NATO has announced that the North Atlantic Council, the alliance’s decision-making body, will be holding a Tuesday meeting after being called by Turkey invoking an Article 4 request, meaning the country believes its territorial integrity is under threat.
It is unclear from official statements on the matter so far if the meeting is strictly related to the fighting between Turkish forces and ISIS along the border, or if the recent spate of Turkish strikes against the Kurdish PKK in Iraq is also part of the meeting.
ISIS carried out a bombing in southern Turkey, near the Kurdish city of Kobani, killing 32 people last week. Since then, Turkish troops have fought ISIS along the border and carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets in northern Syria. At the same time, Turkey began attacking PKK targets in northern Iraq on Friday, and are accusing the PKK of being behind a bombing that killed two Turkish soldiers Sunday.
Interestingly, Turkey had been looking the other way as ISIS used it as a route for smuggling in fighters and gear for years, and as recently as this month suggested the viewed Syria’s Kurds as the real threat, not ISIS. Still, it’s a foregone conclusion ISIS will be the top subject at the NATO meeting, whether or not the Kurds are also a subject.
Since Turkey is a member nation, NATO is obliged to provide military support to defend its borders from foreign threats. This could be used by hawkish NATO nations, parlaying Turkish sovereignty into an excuse to make the ISIS war a formal NATO operation, and one that would be dramatically escalated in the process.
Turkey is stirring up a lot of the trouble in the area. More people will die.
If you flirt with "IS" you get…blowback.
What a sick joke. Turkey aids and abets foreign terrorists seeking to overthrow the Syrian government for the past several years, and then runs to NATO when its terrorist agents turn on their sponsor. No doubt NATO (led by the US) will see this as Syria's fault. And so it goes here in the Land of the Blind and the Home of the Stupid.
This is a bleeping ruse whose real purpose is to form a military coalition against Assad.
PKK ans ISIS are one and same, both are terrorist organizations powered by Israel.
Stop the Kurdish occupation by the turkish racist regime
The game is played not the way you think it's played.
Turkeys support for isis even if it’s support by looking the other way while letting fighters in to Syria should have sent alarm bells ringing in nato and the eu. Instead we hear crickets chirping for over a year. Worrisome to think what they have in store for the world, to say the least. The bankers that have taken over europe are salivating looking forward to the weapons contracts that will stimulate a new run of lending…
http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a….
9-11 triggered article 5
it seems likely that if not this particular attack, some future one will trigger it.
Turkey re-affirming its NATO commitment is (more!) bad news for Putin. NATO forces going to Turkey to fight ISIS will be very close to Ukraine. In the same was as the US uses NATO as a forward base for the defence of Israel, sending troops to Turkey puts them into Ukraine's near neighbourhood without actually sending them to Ukraine. Crimea, "Sausagestan" and even the Caucasian olifields are all within striking distance of air bases in Turkey, as is any target in Georgia, which Putin has recently been trying to provoke. Little by little, the mainstream Israel Lobby is getting the upper hand over the neocons.
What afarce – invoking the NATO wartmaking charter. Is this ist for the next Libya campaign? Brave New World…
The statement by the Erdogan regim -Turkish govenment its simply an excuse for them to continue bombing Kurdish forces that are fighting ISIS. In last few years the Kurdish people have tried all and every avenues in peace wanting to make a committed to peace by Erdogan-Turkish government, yet such efforts to be declined, by now the Erdogan-Turkish government given the green light by the head of NATO-USG to bomb Kurdish people which for Erdogan is a blessing, to conquer territories belonging to Kurdish Syrian and Kurdish Iraqi people's which the timing is highly questionable.
Turkish Sunni Erdogan dictatorial regime simply implanted by Saudis where Erdogan by blaming Syrian government as the creator of ISIS, among other unprecedented and unrealistic accusations, they always have tried to cleanse the area of Kurdish people to conquer more land claiming such biased claim as security's for turkey, the very same call that Israel have on his Arab neighbors. Erdogan regime been given the responsibility by NATO to work as the supplier, a military training base, economic and free enterprise-logistic for ISIS. Erdogan regimes doesn't see ISIS as a threat to its security, but the Turkish freedom, independence has become number one "security" issue for Turkish Erdogan regime-government.
Just yesterday the very same regime was accusing the west saying: "west by ignoring Bashir AL Assad regime in power, have created the present ISIS and problems for Turkey". Yet forgetting the fact that Turkish regime is part of "that" west when they become one of members of NATO and seeking to become EU member in last 10 years, when Turkish present regime accepted the responsibility helping ISIS ordered by NATO general secretary the Neo fascism Anders Fog Rasmussen, or Ratmussen, when he ordered the closer of Kurdish TV station in Denmark, when Erdogan regime simply became the Saudis-Wahhabis slaves, when they wanted to present themselves as a modernized religious movement forgetting about a functioning democracy and its principles.
The Turkish regime fighting an idealogy which is the motive behind Turkish demand for "free zone" in Kurdish land, otherwise, the principals in democracy prohibits a militarism, dictatorial, religious or other kind of such regime as Erdogan has created for Turkish people's, Kurdish people are included in Turkish people, they been demanding for their cultural, political and social economic freedom long before USG along with European were involved saving their dictatorial friends as Turkish Erdogan regimes or Saudis rich dictatorial religious systems.
Turkey is hunting down Israels ISIS!!!!
This is good watch all the ISIS supporters cry don't hurt the kurds..
Chapter 4 is consultations only.
Chapter 7 is a request for assistance.
Turkey already has its deal with the US, which is where any chapter 7 assistance would come from in this instance.
Not sure what they are consulting about, but it actually hasn't much meaning in itself.
This is getting interesting. Very high stakes. Turkey tried to stay out of the war, and tried to stay politically involved so that the end-game in Syrian and Kurdish area will not result in harming its interests. But for a while now — western sources have claimed that Turkey is a conduit for ISIS fighters, suggesting that Turkey is in fact, ISIS partner. The attack by ISIS militants — who always seem to show up whenever some geopolitical interests are to be fired up — created a situation. If the goal of ISIS attack on Turkey was to goad Turkey into war — whoever thought it was a good idea, made a mistake. Now, Turkey can address its key problems — security and refugees. Syria will not mind at all if a safe civilian buffer zone is created, and ISIS repelled from the region. Neither Syria nor Iraq would mind getting Kurds back into status quo — and away from thinking any type of independence — if the deal is made with a foreign power, and against the state territorial integrity. Kurds really will have it bad — to be protected from ISIS, they must play along with political conditions of foreign powers. If they do play politics cutting deal without regional actors — they will be attacked by Turkey. They really have no luck — but then it is said that if you do not like your brother as a neighbor, you will have an enemy as your master. And Kurds have a history of preferring an alliance with foreign powers, and getting burned in process.
It is an end-game of sorts. If NATO puts conditions to Turkey engagement, that will be a huge problem. Turkey can hurt ISIS. If anyone has a strong intelligence data on ISIS that would be Turkey. ISIS must be crawling with spies — and lately they have been getting wind of it, and executed their own on the suspicion of working for intelligence outfits. We can bet that all regional and them some — have implanted spies. Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Russia. All countries have their citizens in ISIS. Turkey must know were all the critical assets are — and how to disrupt their operation. But first things first — NATO will have to agree to invoke protection clause, and then ALL be in war with ISIS — not to be allowed to treat Middle East problem as some sort of a buffet, picking and choosing where and how to get involved. For Europe, with tens of thousands of refugees pouring across their borders uncontrollably — sorting the problem is becoming a must. Saudi Arabia has been disengaging from Syria issue — as it has a bigger mess on its border in Yemen. And has a huge financial commitment to Egypt. This now leaves pretty much US alone in the fight against ISIS, as Bagdad has been not allowed to participate as much as it wanted. This is mainly because the balk of Bagdad's army now constitutes Shia population — a liability when it comes to dealing with Sunni, mostly Wahhabi oriented, in the Sunni regions of Iraq and parts of Syria.
If everything goes right for Turkey, it will take it to ISIS where it hurts, liberate Mosul — if Kurds are cooperating, and promise to behave — that is, stay within Iraqi state. If everything goes right, Turkey will push ISIS out of Syria and create buffer zone safe for refugees. This will insure that international help can take care of the humanitarian needs, and remove bulk of refugees from Turkey. This will help immensely the efforts Bagdad is making in fighting ISIS closer home. If things go really bad — Iran is likely to be involved to stabilize region. So far, Damascus controls what it has controlled for most of the war. And if all works for the best — ISIS will be routed from Syria, bulk of refugees returned into buffer zone, Kurds in Syria keep status quo, no extraterritorial rights, but guaranteed safety. In Iraq, by far more complicated situation, but the success will depend how the Kurdish region will be positioned after the war. It will be very hard for Kurds in Iraq to gain independence, since the only international proponents of independence/autonomy is US — but US has not done anything to help with ISIS, just seems the opposite, ISIS has grown stronger around the Kurdish area. Turkey and Iraq are pushing for Kurds to remain in Iraq, with whatever autonomy they can define internally. Turkey will not support any kind of Kurdish independence, as in that case her own territorial integrity will be undermined in due course. If things get hard for Iraq — as ISIS will continue striking at Bagdad targets — Iran may get involved if regional stability is seriously threatened.
And what if it does not go well for Turkey? What if NATO does not want to get involved? What if Turkey and US cannot see eye to eye on targeting ISIS? What if Turkey will not get help with buffer/safety zone for refugees? What if Kurds refuse to collaborate on hitting ISIS in Mosul? Turkey will have hard time alone — if her objectives are not recognized by US. Turkey is getting nothing from NATO — in fact, not even defensive Patriots, without them being staffed by Germans, Dutch or US military. Such level of disrespect for a member state is pretty hard for Turkey to accept. Will Turkey accept Ocelan's proposal and have a deal with its own Kurdish region? Probably, but not for as long as any foreign power plans to grant semi-independence to Kurds in Iraq. The scenario is similar to taking Kosovo away from Serbia in the name of security and disagreements with Bagdad. Turkey cannot accept that scenario. Will Turkey go as far as getting out of NATO? Possible — we will see the outcome of NATO conclave. If the alliance in fact works AGAINST a member's interest, crates obstacles to taking the battle to ISIS, and encouraging a secession across the border, creating an imminent danger to its territory — what then? Turkey will be better off alone with regional alliance with Iraq and Iran to defeat ISIS on a broad front — and keep the regional boundaries unchanged.
We really live in interesting times.