When the Turkish parliament reconvenes Sept. 30 after a summer recess, the Turkish government is expected to submit authorization requests detailing Turkey's potential role in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. On Oct. 2, the parliament is expected to vote on the requests, which are likely to ask for authority to engage Turkish ground forces outside Turkey's borders. Separate authorization requests are expected for the Iraqi and Syrian theaters.
Although the Turkish opposition stands firmly against using ground forces outside the country's borders, the government appears to be arguing for a broad authorization in case there is a sudden strike against Turkey, while at the same time arguing that Turkey will mainly provide logistical and humanitarian support to the coalition. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan detailed Turkey’s plan on Sept. 27 while saying he was attempting to persuade the international community to establish a safe zone inside Syria along the Turkish border, a "no-fly" zone in Syria and military training for the Syrian opposition to bring about the end of the Syrian regime. Ankara still considers the main problem in Syria to be its long-lasting authoritarian government; top Turkish leaders think that once Syrian President Bashar al-Assad goes, all will be normalized in the country in a matter of time.
Erdogan said Turkish ground forces might form a part of achieving this goal. “If there is a military operation, who will protect our borders? The military. Therefore, if there is a threat to the homeland, the military will engage in a military operation,” Erdogan said, while leaving the mission of such an operation vague. And it so happens that the US-led coalition's goal is not to end the Assad regime, but to eliminate the IS threat.
However, Ozdem Sanberk, a former ambassador and president of the International Strategic Research Organization, an Ankara-based think tank, reiterates what he told Al-Monitor Sept. 15: There still is no UN Security Council resolution, NATO decision or a direct threat to Turkey to legitimize its potential military action outside its borders. The United States and others still seem determined not to put boots on the ground in either Iraq or Syria.
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