The Turkish Parliament is
set to vote Thursday on whether to authorize the use of military force
against ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq.
Up until now, Turkey, a
NATO member, has declined to join a U.S.-led coalition, offering only
tacit support to some 40 nations that make up the group going after ISIS
in Iraq and Syria.
But that seems to have
changed in recent days, with ISIS on its doorstep, tens of thousands
fleeing across its border and reports that the tomb of the grandfather
of the founder of the Ottoman Empire has been surrounded.
The tomb -- a white
marble mausoleum -- is considered a Turkish enclave, despite its
location inside Syria. As part of the Treaty of Ankara in 1921, which
ended the Franco-Turkish War, Turkey was allowed to keep the tomb, place
guards at it and raise a Turkish flag over it.
The motive for the motion
being debated by Turkish lawmakers even spells out "increasing security
risks" posed to the tomb as one of the reasons, according a report by
Anadolu, the semiofficial Turkish news agency.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday dismissed reports that ISIS had surrounded the site.
"In such a case, the response of Turkey would be clear and concise," he said, according to Anadolu.
Newly appointed NATO
chief Jens Stoltenberg stressed at his first news conference Wednesday
that the defense alliance was committed to protecting Turkey if it comes
under attack.
Source:CNN
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