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).
“The destruction caused by the Syrian regime’s attacks with heavy weaponry, including the ballistic missiles, are getting more serious. The Syrian regime’s aggressive policies targeting our country continues,” the Turkish authorization read. “The regime’s killing of more than 200,000 people with conventional weaponry also reveals the threat level it poses to our country.” Indeed, the central reasoning of this motion focuses on the Assad regime and how it threatens Turkey and regional stability.
However, retired Ambassador Faruk Logoglu, a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), warned during the Oct. 2 parliamentary discussion: “If this motion is approved, Turkey will become this region’s pirate country. Please do see this.” Logoglu argued that since 2011 Turkey’s policies have interfered in Syria’s sovereignty and threatened its territorial integrity. He stressed that Turkey should prioritize the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria in any step it takes. “I also urge the government to be good to our Kurdish brothers,” Logoglu said, expressing his support for Kurdish concerns, which the government invokes when discussing the fighting between the radical militants and Syrian Kurds.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
