Posted on 02/22/2015 1:10:13 AM PST by tcrlaf
Hundreds of Turkish troops in armoured vehicles have entered into northern Syria and evacuated a historic Ottoman tomb and the soldiers guarding it.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the remains of Suleyman Shah would be moved elsewhere in Syria.
He said troops had destroyed the tomb's complex, apparently to prevent it from being used by Islamic State (IS) militants. Turkey considers the shrine be to sovereign territory. Suleyman Shah was grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman empire, Osman the first.
SNIP--
The operation began on Saturday at about 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) and ended on Sunday morning.
A large convoy, including 600 troops and about 100 tanks and armoured vehicles, passed through Kobane - the city which Syrian Kurdish fighters retook last month from IS - and travelled some 35km (20 miles) south to the tomb on the banks of the Euphrates river.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
“Describing conservative national defense positions of people like Reagan and Ted Cruz as “paranoid hysteria””
lol!!
Please link to whenever I have said that??
OH WAIT... You can’t, because I never have.
What a pathetic strawman attempt!! Don’t you have any pride, or are you just another paid Kiev troll?
So since Russia has supported the Assad regime in Turkey and less than 100 years ago was at war with them - could this lead to Russia opening an additional front /expansion by expanding into the Turkish border as a reprisal? How many feel that may be a possibility? Possibly redoing the Georgia thing nearby as well?
If Russia can return Constantinople, more power to them.
Russians won’t do anything, and Erdogan wouldn’t have moved if he didn’t have a nod from Assad.
Heavy fighting and ISIS was advancing to within just a few miles of this tomb.
You’re a filthy bootlicking Putinist (as are a few others around here). Freepers should beware of you. You lie like you breath, and are a pure propagandist.
As for the topic in general, according to one of the freepers on this thread..:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3260440/posts
...the tomb is sovereign Turkish territory, which was already manned by Turkish troops. Not exactly an invasion, though it’s a sign of how safe they think Syria is. I think the Putinist brigade is just up in arms because Syria is an ally of Russia.
Because it's so much better if the crooks in Moscow are running everything, you Putinist toadie.
No, Assad runs Syria.
could this lead to Russia opening an additional front /expansion by expanding into the Turkish border as a reprisal?
Hell no! Not just because Russia has no land border with Turkey, but because Turkey is a NATO country. The Turks may not be very reliable or trust worthy, but they will surely invoke the NATO charter if attacked. Then Putin's forces would receive an epic gang-rape.
Possibly redoing the Georgia thing nearby as well?
Its a possibility but it would be extremely dumb to do so, the Russians can barely manage one front in the Ukraine, opening up a second in Georgia would be an additional logistic strain. The Georgians were taken by surprise in 08, since then they have taken great measures to improve their defensive posture. As soon as Putin runs out of willing volunteers, then his invasions will be done.
yeah an obvious typo - I meant since Russia has been supporting Assad in Syria, and Turkey is going into Syria. My error.
They actually do share a land boarder east of the Black Sea on the eastern side of Georgia - it isn’t long. However, I don’t think NATO is obligated if Turkey initiates action on their own.
I’m not sure how the Russian force order stands these days I’ve been meaning to update myself since I stopped paying attention in the late 90’s.
Hmmmm....also brings up the age-old question, if Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, would Greece help?
Thank you, I’ll be here all week....
The Turkish Land Forces have 315,000 men, large number of conscripts that serve one year terms. Their premier unit, the 3rd Corps, is a mechanized NATO Rapid Deployment unit. The Turks don't have too many commitments abroad so their troops are available for response to Russian aggression. I highly doubt that the Russians could scrounge together enough men to take Istanbul and the Bosporus. Attacking Turkey would also mean Russian trade from the Black Sea would be cut off, eliminating the utility of taking the Crimea in the first place. If Putin were to go to war with the Turks, he would truly be a madman.
Not saying it was a good plan - just wondering if Russia would attempt to pressure Turkey on their shared border.
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.