Turkey is no stranger to aerial conflict of late.
After months of back and forth banter between Ankara and Moscow regarding supposed Russian incursions into Turkish airspace, Erdogan finally “went there” on November 24 when Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24 near the border with Syria. One of the two pilots was killed.
Private American intelligence agency and forecaster, Stratfor, has predicted a military move into northern Syria by Turkey for 2016. President Erdogan’s policy is to strengthen his popularity and that of the AKP, Turkey’s ruling party, by becoming increasingly more assertive in foreign policy, according to Stratfor. The information gathering, distributing and forecasting business also predicts a more widening rift developing between Russia and a resurgent Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is no fan-o’-Kurds, so to speak. Well, unless the Kurds you’re talking about are assisting in a lucrative business that involves the trafficking of illicit crude from Iraq to the port of Ceyhan.
A former ISIS militant who is now held captive by Kurdish forces has told of his experiences fighting for the terrorist organization, including the training he underwent in Turkey before returning to Syria. Turkey is training Islamic State terrorists in a camp disguised as a training ground for the Free Syrian Army, the 20-year-old jihadist captured by the Kurdish YPG said. The prisoner also said Ankara’s help to the “moderate” Syrian opposition is not as innocent as portrayed.
Earlier this week, we told a fascinating story about an unprecedented, multi-year smuggling ring involving Turkey, Iran, and Dubai (as well as China, Russia and countless other nations) which saw corruption reaching to the very top of the political and financial establishment: from president Erdogan in Turkey, to one of Turkey's richest people, Iran-born Riza Sarraf, to Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the son of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and one of the world's richest people. The smuggled object in question was gold, billions of dollars worth of gold.