Friday, July 1, 2016

After This Week's Istanbul Airport Bombing, Will Turkey Now Wage War Against The Islamic State?

Roy Gutman & Nancy Youssef, Daily Beast: Istanbul Ataturk Airport Attack: Turkey Could Knock Out ISIS, but Will It?

It’s got a huge army on ISIS’s doorstep—and all the motivation in the world to use it. Will Turkey finally go on the offensive this time?

Cleaning crews were still clearing the rubble and broken glass, and barriers proclaiming a “maintenance zone” blocked what had always been the main arrivals area, but just a half day after suicide bombers staged a major terror attack at Istanbul’s main airport, the crowds had returned and most flights were operating.

It wasn’t quite business as usual at Ataturk airport, one of Europe’s busiest, but the recovery seemed remarkable, and there was little sign of enhanced security. Some passengers no doubt stayed home, but there were long lines at airline check-ins, and even longer lines at ticket offices to rebook their flights.

Forty-two people were killed, 12 of them foreigners and the rest Turks, and 239 wounded, according to the Turkish government. Among the wounded were an American and a Canadian, but officials did not give their names. Nor did the government identify the three suicide bombers, who arrived by taxi Tuesday evening toting explosive vests and submachine guns.

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WNU Editor: The author's of the above post do give a convincing argument on why Turkey will not order its military to rout ISIS rebels in Syria. The reasons being .... no popular support within Turkey for such a war, the war against the Kurds is more important in Erdogan's eyes than the Islamic State, and Turkish fears that retaliation from Syria and its Russian/Iranian allies will occur if Turkish forces enter Syria while receiving no support from the U.S. or NATO.