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22 Sep, 2014 12:00 am

Turkey closes borders

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Turkey closes its borders to fend off at least 130,000 Kurdish refugees. The Kurds are fleeing a Syrian town which Islamic State Rebels are poised to take. The reaction takes place as some Kurds in Turkey take to the streets to protest in support of the entry of the refugees. Demonstrator Mehmet Eminakma:

We’ve come to support our brothers in Syria under attack by ISIL.

16 Sep, 2014

Turkey provides ISIS recruits

Terror Incident0 Comments

At least 1,000 Turks join the Islamic State over a period of time. The extremist group especially attracts disgruntled, disadvantaged youths with the enticement of money. Turkish fighters also identify more favorably with ISIS governance versus Turkish governance. A rickety district known as Hacibayram that is a tourist attraction serves as a recruitment center for potential fighters to Syria. Stein:

There are clearly recruitment centers being set up in Ankara and elsewhere in Turkey, but the government doesn’t seem to care. It seems their hatred for Bashar al-Assad and their overly nuanced view of what radical Islam is has led to a very short and narrow-sighted policy that has serious implications.

The United States places considerable pressure on President Recept Tayyip Erdogan to better police the Turkey border connecting with Syria. Turkey refuses to take measures countering ISIS, upsetting American officials.

27 Jul, 2012

Secret military base

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Sources in the Persian Gulf tell Reuters that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have set up a secret ‘nerve centre’ near the Turkish border with Syria to direct military aid and communications to Syrian rebels fighting the government. Doha source:

It’s the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main co-ordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom. The Americans are very hands-off on this. U.S. intel are working through middlemen. Middlemen are controlling access to weapons and routes.

The centre is located in the southern Turkish city of Adana, about 100 km (60 miles) from the border, and was set up after Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud visited Turkey and requested it. The Turks liked the idea of having the base in Adana so that they could supervise its operations.