Not only did Turkish F-16s attack IS positions in Syria last night... For the first time Turkey has given the USA permission to use a Turkish airbase for their attacks. This is a major change of course. In the past jihadists could easily go to Syria, to join IS and also IS themselves could pass Turkish borders, in order to travel to different positions. Now this. Analysts say this means a big change. America can now reach the area way easier.
It can be argued that IS wanted to tempt Turkey to join the war (more chaos!), but did they take into account with this step? A tactical blunder? Who knows.
Here follows a translation of a Dutch
article I read today.
Dutch Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands, Tom Middendorp has said that he wants Dutch F16's to bombard in Syria as well. He sees small chance for a solution in the fight vs IS if they are not also taken on in their "free haven" area, Syria.
Last month, our government said that there is international legal basis for military action in Syria, because IS attacks Iraq from Syria. "it legitimizes the right of collective self defense".
Still the Netherlands restrict themselfes to Iraq, because "there is no broadly carried political strategy for the solution of the conflict in Syria". For the future, the possibility is kept open.
The US, Canada and some Arabic countries are bombarding IS in Syria, but the Arab countries have a very small contribution. According to the US half of the IS commanders have been killed, and some thousands of warriors.
On top of that, IS has lost lots of terrain, especially in North Iraq. They can move men and material less easy. Middendorp sees this as a sign that the current Dutch contribution of bombarding and training (Kurdish) warriors in Iraq, is a crucial one.
However, IS is not everywhere in the defense. That is because the coalition does not attack enough. “We see that the capacity of the coalition in Syria is too limited to attack IS effectively”, says Middendorp. Still he agrees with the government that there must be a view on a political solution.
Also in other countries there is this same discussion. In the UK there is controversy about British military bombarding in Syria under American flag, without permission of the House of Commons.
The Netherlands have recently restricted the mission from 6 to 4 F16s, but expanding the operation area would make the coalition more flexible. To really conquer area on IS, ground forces are needed. And that's what lacks.
The real fighting must be done by local warriors. Complication is that Syrian opposition is dominated by muslim extremists. American plans to train moderate Syrian rebels are not working yet. Also there is a lack of information and people on the ground to help pointing out targets on the ground, for attacks from the air.
Middendorp uttered his worries about the mission. He would like to have more collaboration betweem bilateral armament programs and training for local warriors.
Also he discussed how the Kurds are helped by this mission in their strive for an own state. “Are we here with training to support the fight vs IS, or do we meanwhile help with Kurdish nation building? Then there's a risk of getting involved in a next local battle for power.”
