Should it happen that Turkish military enter Syria, would NATO really support Turkey? Indeed, Turkey can emerge victorious from the battlefield even without NATO’s support. Turkey is capable of that, since the Turks have never faltered at the frontline. Turkish army is nurtured for sacrifice for the sake of motherland, state and the nation. Therefore let’s say they succeed, then what?
Once the Assad regime collapses, whose ascend to power is Turkish military going to endorse, if anyone’s. Will Syria be divided? Will there a Kurdish state emerge in Syria, akin of Iraq’s? What would be the impact of the Kurdish state popping up at its doorstep, when Turkey’s nightmare with the Kurdish separatism issue is still ongoing?
These questions are not at all incidental. Because most recently two authors named Frank Jacobs and Parag Khanna have published a new world map in New York Times (see). That very map illustrates that after the collapse of the Asad regime two new Alawite and Kurdish states would emerge. Could Turkish military incursion into Syria be a part of the very game?
Let’s take another approach to the issue. What about Turkey’s image in Muslim world upon the possible incursion? Would Turkey, considering it a regional power, counter the Muslim world or see its support on the matter? Is the Syrian regime change worth the sacrifice of the lives of Turkish soldiers? Finally, who and how is going to compensate the precious blood, shed by the Turkish soldiers? To my mind this is the ultimate question that Turkey should address before embarking upon the military intervention into Syria.