Is Turkey the weakest link in anti-IS coalition?
Held back by political weaknesses and ideological constraints, Ankara is likely to be the weakest and most reluctant member of the planned coalition against the Islamic State.
Turkey is likely to be the weakest, most reluctant and most timid member of the coalition Western allies are building to combat the Islamic State (IS), judging by Ankara’s initial reactions, the situation on the ground and the ideological constraints and political weaknesses of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
At the Sept. 4-5 NATO summit in Wales, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the coalition — comprising the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark — should come up with concrete plans and greater support from regional powers by the time the UN General Assembly convenes in New York on Sept. 16.
Turkey is the group’s only Muslim nation and the only country that borders crisis-ridden Syria and Iraq. One may suggest these two peculiar features could legitimately entitle Turkey to certain caveats in the coalition. Yet, initial signals indicate that seeking caveats could lead also to serious rifts between the allies.
Turkish press reports from bilateral talks between the Turkish delegation, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and US counterparts on the fringes of the NATO summit have already laid bare the challenges to Turkish-American unison in the coalition.
