Turkey is facing strong criticism over its reluctance to support international efforts to eliminate the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, partly due to misreading the developments in the region and pursuing an ambitious foreign policy that has led Turkey to increased isolation.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the first time admitted this isolation en route to Ankara from his Latin America trip, saying that he doesn't care and is determined to follow the same policies in the region, whether this concerns removing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria or opposing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former military head who came to power after a coup.
Turkey has been the target of criticism due to allegedly turning a blind eye to foreign fighters crossing into Syria and Iraq from Turkey to join ISIL.
The Turkish authorities strongly condemn the terrorist acts of ISIL militants and say these actions have nothing to do with Islam. But when it comes to action, Turkey's reluctance is not plausible.
Distrust of Turkey has reached a point where the Turkish authorities were not sure whether Turkey was going to be invited to a terrorism meeting hosted by US President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., this week. Erdoğan told the media that Turkey did not receive an invitation.
A spokesman from the US Embassy told Today's Zaman on Tuesday that Turkey was invited to participate in the White House summit on Countering Violent Extremism at a ministerial level.
“As I understand it, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz will represent Turkey at the summit,” the official said.
Turkish officials were not invited to a gathering of justice and interior ministers from around the world in Paris following the terrorist attacks in Paris last month.
Under normal conditions, NATO member Turkey would be expected to be a key participant in terrorism summits in Europe and the US, as Turkey is a crossing point for foreign terrorists between Europe and Syria. But Turkey's image as a valuable NATO partner against terrorism appears to be tarnished.
Turkey says the US doesn't have a clear and comprehensive strategy against ISIL and has not revealed any plans about what will happen after ISIL is defeated in the region. The US-led coalition forces want expanded access to the İncirlik airbase in Turkey's Adana province, which is in close proximity to ISIL targets inside Syria and Iraq. But Turkey is reluctant to give access to the coalition forces.
Since last summer a number of high level US officials and special envoys paid visits to Turkey to convince the country to actively contribute to the fight against ISIL. Even the negotiations over Turkey providing a train-and-equip program for the moderate Syrian opposition -- which Turkey agreed to in principle -- have not been finalized.
After the US dropped weapons and ammunition to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) -- which Turkey considers an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- in October last year, despite Turkey being against it, the relations between Turkey and the US were further strained. The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU. The US said aiding the PYD is not illegal under US law. Shortly after this rift, in a surprising move, Turkey let Kurdish peshmergas cross into the Syrian town of Kobani from Turkish territory.
In an interview with German daily Die Zeit, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Feb. 12 that Turkey is the most important supporter of Kurdish peshmergas who fight against ISIL. Çavuşoğlu said Turkey is providing equipment to peshmergas and training them as well.
Speculating about the reasons behind Turkey's reluctance to express strong support in the fight against ISIL, Selim Savaş Genç, associate professor of international relations at Fatih University, said the reasons are not “ideological.”
“Erdoğan is not an Islamic leader; he is a pragmatist. And he is using Islam for pragmatic reasons. He is actually more secular than real seculars. So I don't believe that Turkey doesn't support the fight against ISIL because of ideological reasons. There may be two reasons. One is the possible threat of ISIL suicide bombers inside Turkey and Turkey is worried about domestic security,” Genç told Today's Zaman on Tuesday.
He also argued that the second reason may have to do with promises given to ISIL members in the past or certain information in the hands of ISIL that may hurt Turkish officials. “This is speculation, of course, not based on any real information. But someone should ask Erdoğan this question: What is the reason for your lack of motivation to defeat ISIL?” said Genç, adding that Turkey should be more worried about the ISIL threat than other countries.
Genç also said Turkey has two concerns for Turkey in the region, one is ISIL and the other is Kurds, who are gaining more ground in the region. He said, in the beginning Turkey had planned to topple the Assad regime with the help of northern Iraqi Kurds, but it didn't work out. “Had it worked out, then Turkey could have taken a stronger position against ISIL,” argued Genç.
“Turkey has misread the situation in Syria and along with Syria, it lost Egypt and now it's about to lose the Kurds. The foreign policy of Turkey has failed,” Genç said.
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Adana deputy and veteran diplomat Faruk Loğoğlu agreed that the AK Party government has been reluctant to put up a strong fight against ISIL in Iraq and Syria so far. Speaking to Today's Zaman on Tuesday, Loğoğlu said: “The policies they have pursued has created a perception of a Turkey that appears to support terrorism. There are serious allegations and findings to that end.
“The government appears to be providing some help in the fight against ISIL. But it lacks depth and it is not a serious standing. I don't find it convincing. In order to be convincing, the AK Party needs to have clear, strong rhetoric and develop a consistent discourse against terrorism. We are all against terrorism. So it's not enough to say that you are being against it,” stated Loğoğlu.
Recalling Turkey's hostage crisis last summer, Loğoğlu said the AK Party doesn't have the excuse of hostages being in the hands of ISIL at this point. Forty-nine people at Turkey's Mosul consulate-general were kidnapped by ISIL militants last June, and in September of last year they were released. At that time Turkey has been telling Western countries that it can't contribute to the coalition against ISIL, as it would mean putting the hostages' lives in danger.
“I don't see a robust commitment. The government should reveal an action plan against ISIL and terrorism,” said Loğoğlu.
Speaking to Today's Zaman on Tuesday, opposition Nationalistic Movement Party (MHP) Ankara deputy Özcan Yeniçeri complained about the lack of a clear strategy against ISIL from the US.
“ISIL is not a product of Islamists who are really into terrorism. It's a professional, multinational organization. Rooted and widespread. It is a product of certain global forces that desire to reshape the region according to their interests,” said Yeniçeri.
“But again, if you ask me whether Turkey has pursued a smart foreign policy, of course not. It's not clear what Turkish policies are helping in Iraq and Syria. It is like a vortex. Turkish foreign policy has collapsed. Turkey was not even successful in evacuating its Mosul consulate-general before ISIL took hostage of its citizens. The foreign policy team consists of a bunch of amateurs,” he added.
Yeniçeri said Turkey is a target of criticism today due to its stance against ISIL, but in fact this is the result of Turkey's failure to evaluate the regional situation properly.
“The AK Party government couldn't measure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's power. You are not just dealing with Assad there. Russia, China and Iran are supporting Assad. When you battle against Assad, you battle with these powers. This is a strategic blindness and this blindness has caused Turkey's isolation in the region,” said Yeniçeri.
Yeniçeri said the US is getting ready to establish a base in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil and Turkey is not that important at this point.
“As long as Erdoğan applies his highly emotional rhetoric about regional issues, we will continue to lose in the international arena. We do not have embassies in Israel, Syria, Egypt, Libya and now Yemen. Erdoğan said he's going to be a regional power and Davutoğlu said even a leaf can't move without Turkey's knowledge in the Middle East. Everyone can see that that's not the case,” Yeniçeri said.