Turks must seal border

THE attack on Istanbul’s airport was horrific. It was also steeped in irony. Istanbul’s airport is the overwhelming destination of choice for aspiring jihadists around the world who wish to join ISIS. Once they land in Istanbul, these fighter wannabes head east and then cross the border into Syria. Until recently, the Turkish government turned a blind eye to the problem. In other words, the Ataturk Airport attack was blowback.

Admittedly, the Turks have done a better job recently. But the problem remains.

The eastern frontier is still the place where jihadists go to join the fray. Press reports also suggest that money and weapons have found their way from Turkey to jihadists on the other side of the border. Other reports suggest ISIS and other jihadist groups have sold oil and antiquities to Turkish middlemen, meaning that Turkey’s eastern border is a hotbed of illicit financial activity that benefits the very people that carried out Monday night’s attack.

To fight ISIS more effectively, we must set things straight with our wayward NATO ally. This government mistakenly believed that opening up its border to jihadists would hasten the downfall of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria.

Our immediate task is to push the Turks to completely seal the southeastern border. They need to crack down on terror financiers and middlemen, too. But questions remain as to whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an avowed Islamist, is the right partner for the job.