The US government is forming an international coalition to combat the Islamic State, also
known as ISIS.
Turkey recently joined that coalition, but they were initially very reluctant to do so;
something that doesn’t make a lot of sense at first glance.
Turkey shares a border with Syria and Iraq.
They’re presumably against ISIS’s extremist actions and beliefs, and they’re somewhat
friendly to US interests.
So why were they so reluctant to join the fight?
Well, there may have been multiple reasons.
Initially, Turkey was reluctant to join out of concern over the safety of their citizens.
Until recently, ISIS was holding 49 Turkish diplomats and security personnel hostage.
Turkey listed the safety of these hostages as their primary reason for not wanting to
attack ISIS.
The hostages have since been released, but that doesn’t change the fact that hostage-taking
and terrorist attacks are legitimate concerns.
Turkey also has a long history with both Syria and Iraq; one that involves a lot of distrust
and conflict.
For example, ISIS expanded into Syria during the Syrian Civil War, which is being fought
between rebel groups inside of Syria and the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad.
Some of those rebel groups were trained, funded and armed by Turkey, who wanted to overthrow
Assad’s government.
Turkey may have been reluctant to join in against ISIS, because eliminating them could
potentially benefit Assad.
They may also have been reluctant, because of their financial relationship with ISIS.
It’s estimated that ISIS is smuggling $15 million dollars worth of oil a month through
Turkey.
Some reports indicate that ISIS and the people they’re working with in Turkey, aren’t
really even trying to hide their activities.
They may be building pipelines in broad daylight.
The implication is that Turkey could stop them, but isn’t - possibly for financial
gains.
Turkey also has cultural interests inside of ISIS territory.
Namely, the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, which is an important Turkish Cultural site and sovereign
exclave of Turkey, that’s currently surrounded by ISIS-controlled territory.
Turkey may have been reluctant to enter the fight out of concern over this site and the
troops they have guarding it.
In addition to all of this, is the fact that Turkey - like a lot of countries in the region
- is suspicious of the United States to some degree, and thus was less than comfortable
with the idea of joining a US-run coalition.
Turkey did eventually sign on, but to get an idea for why other nations may never feel
comfortable enough to do so, click here [point] to watch our episode on the complicated relationship
between The United States and Iran.
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