{"id":50071,"date":"2015-12-08T15:15:56","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T22:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=50071"},"modified":"2015-12-08T15:15:56","modified_gmt":"2015-12-08T22:15:56","slug":"turkeys-president-recep-tayyip-erdoganwhat-is-erdogans-game-in-syria-and-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/12\/08\/turkeys-president-recep-tayyip-erdoganwhat-is-erdogans-game-in-syria-and-iraq\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip ErdoganWhat is Erdogan’s Game in Syria and Iraq?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pepe Escobar<\/a>\u00a0Courtesy Sputnik<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

The – predictable – reaction across the West over the Russian Defense Ministry’s very serious denunciation of Ankara embedded with ISIS\/ISIL\/Daesh still begs to be regarded as no less than astonishing.<\/p>\n

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\n
\"A<\/div>\n
\u00a9 AFP 2015\/ GEORGES GOBET<\/a><\/div>\n
Erdogan’s Turkey is Turning Into NATO’s ‘de Facto Enemy’<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The actual evidence is not even discussed by\u00a0Western corporate media. It’s all dismissed as “Russia claims\u2026” Yet not only Sultan Erdogan has been systematically unmasked as\u00a0a serial liar; the accumulating evidence points to\u00a0Ankara both as\u00a0an indirect ally and shady sponsor of\u00a0the fake “Caliphate”.Whatever the Atlanticists can come up\u00a0with to “excuse” the Erdogan system, at\u00a0least the devastating PR debacle for\u00a0the “democratic West” is now a fact of\u00a0life all across\u00a0the Global South.<\/p>\n

At the same time an elaborate shadow play is in\u00a0progress. NATO issues non-denial denials\u00a0\u2014 after\u00a0all it can never back off\u00a0from its usual “Russian aggression” meme\u00a0\u2014 while the Obama administration, predictably, wallows in\u00a0doublethink; Turkey may not “support” ISIS\/ISIL\/Daesh, but\u00a0Turkey must seal the border with\u00a0Syria anyway.<\/p>\n

Sultan of\u00a0Divide and Rule<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since Gezi Park it’s clear the AKP model for\u00a0Turkey has derailed into\u00a0a Sultanate dictatorship with\u00a0a slight electoral veneer. Divide and Rule is the norm.<\/p>\n

Sultan Erdogan’s b\u00eate noire, internally, is the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). Erdogan wants Kurds\u00a0\u2014 a substantial 20% of\u00a0the overall population\u00a0\u2014 to\u00a0choose between\u00a0the AKP’s Islamist take on\u00a0Turkish nationalism and the HDP’s Kurdish nationalism with\u00a0a leftist feel. He’s playing Kurds against\u00a0Turks no holds barred.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Rebel<\/div>\n
\u00a9 REUTERS\/ AMMAR ABDULLAH<\/a><\/div>\n
Why Did Erdogan Suddenly Decide to Hush Up Ankara’s Support for Syrian Rebels?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

South of\u00a0the border, Erdogan actively supports Salafi “moderate rebels”, especially his fifth column Turkmen, heavily infiltrated by\u00a0Turkish fascists of\u00a0the Grey Wolves kind, in\u00a0northwest Syria. But Ankara is clever enough not to\u00a0\u2014 directly\u00a0\u2014 support ISIS\/ISIL\/Daesh. Turkmen have struck de facto alliances with\u00a0Jabhat al-Nusra, a.k.a. al-Qaeda in\u00a0Syria. NATO covers Erdogan’s back.Russia’s entrance with\u00a0\u2014 literally\u00a0\u2014 a bang in\u00a0the Syrian war theatre blew up\u00a0Erdogan strategy’s to\u00a0smithereens. Couple that with\u00a0the Obama administration’s penchant to\u00a0support Kurds across “Syraq”.<\/p>\n

The only thing Erdogan wants from\u00a0NATO is a “safe zone”\u00a0\u2014 an euphemism for\u00a0a no-fly zone that Ankara will use to\u00a0prevent YPG Syrian Kurds from\u00a0unifying their three cantons along\u00a0the Turkish-Syrian border. For Erdogan, the prospect of\u00a0Kurds preventing Turks from\u00a0providing logistical bases and weapons to\u00a0the whole Jabhat al-Nusra galaxy, and of\u00a0course ISIS\/ISIL\/Daesh, is anathema.<\/p>\n

So Erdogan had been using the Turkmen against\u00a0the YPG. Russia went for\u00a0the jugular. And the Sultan, predictably, went bonkers.<\/p>\n

Russia’s strategy\u00a0\u2014 coordinated with\u00a0the Syrian Arab Army (SAA)\u00a0\u2014 will only intensify. The priority is to\u00a0completely rout Turkmen and al-Nusra all across\u00a0the Bayirbucak region. Two objectives are crucial. 1) to\u00a0secure Latakia and thus Russia’s Hmeymim air base. 2) to\u00a0get rid of\u00a0the Chechens, Uzbeks and Uyghurs infiltrated among\u00a0the Turkmen (crucial for\u00a0Moscow, aware of\u00a0the “900 km from\u00a0Aleppo to\u00a0Grozny” syndrome, and also for\u00a0China.)<\/p>\n

As for\u00a0the notion that Erdogan will now abandon his Turkmen strategy and start fighting ISIS\/ISIL\/Daesh, that’s a myth. Erdogan will never accept the American support for\u00a0the YPG. The thing is there’s not much he can do about\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

Sultan Changes the Subject<\/strong><\/p>\n

The downing of\u00a0the Su-24 was a crude attempt by\u00a0Erdogan to\u00a0force NATO to\u00a0choose his Turkmen\/al-Nusra\/anti-Kurd strategy instead of\u00a0any possible coordination with\u00a0Russia to\u00a0fight ISIS\/ISIL\/Daesh.<\/p>\n

Talk about\u00a0a monumental blowback; Erdogan handed Moscow on\u00a0a plate the deployment of\u00a0the S-400s to\u00a0Hmeymim. Short-term, this means any Turkish F-16 entertaining funny ideas over\u00a0Syrian skies will be summarily shot down. Mid-term, this means the “Assad must go” obsession is now six feet under. But the cherry in\u00a0the cake is long-term; Russia has solidified a permanent strategic stake in\u00a0the eastern Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/div>\n
\u00a9 AP PHOTO\/ SELCAN HACAOGLU<\/a><\/div>\n
WikiLeaks: Turkey Planned Su-24 Downing Six Weeks Before the Incident?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Across the battlefield, the most important development is that Russia, and not Iran, has taken over\u00a0tactics, planning operations and also re-equipping the SAA with\u00a0everything from\u00a0152-millimeter MTSA-B guns to\u00a0the absolutely devastating TOS-1A Solnitsa\u00a0rocket launcher, able to\u00a0fire 30\u00a0220-mm thermobaric (incendiary) rockets in\u00a0a single salvo.Freshly arrived Russian Marines are also about\u00a0to advise the SAA counter-offensive against\u00a0Daesh in\u00a0Tadmur, western Palmyra.<\/p>\n

The Russian tactic is essentially to\u00a0blow everything up, big time. Of course this implies a serious risk of\u00a0civilian casualties\u00a0\u2014 something that can only be alleviated by\u00a0good ground intel, provided by\u00a0the SAA. It’s the SAA that is actually capturing those areas on\u00a0the ground.<\/p>\n

With his back against\u00a0the wall in\u00a0Syria, Erdogan\u00a0\u2014 what else\u00a0\u2014 changed the subject and made a play in\u00a0Iraq, via\u00a0the now famous “incursion” of\u00a0alleged 150 Turkish troops along\u00a0with 20-25 tanks.<\/p>\n

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu swears Ankara had been “invited” in\u00a0by the Nineveh provincial government, with\u00a0Baghdad’s approval (a bald-faced lie). A spokesman for\u00a0the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in\u00a0northern Iraq said everything is legit.<\/p>\n

Turkish daily Hurriyet <\/em>spun it as\u00a0Ankara holding a permanent military base in\u00a0Bashiqa, near\u00a0Mosul, to\u00a0train Peshmerga forces, a deal signed between\u00a0KRG President Massoud Barzani and Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu earlier last month.<\/p>\n

But Ankara, we got a (huge) problem. Mosul and Bashiqa are not even part of\u00a0the KRG.<\/p>\n

So this has nothing to\u00a0do with\u00a0training Peshmerga\u00a0\u2014 as\u00a0much as\u00a0Erdogan and the AKP heavily hedge their Kurd hatred: the KRG racket and the Peshmerga are “good Kurds”, while the PYD\/YPG and the PKK are “bad Kurds”.<\/p>\n

When in\u00a0doubt, follow the oil. The Barzani Mob is selling oil that belongs to\u00a0Baghdad to\u00a0Turkey\u00a0\u2014 illegally. They literally own the oil racket in\u00a0the KRG; and they make a killing, thanks to\u00a0cozy relations with\u00a0partner Genel oil, whose chairman is Tony “Deepwater Horizon” Hayward.<\/p>\n

It has been widely proved that Erdogan’s son in\u00a0law cum Energy Minister Berat Albayrak holds the exclusive rights to\u00a0move KRG oil through\u00a0Turkey. Following evidence collected by\u00a0the Russian Defense Ministry, Daesh stolen oil may well be mixed with\u00a0KRG oil along\u00a0the way. And a key beneficiary of\u00a0the whole scheme is Erdogan’s son Bilal, a.k.a. Mini Me, through\u00a0his BMZ shipping company which delivers the oil mostly to\u00a0Israel. Mini Me is now self-exiled in\u00a0Bologna, Italy, where he manages untraceable amounts of\u00a0cash safely ensconced in\u00a0Swiss bank accounts.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Turkish<\/div>\n
\u00a9 REUTERS\/ CHRISTIAN HARTMANN<\/a><\/div>\n
Are You Sure About That? Why Erdogan Shouldn’t Have Asked for Proof<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Obviously none of\u00a0this is seriously examined in\u00a0Atlanticist circles, thus providing Erdogan with\u00a0some solace; if the stolen Syrian oil racket may be moribund, the Iraqi side of\u00a0the op seems to\u00a0be untouched.So what we have now in\u00a0effect is Turkey “violating” the borders of\u00a0Iraq (remember those famous “17 seconds”?) Baghdad is actually part of\u00a0the “4+1” coalition (Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, plus Hezbollah). Turkey knows it. The “incursion” is yet one more\u00a0\u2014 serious\u00a0\u2014 provocation. If Russia\u00a0\u2014 and Iran\u00a0\u2014 decide that’s one too many, Erdogan’s oil racket protecting tanks better get ready to\u00a0meet their maker.<\/p>\n

The views expressed in\u00a0this article are solely those of\u00a0the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of\u00a0Sputnik.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read more: http:\/\/sputniknews.com\/columnists\/20151207\/1031367231\/erdogan-turkey-syria-iraq-oil-su-24.html#ixzz3tlo5Wg1K<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pepe Escobar\u00a0Courtesy Sputnik The – predictable – reaction across the West over the Russian Defense Ministry’s very serious denunciation of Ankara embedded with ISIS\/ISIL\/Daesh still begs to be regarded as no less than astonishing. \u00a9 AFP 2015\/ GEORGES GOBET Erdogan’s Turkey is Turning Into NATO’s ‘de Facto Enemy’ The actual evidence is not even discussed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50071\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}