U.S. to press Turkey on Thursday to step up in battle against ISIS
Turkey's inaction despite its supposed participation in a coalition forged to crush the extremist group is frustrating Washington and its NATO allies, and reviving a rebellion by Turkish Kurds.
Amid fears the Kurdish town of Kobani could fall any day, U.S. and NATO officials are travelling to Turkey on Thursday to press negotiations for more robust Turkish involvement in the coalition.
With its ambitious demands, Turkey may be betting that its geography makes it an indispensable partner and that it can leverage that position to force the U.S. and its allies to expand the coalition mission — an assumption that is causing frustration in Washington and strains within NATO, a senior U.S. administration official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
Adding to the pressure on Ankara, Kurds in Kobani and in Turkey accuse the Turkish government of standing idly by while their people are being slaughtered and even impeding their own efforts to save Kobani. The anger boiled into violence Tuesday, amid widespread protests that threatened to derail promising talks to end three decades of insurgency by the PKK militant group. Nineteen people were killed as Kurdish activists clashed with police and members of an Islamist group in Kurdish areas across the country. The jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan has warned that the peace process will end if Kobani falls.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/u-s-to-pre ... -1.2793365