Erdogan’s shift on Islamic State linked to Kurdish gains in Syria
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally takes on the Islamic State while attacking PKK bases in northern Iraq; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now the only US ally actively opposing Iran deal; Israel faces pressure to forgo demolition of Palestinian village.
Erdogan’s two-front war
When this column reported in October that we might be witnessing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “slow turnaround on foreign fighters in Syria,” we did not anticipate it would be this slow.
Erdogan has faced pressure and criticism for holding back in the battle against the Islamic State (IS) and for Turkey’s at best episodic approach to dealing with foreign jihadi fighters transiting Turkey en route to Syria.
On July 24, four days after a suicide bombing carried out by a Turkish recruit of IS in Suruc killed more than 30 Turkish citizens and injured over 100, Turkey launched its first ground and air combat operations against IS in Syria and approved US use of air bases at Incirlik and Diyarbakir for strikes against IS within Syria.
