there are many extremists among them. Turkey itself has changed for the worse though. It used to be a secular and relatively free country. I don't think either of these things are true today.

[Brian4Liberty]

From a year ago:

US Navy sailors harassed, assaulted in Turkey

Anger against the U.S. has risen in Turkey following U.S. airstrikes in support of Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State radicals in the northern Syrian city of Kobani near the Turkish border. There are approximately 2,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in Turkey with the vast majority operating out of Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, according to Stars and Stripes.

[enhanced_deficit]

It's all in the family.

Bush backs Obama, Turkey in Russian warplane dispute ...
7 hours ago - Jeb Bush said Wednesday he supports Turkey in the dispute that resulted in Russian warplane being shot down Tuesday near the border ...

Pentagon backs Turkey's version of events, blames 'incursion'
www.washingtontimes.com/.../pentagon-backs-tu...
1 day ago - Pentagon backs Turkey's version of events, blames 'incursion' of Russian jet ....