Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu threaten to invade Syria. Thousands of Turkish forces are mobilized along border areas.
So far talk is just bluster. For how long remains to be seen. Everything depends on what Washington intends. Escalated war is more likely than backing off.
On Thursday, the Kurdish Hawar news agency ANHA reported dozens of Turkish military vehicles advancing about 200 meters into Aleppo province.
A trench between the towns of Sorka and Meydan Ekbis is being dug. Concrete wall construction continues. The area is mainly Kurdish.
Turkish forces continue heavy cross-border shelling, the international community doing nothing to stop it. Meaningless rhetoric substitutes for action – Erdogan permitted to attack Syrian territory, a flagrant international law breach.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported hundreds of terrorists entering Syrian territory late Wednesday through the Bab al-Salam border crossing – “under the Turkish authorities’ supervision, heading towards Azaz city.”
Erdogan is taking full advantage of Wednesday’s Ankara terrorist blast, a likely state-sponsored false flag, conveniently timed, wrongfully blamed on Kurdish freedom fighters – accused before the smoke cleared.
Evidence takes time to collect and evaluate. Kurds and an alleged Syrian refugee were blamed within hours of the incident, a clear indication of pre-planned finger-pointing – Turkish officials also outrageously claiming Syrian and Russian involvement.
Erdogan won’t invade Syria unilaterally, or together with Saudi forces, without US permission.
Syrian army spokesman Talal Salu said invading foreign troops “would become targets for the Russian air force and (government artillery) should they enter Syrian territory.”
Retaliation would likely follow anything greater than provocative border area intrusions. Whether full-scale invasion is planned remains to be seen.
On Friday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is committed to “preserving the territorial and political integrity of all countries in the region, including Syria.”
He stressed Putin’s commitment to “defeat terrorists in order to resolve the crisis.”
RT International interviewed Assad’s political advisor Bouthaina Shaaban. She minced no words, saying:
“Anyone who carries arms against civilians, against government, against institutions is a terrorist.”
“Political opposition should be dealing with politics, should be in opposition against the government but by political means, without using arms, without killing people, without beheading people.”
“Can terrorism be moderate?” The only way to stop slaughter and destruction is by “put(ting) an end to terrorism,” including ending foreign support.
As long as it continues, endless war will rage.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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