Turkish military convoy drives in Idlib province, Syria, February 22, 2020. Photo: AP
Araz Barwari | Exclusive to Ekurd.net
Turkey has been claiming that it’s involvement in Syria particularly in Idlib province is for humanitarian reasons, to protect people from being killed by Assad’s military force, and to avoid refugee crisis at it’s door.
Ultimately, Turkey says it’s humanitarian mission in Syria should be completed and she has no intention to stay in Syria for ever. However, the truth is, Turkey under Erdogan rule shows that she has aspirations of becoming a global superpower.
As you might know that the characteristics of a superpower country are, to have a major power and role in international politics and project power, diplomatic, financial and military, beyond its borders as well as possessing nuclear weapons.
Like any superpower country, Turkey wants to become an independent country with a strong and advanced military and economics like US, Russia, China, France and UK and hence becomes a permanent member of UN security Council.
In order to achieve the goal, Turkey is trying to control, or at least have influence over the oil-rich countries of the Middle East. Turkey wants to control its neighborhood countries, something that Ottoman Empire has done it before. And more than that,Turkey wants to become the influential country in The world. It considers itself as the leader and defender of Islamic countries and hence the military involvement in Syria and Iraq and now Libya are clear examples.
There are however obstacles to her aspirations. The first and foremost is the opposition from other Sunni countries such as Saudi Arabia. These Arab countries don’t want Turkey to become Islamic leader of the World, neither they want Turkey to have control over them like Ottoman Empire did before for over four centuries.
The second obstacle on the way of Turkey is that no western nuclear power including Russia, will allow or assist Turkey in her nuclear endeavor because a Turkey armed with nuclear weapons that operates under Islamic, and Turkish ultra nationalistic mentally of its leaders, will be a big threat to Israel, Russia, Greece,and to the Arab countries as well.
There is still a long way for Turkey to become a superpower in the world because it doesn’t have a strong economy and military power like US, Russia, UK, France and China. Turkey, will unlikely become a super power country in the world as it has hard obstacles on it’s way. She’s under huge political, economic, and military pressure by Russian and NATO to surrender. Erdogan will eventually surrender and drop it’s ambitious of becoming a super power and instead remain under either NATO or Russian rule and dictation like before.
Araz Barwari is a law student at the University of Nawroz in Kurdistan of Iraq.
The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Ekurd.net or its editors.
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