BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
On Monday morning, news of ISIS militants’ advance on Kobane near the Turkey-Syria border flooded the media, with some citing eyewitness accounts that ISIS has planted its flag atop the hilly area, with the local Kurdish population fighting for its life and against the ISIS militants.
So where was the United States’ trusted ally Turkey in its pledge to help the so-called international effort led by the US to topple the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which now goes by the name of Islamic State?
We can say one thing: The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was, most likely, gloating because a day before he had received an apology from Vice-President Biden, who told the truth by revealing Turkey’s—and Erodgan’s—role in the advancement of ISIS in the region.
While speaking to a group of students at Harvard, Biden discussed the US strategy/policy in the region and expressed that Erdogan had admitted Turkey’s errors in allowing militants to freely roam its border. This comment angered Erdogan, who demanded an apology from Biden and threatened that “he [Biden] will be history for me if he has indeed used such expressions.”
It seems that Biden’s friendship with Erdogan, also known as the US completely succumbing and kowtowing to Turkey, far outweighs the truth that Turkey, in fact, has played a large role in aiding ISIS and allowing its spread of deadly violence in Iraq and Turkey.
This fact was highlighted by former US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Riccardione who told the London-based The Telegraph last month that Turkey has directly supported al Qaeda’s Syrian wing in defiance of the US and has worked with other hard-line al Qaeda affiliates, effectively opening its borders to Syria and allowing free access to those rebels.
“The Turks frankly worked with groups for a period, including al Nusra, whom we finally designated as we’re not willing to work with,” Riccardione was quoted in The Telegraph explaining the US response to Turkey.
Turkey’s role in advancing the ISIS cause has also been widely reported and highlighted by the media in the US, including a front-page report last month by The New York Times.
“Turkey has been criticized at home and abroad for an open border policy in the early days of the Syrian uprising. Critics say that policy was crucial to the rise of ISIS,” reported the New York Times on September 16.
“Turkish fighters recruited by ISIS say they identify more with the extreme form of Islamist governance practiced by ISIS,” added the New York Times report.
President Obama has vowed to destroy ISIS and has appealed to countries in the region to join the coalition. Turkey has refused US access to its own airbase in Incirlik, the second time Turkey has blocked US efforts in the region, and now, true to Turkish form and despite Biden’s apology, Ankara wants guarantees from the US that the current mission in the region would conclude with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s demise before fully committing Turkey’s support for the mission.
The Obama Administrations complete and utter submission to Turkey has been well-documented, but Biden’s apology takes the cake since he was simply stating what everyone already knew: Turkey is responsible for the rise of ISIS and the current crisis in the Middle East.
Also on Monday, The Times (of London) reported that Turkey may have freed more than 100 ISIS jihadists in return for 49 Turkish hostages the militant group was holding since June after taking over the Iraqi city of Mosul. These newly-released ISIS militants are now free to bear arms and wreak more havoc in the region, all thanks to Turkey’s policy in the region, which run counter to US interests.
What Biden’s apology has done is to embolden Turkey to, on one hand, place more preconditions to the US for its involvement in the campaign and, on the other, to continue its support for ISIS and other extremist militants in the region. More importantly, however, Biden’s apology has weakened US foreign policy, its standing in the international community and strengthened the resolve of ISIS to continue its reign of terror in the region.
Bravo Vice-President Biden for your cowardice.
Absolutely absurd. Does the US not realize who’s more powerful of the two? This goes to show you how much fear within foreign policy circles in the US dominates the equation. What is the point of the US having an air force base in Turkey if only Turkey decides when and how it can be used? We’re wasting money and giving them an opportunity to have a bargaining chip on the US’s policies. Time to move that base elsewhere.
It’s a shame: fear paralyzes and gives the other party the opportunity to grab you by the balls.
Perhaps this is a plan to engulf Turkey and once again destroy ‘the sick man of Europe’. Who knows, maybe a new Wilsonian Armenia is in the works. Let’s give this thing a chamce to play out itself.
Good point. And whatever that plan is, it’s important to keep mentioning Woodrow Wilson’s Arbitral Award. We should keep reminding everyone, every time, of this legal judgement that is final, binding, and has no expiration date. The more we do so, the more people will support us.
A REAL LOW DOWN BUM…
Thanksgiving is Just Around the Corner, and colorful Turkey will perform another fine striptease dance for uncle Joe and his boss and entire White house staff!!
Biden’s Apology to Erdogan… Enough said.
It is so obvious that Erdogan wants ISIS to do the dirty job annihilating the Syrian Kurdish resistance which has close ties with PKK.
Erdogan is the smartest politician.
He is using everyone including the US for his own advantage. No wonder the Ottomans ruled for 400 years.
If Armenians had a fraction of Turkish political acumen we would have kept Greater Armenia.
With the way it is going in Armenia we may not have a state in the next few decades simply because of emigration due to corruption and the oligarchic system.
Very well said. It’s ‘natural selection’ at work.
Actually over 600 years.
Years: 1299-1923
And these as the buttwipes we beg every year to recognize our genocide…
God Bless Mother Russia: The last front against American imperialism, NATO expansionism, Western Globalism, Islamic extremism, Zionism and Pan-Turkism.
If we had not given our heads to Mother Russia, this would have been a perfect opportunity to invite the US air force based in Turkey to establish shop in Gumri. But as usual, corruption always takes front and center stage in our decisions. The corrupt oligarchy mafia type thugs in Armenia would never agree to any arrangement that might help the country.
I think you should go back to watching Fox News and leave the geopolitics to people with less delusions. Washington would gladly cut Armenia’s throat and hand her head to the Turks on a silver platter. If not they would not have financed and militarily supported Turkey to become the monster that it is today.
@Guren: well said
the opposite is true.Tell your “mother Russia”what happened to our Kars.?Genoside recognition is first priority.I agree with you on that
Kars was lost because the Russian empire had collapsed and was taken over by a band of ruthless Bolsheviks which were not of Russian origin, nor did they have the best interests of Russia at heart. If Russia wasn’t deliberately destroyed by the international ruling elite and the Czar was kept in place then today’s Armenia would have encompassed Erzerum, Van….Trabizon. That day may still come and if it does you can bet that it won’t be because some declining “exceptionalist” nation that kisses Turkish ar$$e uses the “G” word.
Mother Russia is ready to sale Armenia to CSTO, where Turkic herds are united altogether over Artsakh!
Give them some more rope….they are on the Way To hanging themselves
He talks so much and so loud that his mouth is on auto-pilot. Blaming him is like blaming a baby for soiling his diaper.
It should be hard for Biden to go through such a humiliation
That’s OK. Biden will remember this humiliation. When the time comes he’ll get his revenge.
HE HAS NO SHAME…..errodoggie,and bidin…..TWO MONKEYS ON A STRING……
Turkey is cooperating with TERRORISTS and Biden apologises to Erdogan!!
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Amercians cannot call “spade” a spade… Pathetic cowards.
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Baden apologises for: In Istanbul, ISIS Operated Mosques Said to Be Training Azeri Jihadists
http://asbarez.com/125371/in-istanbul-isis-operated-mosques-said-to-be-training-azeri-jihadists/
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Baden apologises to Erdogan for: Turkish terrorists that attacked Kessab encouraged by the Americans/allies and NATO.
http://asbarez.com/121807/young-kessab-armenian-killed-by-rebels/
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Baden apologises to Erdogan for: US Knew Turkey Aided al Qaeda but Did Nothing to Stop It
http://asbarez.com/126987/us-knew-turkey-aided-al-qaeda-but-did-nothing-to-stop-it/
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Baden apologises to Erdogan for: U.S. Caught Training ISIS Terrorist At Secret Jordan Base
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8_mc9yO4S8
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Baden apologises to Erdogan for: ISIS TERRORISTS TRAINED BY OBAMA …but now he needs to kill them
http://pickeringpost.com/story/isis-terrorists-trained-by-obama/3405
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Baden apologises to Erdogan for: Al-Qaeda and West in cahoots in Syria
http://rt.com/news/al-qaeda-west-cahoot-syria-177/
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etc.. etc…
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Birds of a feather flock together.
And so will DONKEYS and PIGS.
CHIMPS and MONKEYS shall have their choices.
And so shall I have mine.
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HOW LOW YOU CAN GO?
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TELL ME WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE, AND I WILL TELL YOU WHO YOUR ARE, Mr Baden.
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Syria has been a SANCTUARY to millions of ETHNIC minorities for centuries. Why does anyone want to destroy it? Learn from Syria about MULTICULTURALISM. Syria should be congratulated. Even ISRAELIS used Syria as a safe-heaven. And look the way THEY show their appreciation. Look what THEY have done to Syria/Aleppo.
It is not only succumbing to Turkey but blindly falling into the trap created by Turkey. God help all of us. When will America and the world in general wake up and smell the roses?
Enough of this stupidity.
Israel, another parasite so called ‘ally’ of the USA, is just having a field trip with this. They along with Turkey, UK and big Uncle Sam, along with Qatar, Saudi Arabia (due to very short sighted outlook) created ISIS and previously produced the so called Arab Spring, to orchestrate this chaos and havoc on the territories of future ‘GREATER ISRAEL’… FROM THE TIGRES TO THE NILE!
It is NOT complicated… Israel runs U.S. Foreign Policy PERIOD.
Another American government phony, with incompetence written all over his face. The last line of the article sums it up perfectly, along with the rest of the AIPAC controlled “American” government.
Paris 2019 – after the Middle East War
Turkey is next for ISIS. The price for the USA and NATO and others saving Turkey and getting rid of Assad should be a new Middle East, created along the lines (no pun intended) of the old treaties, that contains an independent Kurdistan and an enlarged western Armenia that includes the Black Sea coast. Sorry Turkey.
Russia will be dissuaded from further adventures and leave Georgia and Azerbaijan alone.
Regime change in Azerbaijan and recognition of Armenian claims to Artsakh will bring peace to the Caucasus.
No more exclaves and enclaves – all borders to be decided by local plebiscite and done done done.
Future ideas: the political union of Azerbaijan and willing Russian Islamic republics like Dagestan, etc.
This is going to happen. “Kurdistan” is always in the news. You know the boys in Washington have talked about this. Big picture changes like this take major wars and sadly it is coming.
I’ve been advocating the breakup of Turkey for a while. “Turkey is too Islamic, too ambitious, too genocidal, and too big” The breakup of The Turkish Empire, successor to the Ottoman, is desirable for the peace of the world. Once shed of Kurdistan, Pontian Range, Alawi, Zaza and others, there will be a place fore Turks too. But wait, with DNA testing, we’ll have to look long and hard to find a real Turk. We may have to go to Mongolia to find one. The Turks have been living a lie for so long. They deserve to know the truth. They are all Armenian.
HA yes
History aside, a smaller Turkey makes a lot of sense. They are such a pain – in Europe and the Middle East.
Time was Armenia was a little piece of nothing in the back of beyond. Today it looks obvious that the return of a Greater Armenia is less a fanatics dream and more of a necessity.
Getting rid of Aliyev and peace in the east would stop Putin and his new Russia.
Kurdistan would settle down the politics of Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Turkey cannot cry too much, we will be saving their butt after all.
They can have a couple of pipelines to shut them up.
Very simply…jerky turkey is isis…born,bred, financed by the jerks…..
How can you stand for justice and peace ?
Then surround yourself and break bread with scum?
God bless Armenia ad Armenians around the world.
Turkey that committed the first Genocide of 20th
Century and still Denys it is going to help?
We will pray for the Kurds that had a hand in the
Armenian Genocide , but at least admit there
Mistakes . As far as Bidem who is the stooge
Of Barak “Hussain” Obama what goes around will
Come around ! Peace to the world.
Excellent article Ara. Biden kowtowing to Erdogan is supremely embarrassing to me as an American, forget about being Armenian. I thought we were the strongest country in the world? We have become wimps, and I am so tired of reading about how the US is not only kissing Turkey’s vor, but also forcing others to do the same (Israel when they sunk the Turkish flotilla carrying aid to Palestine)! Like I’ve said in the past, an 8 year old Armenian could do a better job dictating US Foreign Policy than Biden, Kerry or Obama.
how can you apologize to a DONKEY………
A donkey is very clever animal: it won’t fall into the same hole second time when it gets to it. that makes a donkey more clever than Erdoghan, Biden & Obama.
Regardless what the Turkish president says, Turkey is guilty of opening its border in the early days of the Syrian uprising to their Islamists Sunni brothers. Such misguided policy was pivotal to the rise of ISIS,” Mr Obama was also guilty by falling sleep on the wheel while ISIS was crossing the open desert unchallenged by the mighty coalition forces
In this case Dick Cheney would invite Erdogan to a quail hunt on a ranch in Kennedy County, Texas and simply shot him. Չէ չէ մի Apology!!!!!!
No need for apologies. This time he was right.
The methods and philosophy of ISIS is very much in tune with that of the Ottoman Empire in during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Their desecration of Der Zor, the fact that they destroyed Kessab and were given a safe return to Turkey to recover their injuries, and the manner which they round people up and take them a bit away from town to mass kill them are all suggestions that these people are representing the philosophy of Turkey, both then and now and operate under the auspices of Turkey. 10% of ISIS fighters are from Turkey. Perhaps their lack of support to the coalition against ISIS is yet another sign that they are in bed together. Simply put, they constructed a crazy group to go and wreak havoc in Syria; the group just ended up being too crazy.
My apology to Erdogan: I am truly sorry that you have neglected to recognize the Armenian Genocide and your sordid past, resulting in your country reassuming the responsibility of creating another destruction of mankind.