Germany’s former Chief of General Staff: "Turkey trying to drag NATO in Syrian war for it's own parochial interests'.

Germany’s former Chief of General Staff: "Turkey trying to drag NATO in Syrian war for it's own parochial interests'. (TOI).

#BREAKING U.S Sec of State Kerry says they are entering operation with #Turkey to secure northern Syria border

— CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) November 17, 2015

In a Nov. 9 interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said a ground forces operation in Syria could be possible to establish a buffer zone, but Turkey would not conduct it alone.

“[A] ground forces [campaign] is something which we have to talk [about] together and share…there’s a need of an integrated strategy, including an air campaign and ground troops.” Davutoglu added that Turkey alone cannot take on this burden.

A Turkish security source said such an operation is unlikely without support from the UN Security Council or NATO Council. Interestingly, almost exactly a year ago on Oct. 8, 2014, Germany’s former Chief of General Staff and NATO chairman of the Military Committee, General Harald Kujat (ret.), criticized that Turkey is trying to drag NATO into a Syrian war for its own parochial interests.

In an interview on “Anne Will” ARD-TV broadcast, and stating almost the same words that Davutoglu said on CNN, General Kujat said “look, that’s what Turkey wants to provoke [NATO Article 5]. Therefore it keeps saying ‘we can’t do that alone, others have to participate.’”

In face of then ISIS massacre of Kobane Kurds, he continued bluntly: “Turkey basically wants to drag NATO into this situation because the actual goal of Turkey is to neutralize Assad…ISIS’s actions and what’s happening to the Kurds are subsidiary…and it has to be clearly said that an ally who behaves like this doesn’t deserve the protection of this alliance, an ally who doesn’t intervene for protection in a such tragic situation doesn’t deserve protection himself.”

The former NATO general recommended removing Patriot batteries from Turkey to send a signal, and in August 2015 they were removed.

Regarding the Patriot missiles, German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau said: “Politically, the mission did not serve anything. The Turkish government is more concerned with its own interests, not with those of the alliance.”

On whether Turkey could invoke the mutual defense clause if its military were deployed to Syrian territory to set up a buffer zone, General Kujat said “if Turkish troops were to conduct operations in Syria without Syria’s permission and without a UN mandate and then be attacked this would never amount to a casus foederis (Article 5).”

Thus, in the absence of a NATO Article 5, would Turkey be able to acquire a UNSC mandate for a buffer zone/no-fly zone similar to Libya?

That would likely depend on whether the buffer zone is really for humanitarian purposes.

On a practical level, the buffer zone in Syria’s Aleppo region is an illusive haven. By definition a safe zone maintains neutrality in a military conflict, but the positioning of armed opposition groups in the safe zone will turn the area into a prime target.

Moreover, claims that on 10 August Turkish military forces entered the planned zone in Syria along with the Sultan Murat Brigade, which is composed of Turkmens, presents a worrying picture when taken in conjunction with pro-government media that proclaimed Aleppo as the 82nd province of Turkey.

According to Hurriyet Daily, Erdogan is using the Turkmen card again especially when nationalist sentiments are on the rise, so that “any attack on our Turkmen brothers in the safe zone could easily spark a military clash and drag Turkey into war.”

However, the article ended “do we really want to fight for an 82nd province?”

And this is a serious issue for consideration not just for the people in Turkey, but for US and coalition forces that are considering a Syrian “buffer zone.” Do they want to risk their troops lives and fight for Erdogan’s neo-Ottoman ambitions for an 82nd province?

Moreover, do they want to be complicit in carving out a safe haven in northwest Syria for Erdogan’s Army of Conquest that consists of militant groups from Central Asia, China and Russia? Hmmmmm.......Don't forget Hitler and WWII also started with the 'Anschluss' Read the full story here.

RELATED: Is the Obama 'Admin' and NATO willing to coverup a Kurdish 'genocide' in exchange for the incirlik base?

'Neo Ottoman conqueror' Erdogan to Create salafi statelet in Syria for Qatar-Turkey pipeline to EU?

'Neo Ottoman conqueror' Erdogan to Create salafist statelet in Syria for Qatar-Turkey pipeline to EU? (AN).

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Brussels 4-6 October pushing EU for a Syrian buffer zone for humanitarian purposes, and as air cover for its “moderate rebels” to enter Syria to fight ISIS/Assad regime.

In view of the sudden influx of refugees to EU, Erdogan said, “The root cause of the refugee crisis today is the war that has been taking place in Syria and the state-sponsored terror actions which have been carried out by Assad himself,” and raised the issue of “a safe zone that would be protected from terrorism” and “a no-fly zone.”

While it is true Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan are each hosting over one million refugees, various sources point to additional reasons why Turkey may be seeking a no-fly zone.

A 2014 Armed Forces Journal article discussed how the Syrian civil war is driven by Qatar/Turkey/Saudi interests in running a Qatar gas pipeline through Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and unto the lucrative EU market. The pipeline would run through Aleppo region that is the proposed no-fly zone.

With Assad removed and replaced by a friendly Salafi regime in Syria, the triad can thus tap into the EU market in face of current tensions with Russia over Ukraine, and continue to fund their war chest to support Islamist movements in the region.

Indeed, it seems unlikely the autocratic regimes of Doha, Riyadh and an increasingly authoritarian Ankara are fighting for a democratic future in Syria, especially given the large number of foreign fighters and Islamic extremist groups in their Army of Conquest that is now headquartered in Idlib province.  These “moderate rebels” are in fact conducting ethno-religious cleansing by killing or expelling Christians, Druze, and other minorities while establishing shaira law.

This corroborates the 2012 Defense Intelligence Agency report of their desire to carve out a Salafi statelet in Syria east of Assad-controlled territory in order to put pressure on his regime (In 2012 it was further east, but now that Assad has lost much territory it is just east of Latakia).

With its base in the Idlib governorate, the rebel coalition now has a direct supply line open from Turkey’s Hatay Province next to Idlib, further expanded by the new proposed Aleppo buffer zone. Hatay province, located on the coast north of Latakia, was originally part of Syria according to the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, but Turkey showed interest in the area with its large Turkish-speaking community and in 1936 pushed for Hatay’s “reunification” with Turkey.[5] In 1939 Turkey annexed Hatay.

Counter-terror expert Jacob Zenn assessed that the “rebels may have enough resources to establish a de-facto state in northwestern Syria led by JN [Jabhat-al-Nusra] and supported by several Central Asian militas.” The rebel coalition includes Chinese Uyghur-led terror group, Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), Uzbek-led Imam Bukhari Jamaat and Katibat Tawhid wal Jihad, as well as Chechen militias in the mix.

Recent reports now reveal Turkey is populating this de facto statelet next to Hatay with Turkic settlements, especially Chinese Uyghur turks.

An August Global Times article revealed that since the end of 2014, 1,000 Uyghurs have been smuggled into Turkey and are housed in government buildings in Kayseri guarded by local police.[7]  It also mentioned in a 2011 interview with Chinese media, Turkish ambassador to China Murat Salim Esenli said the Uyghur population in Turkey was around 300,000, while the Chinese authorities usually put the number at 100,000.

However a 2009 article by Matti Nonojen and Igor Torbakov from Finnish Institute of International Affairs, already cited Bulent Arinc, co-founder of AKP and then deputy prime minister, saying “we have profound historical ties to our brothers in the uighur region” including 300,000 strong Uighur community in Turkey.[8] Thus with the recent surge of Uyghur immigration over the past years, that number may now be slightly higher.

Back in February when the passport scandal gained media attention, Peter Lee of Asia Times surmised the possibility of Erdogan using Uyghur manpower as his potential power projection asset in Syria.[9] While it is acknowledged Turkey is hospitable to Uyghur refugees and indulges on its notion as protector of the Turkish-speaking world, China would take issue with Turkey setting up a pipeline to encourage Uyghur emigration for Syrian and eventual Chinese jihad. Hmmm.....Meanwhile NATO is being used as the 'useful Idiot'. Read the full story here.

Related!

Is the Obama 'Admin' and NATO willing to coverup a Kurdish 'Genocide' in exchange for the incirlik base?

Syrian Turkmen National Party Spox: "Turkish soldiers in Turkmen garb taking over border areas vacated by Nusra": http://t.co/EwlvJkiSbs

— Ankaralı Jan (@06JAnk) August 11, 2015

Shady turkmen 'organization' to start training policemen for #Turkey's #Syria 'zone' in #Gaziantep, #Turkey pic.twitter.com/gI4Q4fYWql

— маяковский (@moscow_ghost) August 12, 2015

Critical for the U.S. to know who #Erdogan's new partners in #Syria are Here on FB http://t.co/B9IkdELqtY pic.twitter.com/uuxoibbUUW

— маяковский (@moscow_ghost) August 12, 2015

From Jarablus2Azzaz, 100km long w 50km in width. Such an area to be annexed 2Turkey requires interntnl agreement @boerneaj @485033453

— Elijah J. Magnier (@EjmAlrai) August 12, 2015

@EjmAlrai There are more than 120 Kurdish villages between Kobane & Afrin with a population of 500,000 people. #SaveAfrin #LinkAfrinToKobane

— Hurrian Mitanni (@Hurro_Mitanni) August 11, 2015

Al-Sultan Murad Brigade, a turkmen rebel group, 'replaced' #AlQaeda in #Aleppo countryside http://t.co/v1js7QsOCN pic.twitter.com/y8MSW5YQY3

— маяковский (@moscow_ghost) August 12, 2015

BBC anchorman: Have you ever supported Nusra Front? Turkish PM: Yes... http://t.co/LsaScACLoG @moscow_ghost @cordeliers @Obscureobjet

— erman çete (@ermancete) August 12, 2015

Syrian Turkmen move to form anti-Kurd army backed by 'Neo Ottoman conqueror' Turkey.

Syrian Turkmen move to form anti-Kurd army backed by 'Neo Ottoman conqueror' Turkey. (NM).

BEIRUT – Syrian Turkmen military and political officials, who are close to Turkey, have been moving to form a unified army in northern Syria capable of confronting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror group.

“Turkmen fighting groups in Syria have taken the decision to offer greater support to each other and work to create a Turkmen army if conditions permit,” Syrian Turkmen Assembly chief Abdel Rahman Mustafa told Turkish Anadolu news on Monday.

The Turkmen official’s comments came as the Syrian Turkmen Assembly held a meeting in southern Turkey’s Gaziantep that brought together Turkmen representatives from Aleppo, Tal Abyad, Jarabulus, Latakia, Idlib, Raqqa and the Golan.

Alaraby Aljadeed reported that the Turkmen military and civilian officials in the meeting decided to form a military council that reports to the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, a pro-opposition group with ties to the Turkish government.

Syrian Turkmen have already armed themselves in a series of brigades throughout Syria that are loosely affiliated with each other and count on about 10,000 armed men in total, with the largest fighting units operating in the Aleppo province.

Turkey’s security institutions maintain close links with the Turkmen units in Syria, providing special forces training to the brigades, which are affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and have taken part in operations in Aleppo, Idlib and outside Latakia.

The Turkmen National Assembly chief stressed the formation of a Turkmen army would confront what he describes as the “danger of the YPG and the acts of sectarian cleansing it is carrying out, beginning with the expulsion of 200 Turkmen settlements in [the] Tel Abyad [area].”

Both Turkish and Turkmen officials have accused YPG forces of ethnically forcibly dislocating Turkmen in northern Syria amid the Kurdish troops’ advances against ISIS.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on June 15 accused the YPG “seizing certain regions and forcing people living there to migrate,” in reference to the Kurdish advance into Tel Abyad—a mixed Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen border town held by ISIS.

However, the Turkmen National Assembly leader warned that the YPG is “is threatening to head west towards Jarablus and Aazaz where there is also [a] Turkmen [population].”

“For a thousand years, we have ruled our areas, but now, certain nationalistic military formations are trying to take our lands by force,” Mustafa claimed.

“If we do not move we will find ourselves [unable] to return to our houses and our territory. We will stay [that way]: without a homeland.”

His comments come amid growing reports in the Turkish press that the country was preparing a ground incursion to create a buffer zone stretching from north of Aleppo to west of Kobane in territory currently held by ISIS in a bid to stop Kurdish forces from stretching further westward in northern Syria. Hmmm.....Sounds like 'Sometimes NATO Ally' Erdo has found another 'Useful Idiot' to execute Kurdish Genocide. Read the full story here.