Here’s why Turkey joined the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State
Turkey, a moderate Muslim country and NATO member, is a critical U.S. ally in the region. But it had long been a reluctant partner in the U.S.-led alliance battling the Islamic State — until recent attacks against Turks helped the government change its mind.
Last month, the United States and Turkey announced a breakthrough to work together in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. It remains a complicated relationship fraught with risks and competing interests in a region where each country has different allies and chief enemies. Here are key questions and answers about why Turkey joined the fight:
Q. WHAT DOES THE NEW AGREEMENT SAY?
A. Turkey agreed to let U.S. armed drones and aircraft fly from Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey. The Pentagon said this week it began launching armed drones from Turkey against the Islamic State as part of the agreement. Turkey’s aircraft will join the coalition’s bombing of Islamic State targets in Syria. The two countries agreed to create a buffer zone on the ground along the Syrian border of Turkey.
Q. WHY IS THAT GOOD FOR THE U.S. COALITION?
A. First, the base in Turkey places U.S. aircraft closer to targets in Syria, where President Bashar Assad’s forces battle the Islamic State and U.S.-backed Syrian rebels and where Kurds fight the Islamic State. The base allows the aircraft, which began to arrive at Incirlik Air Base, to reach targets quickly and linger in the air longer, making airstrikes more effective. Second, Turkey’s active participation provides a political boost to the coalition by bringing in a large Muslim country that carries significant political and economic clout in the region.
Q. IS THE U.S. SETTING UP A NO-FLY ZONE?
A. Details of a “buffer zone” along the Turkish-Syrian border have yet to be hammered out, but Washington has said it won’t be a “no-fly zone,” which Turkey has long sought. The United States has resisted a no-fly zone because it would require allied aircraft to take down Syrian aircraft that enter the zone or to attack Syrian anti-air defenses if they impede enforcement of the no-fly zone. That could lead to direct combat with Syrian forces. By contrast, a buffer zone would only clear a region along the Syrian-Turkish border of ground fighting, capitalizing on gains Kurdish forces have made against the Islamic State in the area. Turkey and the United States have not decided what type of ground force would be used in such an operation. Turkey has said it will not send its troops into Syria, but a Turkish-backed surrogate force might attempt to take on Syrian govern- ment forces, posing risks for the U.S.-led coalition.
Q. WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
A. Turkey would use the agreement as political cover to attack Kurdish separatists, whom the government has been fighting for years. That could pose a problem for the United States because the Kurds in Syria and Iraq have been more effective ground fighters against the Islamic State than Iraq’s armed forces — meaning Turkish attacks on the Kurds could hamper efforts to defeat the Islamic State. There are different Kurdish groups in Iraq, Syria and Turkey, but they all have ties, and many share an aspiration to form an independent state, which Turkey adamantly opposes. After Turkey announced its agreement with the United States, it immediately began bombing Kurdish positions in northern Iraq.
Q. DOES AN AGREEMENT WITH TURKEY RISK DRAWING THE U.S. FURTHER INTO THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR?
A. Yes. The United States sees the Islamic State as the top threat in the region. Washington wants Syria’s Assad out as president, but it wants a political solution to maintain stability in Syria during a transition and avoid chaos similar to what followed the ouster of leaders in Libya and Yemen. Turkey sees the problem differently: It considers Assad’s ouster a top priority. The Pentagon says it has no intention of engaging in direct combat with Assad’s forces, but that may prove difficult if Turkish-backed rebels or aircraft begin attacking Syrian government troops.