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If push comes to shove, will Turkey defend Qatar against Iran?

Turkey's main opposition party has lots of questions about what message Ankara would be sending to Iran, and others, by deploying troops in Qatar.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (R) shakes hands with Qatar's Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani before their meeting at Cankaya Mansion in Ankara, on September 8, 2016. / AFP / ADEM ALTAN        (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey's parliament will soon consider a plethora of military agreements proposed with other countries as Ankara seeks to expand beyond its "soft-power" influence and restore its stature in areas where it used to be influential.

Turkey already has a presence in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq with humanitarian, educational, construction and peacekeeping missions. It is adding a military dimension with a proposal to expand its presence at its base in Doha, Qatar, and with a training facility set to open this year in Mogadishu, Somalia.

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