Stephen Lendman

Russia under leading world peacemaker Putin and Turkey ruled by iron-fisted war-maker Erdogan hardly seem like allies for a common geopolitical cause.

Hold the cheers. Don’t bet on it. Throughout Obama’s war on Syria, Erdogan has been a loyal imperial ally - supporting ISIS and other terrorist groups, not combating them as he frequently claims.

Political pronouncements are one thing, followthrough another. Rogue states like Turkey, America, their key NATO allies and regional ones like Israel and Saudi Arabia can’t be trusted. They’re on the wrong side of all geopolitical issues mattering most. Erdogan turning a new leaf contradicting years of ruthless policy is unlikely unless proved otherwise.

Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusolgu, saying Ankara “will again, in an active manner, with its planes take part in operations” against ISIS targets contradicts what it never did before so what does “again” mean now?

Calling ISIS a “common enemy” belies Turkish support throughout the Syrian conflict for the scourge it now claims to oppose.

It’s like America, claiming it’s bombing ISIS, instead hitting government and infrastructure targets, along with massacring defenseless civilians - then denying it or whitewashing investigations when conducted.

Hegemons operate this way. Turkey is a junior partner in America’s war OF terror unless convincingly proved otherwise.

Believe nothing their regimes claim. War on Syria keeps raging. US-supported terrorists still operate from Turkish territory. Heavy weapons, munitions and new recruits pour across its border into Syria.

Cavusolgu said nothing about daily reality on the ground. Russia is the sole major power waging war on terrorists in Syria for real, hammering them, wanting them eliminated.

It’s at odds with Washington, NATO, Israel and other regional rogues states supporting them.

Given strained US/Turkish relations over the aborted events of July 15, maybe Erdogan wants closer ties with Russia, including supporting its regional peacemaking agenda.

Or maybe he doesn’t and is just faking it to get all he can from Washington and Moscow. Whatever his intentions, he’s got a lot of proving to do.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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