Category Archives: Turkey

Will Turkey go to war in Northern Iraq?

Posted on November 14, 2016

Since Turkey’s refusal to withdraw its military forces from its training camp in Bashiqa, Northern Iraq last December relations between Baghdad and Ankara have been at an all time low. Even after the start of the Mosul operation against Islamic … Continue reading →

Posted in English, International, Iraq, Turkey | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Ankara vs Damascus: The al-Bab Impasse

Posted on November 3, 2016

Even before launching its intervention in northwest Syria on August 24 it was clear that Turkey would do its utmost to forcibly prevent Syria’s Kurds from dominating the entirety of Syria’s northern border. Since June 2015 the Kurds have controlled … Continue reading →

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The shortcomings of Turkey’s Syria campaign

Posted on October 23, 2016

Two months into its foray into northwestern Syria Turkey’s Operation “Euphrates Shield” against Islamic State (ISIS) militants and Kurdish militia forces (People’s Protection Units; YPG) is already showing some clear shortcomings. Turkey’s military has said that ISIS is successfully mounting … Continue reading →

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Turkish UAV Bayraktar TB2 Flying from Batman

Posted on October 13, 2016

As Turkey pushes toward becoming a major player in the UAV industry, seeing more of their drones on satellite imagery beyond test airfields should come as no surprise. DigitalGlobe space snapshots from October 2015 captured one of the country’s latest … Continue reading →

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Turkey’s eternal search for an adequate air defense system

Posted on September 30, 2016

Following Turkey’s controversial downing of a Russian bomber over its border with Syria last November Russia deployed advanced S-400 air defense missile systems to its main airbase in Syria’s coastal Latakia province. Turkey had reason to fear this deployment, variants … Continue reading →

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From Israeli Operation “Peace for Galilee” to the Turkish Operation “Euphrates Shield”

Posted on September 10, 2016

The ongoing Turkish operation “Euphrates Shield“, launched on August 24 to keep both Islamic State (ISIS) and Kurdish forces off Turkey’s southeastern border, shares some important similarities to the 1982 Israeli Operation “Peace for Galilee” which are worth exploring and … Continue reading →

Posted in English, History, International, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why did Turkey use M60’s to spearhead its Syria intervention?

Posted on September 2, 2016

Turkey suffered its first combat fatalities over the last weekend before their foray against Islamic State (ISIS) and Syrian Kurdish forces last Wednesday was a week old. What appeared to be militiamen fighting under the banner of the Arab-Kurdish Syrian … Continue reading →

Posted in English, International, Security Policy, Syria, Turkey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Turkey finally makes a move on its long sought Syrian buffer zone

Posted on August 25, 2016

On Wednesday the 23 August Turkey initiated its long sought after buffer zone in northeast Syria with a bang. At 4.a.m in artillery rained down on Islamic State (ISIS) positions followed by airstrikes carried out by Turkish F-16’s – marking … Continue reading →

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Russia’s growing influence in the post-Arab Spring Middle East

Posted on August 17, 2016

Russia is set to maintain an indefinite presence in its airbase in Syria’s western Latakia province, from where it has been carrying out airstrikes in support of its sole remaining regional ally, the regime in Damascus. Following the Kremlin’s decisive … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, English, Intelligence, International, Iran, Russia, Security Policy, Syria, Turkey | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Turkey’s growing domestic arms industry

Posted on May 21, 2016

Back in 2013, after Turkey was criticized for the police brutality employed during its crackdown of demonstrators, there were international calls to suspend shipments of tear gas to Turkey, since police were using them against unarmed crowds, sometimes causing casualties. … Continue reading →

Posted in Armed Forces, English, International, Security Policy, Technology, Turkey | Tagged , | 5 Comments