On Oct. 2, the Turkish parliament authorized the government's deployment of ground forces to foreign countries and gave permission to foreign armed forces to deploy on Turkish soil. What next? Turkey’s Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said, “Don’t expect an imminent step after the approval of the authorization request.” It's more likely that the government intends this authorization to prove its unbreakable bond with the Western alliance and to serve as a deterrent to conflict, rather than an excuse to violate Syrian sovereignty.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated in the government’s parliamentary authorization request that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remains the primary threat to the country’s national security. Yet, this is in direct contrast with the mission of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS).
