Posted on 01/18/2017 3:55:28 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Syrians express 'deep anger' at Turkey for war
"Why did Turkey do this to us?"
Fehim Tastekin reports that many Syrians blame Turkey, once a close ally of Damascus, for the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to United Nations and independent estimates.
Tastekin, a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse, reports from Damascus that “being a Turk in Syria is a bit difficult nowadays. No one will harass, insult or attack you, for sure, but everyone has a few words to say about Ankara’s transition from friend to foe.”
Tastekin writes, “In a cafe booked by a group of friends, the owner had joined the dancing patrons. When he learned we were Turks, he couldn't resist a few stinging words despite all the commotion around. 'Six years ago, I was an [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan fan, and the two countries were friends,' he said. 'A Turkish friend who used to come and go cautioned me to go easy, saying that not everything is what it looks like. He proved right and we were badly mistaken. Still, I wish the best for the Turkish people, but the harm that Erdogan did to us will unfortunately reach Turkey as well.'”
Syrians doubt Turkey’s ability to restrain terrorist armed groups in Syria. “The international media may be preoccupied with the cease-fire,” Tastekin reports, “but one can hardly say it has led to great excitement in Damascus — not because of indifference, but because there is little faith that Turkey can fulfill its commitment to rein in armed groups. And the groups that really give the Syrian army a hard time are Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and the Islamic State (IS), which are excluded from the deal.
(Excerpt) Read more at al-monitor.com ...
Actually the Syrians who hate Erdogan the most are the Turkmen of northern Syria. Erdogan convinced them to revolt because he promised them all the lands and properties of the defeated Shiiats. Now that Turkey and the Al Quada lost the war the Turkmen became refugees. They should have learned the lessons from the Turkmen of North Iraq who also almost became refugees. In the end they got smart and abandoned the neo-ottoman sultan
I am not sure whether it is really true or not, but I found it interesting.
I can’t remember who said that a battle plan will not survive first contact with the enemy. But a clear lesson in all the interventions made by various powers for the last century is this. Nothing, and I mean nothing, comes out the way you expect it too. You diddle in the affairs of others at extreme risk.
For about a century American policy supported dictators until we suddenly supported the so-called Arab Spring. That has caused much more death and starvation than any Middle Eastern dictator you can name. I don’t think the people in our government who did this care about the death and destruction. They had their agenda and they acted on it. They would do the same if they had the chance to do it over again. There were no “good intentions.” Only arrogance and hubris.
Now Turkey gets to reap what it sowed.
“Why did Turkey do this to us?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Erdogan wanted his cut from the Saudi pipeline.
He also had designs on being the new Caliph.
“For about a century American policy supported dictators until we suddenly supported the so-called Arab Spring. That has caused much more death and starvation than any Middle Eastern dictator you can name.”
Excellent point. After seeing all the death, destruction, brutality, and chaos in the Middle East after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, and attempted overthrow of Assad, you see that certain peoples need a tough dictator to rein in their most brutish proclivities.
And Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.
Erdo did stir up and support the Turkmen in Northern Syria thru his promises. But like anything, when promises don’t turn into reality, people get mad.
>>>”For about a century American policy supported dictators until we suddenly supported the so-called Arab Spring.”<<<
I don’t know why many people see the start of this mess from 2011 “Arab Spring”. Maybe because of ‘recency effect’.
Essentially, the toppling of ME, (secular) ‘dictators’ began with the Shah in Iran in 1978-79.
This was followed by radicalisation of what was called mujahedin, during Soviet invasion in the 1980s, a faction of which turned into Taliban in Afghanistan, as we know it from around 1995. The US didn’t have any major issues during most of the 1990s with the Taliban (who were officially recognised by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan), until 9/11.
Then came the overthrow of Saddam in 2003, and the rest is history..
The milestones are: Khomeini in Iran, Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam’s removal, Arab Spring of 2011, removal of Ghaddafi, toppling of Mobarak, and lately the attempt to remove Assad, when it’s very clear the replacement will most likely be an Islamist regime in Syria.
“I don’t know why many people see the start of this mess from 2011 “Arab Spring”. Maybe because of ‘recency effect’.”
I agree with your timeline. I see the so-called “Arab Spring” as important because Obama wholly supported it perhaps in the fantasy that it would make things better. More likely, though, he understood it would accelerate the Jihad.
Personally, I am unsure if things were contained during Bush’s last year.
US troops would’ve had to stay in Iraq and actively controlled both the gov’t and environment for a very long time, may be decades. Whether that was a feasible option in 2008-2009 is debatable, especially since US troops were under constant attack.
But, in terms of timelines, things didn’t re-escalate until 2011, though I remember the Kurds warning back in 2010 that IS was on the rise, which means IS had been building up at least a year or two before 2010. I agree he poured gasoline over the fire.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.