Turkey hosts multi targets to join coalition against IS

Turkey's parliament granted the government the authority to send its troops to foreign territories for cross border operations and open its bases to foreign troops on Thursday.

Experts agreed that the mandate is very comprehensive with consisting of multi targets, including ground operations against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria and has the potential to stretch out up to Assad regime in Syria.

Oytun Orhan from Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies ( ORSAM) told Xinhua that with the mandate, Turkey will seek to accomplish several targets at once.

Turkey's primary concerns are the insecurity at its border line with Syria and Iraq and the massive refugee influx into its territories, fleeing from the tyranny of IS and also from the Assad regime in Syria, according to Orhan.

"Most part of the border is under control of either IS or Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). Turkey would like to get rid of all the threats that it has been facing along side of its border," he said.

In order to pursue its goals, Orhan admitted that Turkey's involvement in an unilateral military operation inside Syria is among the possibilities.

"For that reason there is the possibility that Turkey would involve unilateral ground operation creating secure lines from four or five locations inside Syrian territory," he said.

Ankara will first seek the coalition's support for creating a no-fly-zone. But if it couldn't convince the coalition members, it is very possible that Turkey would involve a unilateral ground operation, he said.

"Of course another reason behind the coalition's possible ground operation would be toppling the Assad regime," Orhan also added.

Ali Semin, expert on the Middle East at Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (BILGESAM), told Xinhua that the coalition has been dragging Turkey into a ground war in Syria against Assad regime. "The ultimate goal of the coalition is to topple the regime," he also stressed.

"When you analyze the members of the coalition you can see that all the countries are the ones who are against Assad regime. This is a coalition against Assad regime not against IS," Semin pointed out.

The Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries are the ones which have been financing IS, according to him. But involving in such an prestigious coalition is important for themselves, by this coalition they have been making themselves to be accepted by their public, he explained.

Semin argued that Turkey's involvement in such an operation will bring serious causalities.

Turkey, up to now has restrained itself from involving any military operation inside Syria. "But after IS surrounded Turkey's only territory outside its border, the Suleyman Shah tomb, now it is a matter of time for Turkish soldiers to enter into Syria," Semin said.

Turkish Chief of Staff, while addressing the Turkish soldiers who are guarding the tomb, said on Thursday that "Feel the confidence inside our Armed Forces will be near you in a second upon any single news from you," signaling that the Turkish armed forces is ready for an immediate operation upon any possible call of Turkish soldiers.

In the mean time, Semin also expressed his concerns about the lack of details of the mandate. "First of all the mandate should make it clear that for how long the foreign troops would be using Turkish territories. What if after IS, another threat appears? Would it be still possible for the foreign troops to use Turkish soil," he said.

"This is a very comprehensive mandate. The government now has the full authority to decide the timing, the duration and the scope of an operation," said Mehmet Yegin, analyst at International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).

Yegin said that with this authorization Turkey would be able to establish a secure line inside Syria. "So that the country would be able to cope with the refugee influx into its territories." Enditem