Turkey to train Syrian rebels, but at what cost?

Turkey’s role in the coalition against the Islamic State (IS) has begun to take shape following talks in Ankara between Turkish leaders and US President Barack Obama’s special envoy John Allen and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk. Simultaneous meetings were held in Washington between US officials and Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan. Officials reached an agreement on training “moderate” Syrian rebels, while negotiations continue on the use of Turkish airbases.

Surprisingly, the deal on the “train-and-equip” program was made public by Washington, not Ankara. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Oct. 9, “Turkey has agreed to support train-and-equip efforts for the moderate Syrian opposition.” While confirming the training deal, Ankara sounded circumspect on the possible use of the Incirlik air base.

Citing US officials, The Washington Post reported Oct. 12 that Turkey agreed to open its military bases to the US-led coalition. Obama’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, told NBC that Turkish officials “made a commitment” to allow the United States and its coalition partners to use Turkish bases and territory. The Associated Press reported that the commitment included the use of the Incirlik air base, quoting US officials.

Ankara kept mum on the comments of US officials for a whole day. On Oct. 14, just as the Obama administration dispatched a delegation to Ankara for follow-up talks on the bases and training of rebels, officials from Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office made the following statement: “There is no new agreement concerning Incirlik. The base is being used under existing agreements. There are certain demands and expectations, and talks are still underway. Agreement has been reached on the training of the opposition, but details on where and how are not yet clear.”