As it is impossible to believe Turkish F-16 pilots
would fire missiles at a Russian plane without authorization from President
Tayyip Recep Erdogan, we must ask: Why did the Turkish autocrat do it?
Why is he risking a clash with Russia?
Answer: Erdogan is probably less outraged by
intrusions into his air space than by Putin’s success in securing the Syrian
regime of Bashar Assad, whom Erdogan detests, and by relentless Russian air
strikes on Turkmen rebels seeking to overthrow Assad.
Imperiled strategic goals and ethnicity may explain Erdogan. But what does
the Turkish president see down at the end of this road?
And what about us? Was the U.S. government aware Turkey might attack
Russian planes? Did we give Erdogan a green light to shoot them down?
These are not insignificant questions.
For Turkey is a NATO ally. And if Russia strikes back, there is a
possibility Ankara will invoke Article V of NATO and demand that we come in on
their side in any fight with Russia.
And Putin was not at all cowed. Twenty-four hours after that plane went
down, his planes, ships and artillery were firing on those same Turkmen rebels
and their jihadist allies.
Politically, the Turkish attack on the Sukhoi Su-24 has
probably aborted plans to have Russia join France and the U.S. in targeting
ISIS, a diplomatic reversal of the first order.
Indeed, it now seems clear that in Syria’s civil war,
Turkey is on the rebel-jihadist side, with Russia, Iran and Hezbollah on the
side of the Syrian regime.
But whose side are we on?
Is
the US Deliberately Starting WWIII? - LewRockwellLewRockwell.com
