ISTANBUL — As U.S. generals and Secretary of State John Kerry warn that a strategic Syrian border town could fall to Islamic State militants, the Turkish military has deployed its tanks on its side of the frontier but only watched the slaughter.
ISTANBUL — As U.S. generals and Secretary of State John Kerry warn that a strategic Syrian border town could fall to Islamic State militants, the Turkish military has deployed its tanks on its side of the frontier but only watched the slaughter.
Turkey’s inaction despite its supposed participation in a coalition forged to crush the extremist group is frustrating Washington and its NATO allies, and reviving a rebellion by Turkish Kurds.
Amid fears the Kurdish town of Kobani could fall any day, U.S. and NATO officials are traveling to Turkey today to press negotiations for more robust Turkish involvement in the coalition.
But Turkey is taking a hard line, insisting that it will only consider involvement in military action as part of a broader strategy for ending the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The U.S. and its allies want to keep the focus on the Islamic State group, which they say poses a more global threat.
Emphasizing the U.S. position, Kerry said Wednesday that although the Obama administration is “deeply concerned about the people of Kobani,” preventing the town’s fall to Islamic State militants was not a strategic objective for the U.S.
“As horrific as it is to watch in real time what’s happening in Kobani, it’s also important to remember, you have to step back and understand the strategic objective,” Kerry told a news conference in Washington.
Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, also conceded Kobani could fall because “air power alone is not going to be enough to save that city.”
“We all need to prepare ourselves for the reality that other towns and villages — and perhaps Kobani — will be taken by ISIL,” Kirby said, adding that the key to eventually defeating the militants is to train and enable indigenous ground forces.
Turkey is ambivalent about the fight across its border, because of its distrust of the Kurdish fighters protecting Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab. It views them as an extension of the Kurdish PKK, the rebel group that has waged a long and bloody insurgency against Ankara. In recent days, Turkish officials have emphasized that they view both the Islamic State group and the PKK as terrorist groups.
Left unsaid is which group they view as the greater threat. But, Turkey’s strict neutrality as the lightly-armed Kurds face annihilation speaks volumes.
While Turkey maintains it does not want Kobani to fall, Turkish officials say they will not enter combat until they are assured that the U.S.-led coalition has a long-term strategy in Syria. They see Assad as a greater nemesis on their border than even the Islamic State. Taking out the militants without a plan to fill the inevitable vacuum, they say, will lead to further chaos that will only strengthen Assad.