For Erdogan, Troubles In Syria Just Beginning
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Barack Obama should devise an effective regional strategy for dealing with the crisis in Syria, wrItes Yavuz Baydar.
Two weeks ago, I dined with a diplomat from a European Union country, who is closely familiar with the social fabric of the Middle East, has written books about the region and is an expert on the “deep” Syria.
He smiled bitterly when our conversation touched upon the humanitarian aspect of the atrocities and the refugee tragedy. “He has not started the real massacres yet. And you’ll know it when he does,” the diplomat said.
I recalled that conversation after the Sunni deportations in Baniyas and the massacre in al-Bayda. It is obvious that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has so far disclosed only the first page of his menu of horrors. Now he is slowly showing his hand.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hallmark rage simmered even further at the weekend when he commented on the bloodshed in Banyas and al-Bayda. Speaking in an even higher pitch, he said Assad would pay the price for the atrocities. Then he instructed security forces to investigate whether chemical weapons had been used in Syrian attacks in areas near the Turkish border.
