Smoke from a fire rises in Kobani, Syria while fighting continues between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Islamic State group, as seen from Mursitpinar on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014. Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
The more I look at Turkey’s stand-and-watch posture as Islamic State jihadists rampage through northern Syria, the angrier I get. It’s hard to feel the slightest sympathy that Turkey was denied one of the three rotating seats on the U.N. Security Council today, because lots of countries seem to detect an acute lack of leadership on Turkey’s part these days.
This is a country that was willing to send ground forces into northern Iraq whenever it perceived the slightest threat from Kurdish PKK fighters based there. Because the last thing Turkey can tolerate is any thought of independence and self-determination for the largest ethnic group in the world that lacks a country of its own. Turkey gets suddenly very brave when it comes to putting down the Kurds.
But when it comes to a much more formidable threat – the Islamic State — all of a sudden, Turkey adopts a stand-and-watch posture. It’s more than a little pathetic. But Turkey’s not alone. Just as threatened, if not more so, by the Islamic State sweep are Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. They are willing to help with air assaults and maybe provide bases should U.S. troops decide to launch a ground attack. But do they dare muster their own ground forces and go on the offensive to halt the jihadist sweep? No way.
Turkey is by far the strongest military force in the region. Its ground forces could route Islamic State fighters, but it chooses not to. Turkey, like the others, is waiting for the United States to get involved on the ground.
At some point, these nations must realize that this is their war more than it is ours. They have to step up, and that means sending in ground forces.