Tweet
OUR NON-ALLY IN ANKARA
Review & Outlook
Turkey bugs out of the anti-ISIS coalition. Why not a base in
Kurdistan?
Updated Sept. 15, 2014 8:28 a.m. ET
Was it only a week ago that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel listed a
"core coalition" of 10 countries willing to join the U.S. effort to
destroy the Islamic State? Since then Britain has categorically ruled
out military strikes in Syria, while Germany has ruled out any use
of force. Now Turkey is bugging out.
The Turkish abdication goes a step further than the Brits or Germans.
Not only will Ankara take no military action, it will also forbid the
U.S. from using the U.S. air base in Incirlik--located fewer than
100 miles from the Syrian border--to conduct air strikes against
the terrorists. That will complicate the Pentagon's logistical and
reconnaissance challenges, especially for a campaign that's supposed
to take years.
The U.S. military will no doubt find work-arounds for its air campaign,
just as it did in 2003 when Turkey also refused requests to let the
U.S. launch attacks on Iraq from its soil in order to depose Saddam
Hussein. Turkey shares a 750-mile border with Syria and Iraq, meaning
it could have made a more-than-symbolic contribution to a campaign
against ISIS. So much for that.
Harder to get around is the reality of a Turkish government that
is a member of NATO but long ago stopped acting like an ally of
the U.S. or a friend of the West. Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
Francis Ricciardone declared this week that the Turkish government
"frankly worked" with the al-Nusrah Front--the al Qaeda affiliate
in Syria--along with other terrorist groups. Ankara also looked the
other way as foreign jihadis used Turkey as a transit point on their
way to Syria and Iraq. Mr. Ricciardone came close to being declared
persona non grata by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government
last December.
This history--along with the Erdogan government's long record of
support for Hamas in Gaza and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt--explains
why the excuses now being made for Turkey's nonfeasance ring hollow.
ISIS has taken Turkish diplomats and their family members hostage in
Mosul inside Iraq, but Turkey is not the only country whose citizens
have been taken hostage. Ankara also fears that arms sent to ISIS
opponents may wind up in the hands of the PKK, the Kurdish terrorist
group. But that doesn't justify shutting down Incirlik for a U.S.
operation.
The unavoidable conclusion is that the U.S. needs to find a better
regional ally to fight ISIS. True to type, Arab states such as Saudi
Arabia are proving to be reluctant partners, at least in public, and
it's unclear how much the new government in Baghdad can contribute
before its army regroups.
The better bet is with the Kurds, who have the most on the line and
are willing to provide the boots on the ground that others can't or
won't. Incirlik has been a home for U.S. forces for nearly 60 years,
but perhaps it's time to consider replacing it with a new U.S. air
base in Kurdish territory in northern Iraq. America may no longer
have friends in Ankara, but that doesn't mean we don't have options
in the Middle East.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/our-non-ally-in-ankara-1410561462
Review & Outlook
Turkey bugs out of the anti-ISIS coalition. Why not a base in
Kurdistan?
Updated Sept. 15, 2014 8:28 a.m. ET
Was it only a week ago that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel listed a
"core coalition" of 10 countries willing to join the U.S. effort to
destroy the Islamic State? Since then Britain has categorically ruled
out military strikes in Syria, while Germany has ruled out any use
of force. Now Turkey is bugging out.
The Turkish abdication goes a step further than the Brits or Germans.
Not only will Ankara take no military action, it will also forbid the
U.S. from using the U.S. air base in Incirlik--located fewer than
100 miles from the Syrian border--to conduct air strikes against
the terrorists. That will complicate the Pentagon's logistical and
reconnaissance challenges, especially for a campaign that's supposed
to take years.
The U.S. military will no doubt find work-arounds for its air campaign,
just as it did in 2003 when Turkey also refused requests to let the
U.S. launch attacks on Iraq from its soil in order to depose Saddam
Hussein. Turkey shares a 750-mile border with Syria and Iraq, meaning
it could have made a more-than-symbolic contribution to a campaign
against ISIS. So much for that.
Harder to get around is the reality of a Turkish government that
is a member of NATO but long ago stopped acting like an ally of
the U.S. or a friend of the West. Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
Francis Ricciardone declared this week that the Turkish government
"frankly worked" with the al-Nusrah Front--the al Qaeda affiliate
in Syria--along with other terrorist groups. Ankara also looked the
other way as foreign jihadis used Turkey as a transit point on their
way to Syria and Iraq. Mr. Ricciardone came close to being declared
persona non grata by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government
last December.
This history--along with the Erdogan government's long record of
support for Hamas in Gaza and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt--explains
why the excuses now being made for Turkey's nonfeasance ring hollow.
ISIS has taken Turkish diplomats and their family members hostage in
Mosul inside Iraq, but Turkey is not the only country whose citizens
have been taken hostage. Ankara also fears that arms sent to ISIS
opponents may wind up in the hands of the PKK, the Kurdish terrorist
group. But that doesn't justify shutting down Incirlik for a U.S.
operation.
The unavoidable conclusion is that the U.S. needs to find a better
regional ally to fight ISIS. True to type, Arab states such as Saudi
Arabia are proving to be reluctant partners, at least in public, and
it's unclear how much the new government in Baghdad can contribute
before its army regroups.
The better bet is with the Kurds, who have the most on the line and
are willing to provide the boots on the ground that others can't or
won't. Incirlik has been a home for U.S. forces for nearly 60 years,
but perhaps it's time to consider replacing it with a new U.S. air
base in Kurdish territory in northern Iraq. America may no longer
have friends in Ankara, but that doesn't mean we don't have options
in the Middle East.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/our-non-ally-in-ankara-1410561462