BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO declared its "strong solidarity" with Turkey on Tuesday as ambassadors gathered for a rare emergency meeting about the threat faced by a member.The only good thing I can see about Turkey is that it creates a wall between ISIS and Europe.
Turkey requested the extraordinary meeting to gauge the threat the Islamic State extremist group poses to Turkey, and the actions Turkish authorities are taking in response, including attacks on Kurdish rebels.
"We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks against Turkey, and express our condolences to the Turkish government and the families" of victims killed in recent terrorist actions, NATO ambassadors said in a statement after the meeting.
"Terrorism poses a direct threat to the security of NATO countries and to international stability and prosperity," the NATO statement said. "It is a global threat that knows no border, nationality or religion_a challenge that the international community must fight and tackle together."
Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty empowers member states to seek emergency consultations when they consider their "territorial integrity, political independence or security" to be in jeopardy. This was only the fifth such meeting in NATO's 66-year history.
In Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish and U.S. officials were discussing the creation of a safe zone near Turkey's border with Syria, which would be cleared of IS group presence and turned into a secure area for Syrian refugees to return.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday before leaving for China, Erdogan also said it was impossible to advance a peace process with the Kurds as attacks on Turkey continue.
Funny how the chaos in Syria didn't really alarm the Turks until it looked like the Kurds might just kick their ISIS proxie's asses.
Now they want to take the lands the Kurds control and make it a safe haven for "Arab" refugees. Changing the ethnic demographics of the area.
Fuck The xenophobic Turks, Fuck Erdogan the Islamist, and fuck us for turning our backs on our Kurdish (yet Communist) allies.
If we need to enforce a no fly zone it should be over the Kurdish areas of Iraq and Turkey.