The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) asked Prime MinisterAhmet Davutoğlu for written orders when he ordered them to intervene in Jarabulus, a Syrian city near the Turkish border, but Davutoğlu argued that the existing authority of the TSK would be sufficient, which resulted in inaction on the plan, a columnist has claimed.
Yeniçağ daily columnist Ahmet Takan wrote on Friday that an intervention in Jarabulus was brought to the agenda by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Davutoğlu during the recent security meeting, called the “Crisis in Syria” meeting, but Foreign Ministry diplomats, as well the TSK, stood against Erdoğan and Davutoğlu on the grounds that such a military operation should be carried out in collaboration with the US and Syrian opposition forces. The diplomats also raised concerns that Russia and Iran should be consulted prior to the launch of a military operation, as well as the Syrian regime.
Takan claimed that the TSK said they would not hesitate to enter Jarabulus if the government ordered it, but any military operation should be planned properly, while the diplomats suggested that a new government, which will be formed in the coming days by the political parties in Parliament in line with the results of the June 7 general election, should make such a decision.
However, Davutoğlu insisted on an operation being launched in the town, in the face of the resistance from the TSK, which asked for a written order. Davutoğlu said that the TSK had previously been authorized to carry out a cross-border operation into Syria, Takan wrote.
The same diplomats also warned Erdoğan and Davutoğlu about possible risks that might stem from a potential military operation in Syria, since the TSK may encounter not only Kurdish military elements like the Democratic Union Party (PYD) or the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), or the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), but also forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Takan.
These diplomats stressed that any military operation that went forward without the required consultations with international elements currently playing a role in the Syrian conflict, and the justification for such an intervention being prepared in detail, would harm relations with the US, Takan wrote.
Like the diplomats, the high-ranking commanders from the TSK present at the meeting recalled the Süleyman Şah operation in which the tomb of Süleyman Şah -- the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire -- in northern Syria was moved to a relatively safer location inside Syria to Turkish territory in February. There was significant public criticism of the operation. The TSK commanders reportedly suggested to Davutoğlu that the new prime minister make such an order after the new government is formed.
Bron: Today's zaman
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Het wordt een moeilijke tijd voor alle partijen in Syrië..