Turkey asks NATO to bless strikes on ISIS and, problematically, Syrian Kurds

On Tuesday, ambassadors from all 28 NATO member nations gathered in Brussels for a rare emergency meeting called by Turkey, invoking Article 4 of the NATO charter, which allows members to consult with NATO allies when their security or territory are threatened. "Turkey requested the meeting after the recent terrorist attacks, and also to inform allies of the measures it is taking," said Carmen Romero, deputy NATO spokeswoman, citing a deadly attack on a Turkish border town last week that Ankara blames on Islamic State. "This meeting is a signal of strong solidarity with Turkey."

In a press conference before NATO's North Atlantic Council met behind closed doors, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg extended his sympathy to the Turks for the recent terrorist attacks, saying "terrorism in all its forms" can never be justified. In Ankara on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained that Turkey is asking its NATO partners for support not just in its post-attack strikes on ISIS, but also its attacks on Kurdish separatist groups in Iraq and Syria.

That makes things tricky for NATO and its most powerful member, the U.S. On Monday, the Syrian Kurdish defense forces that the U.S. has been working with to fight ISIS said that Turkey has been shelling them. These Kurdish forces have proved the most effective and successful U.S. ally against ISIS, but Ankara — which says it isn't targeting the group, only Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists — "is worried about growing Kurdish influence along its border with Syria and an emboldened Kurdish minority seeking more autonomy at home," The Wall Street Journal reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News, which says that Turkey is NATO's "only Muslim member and one of its most powerful," notes the tensions that creates within NATO. Ankara "is likely to face questions at the NATO meeting over its decision to lump its campaigns against the Kurds and ISIL together into a broad 'war on terror,'" the paper says. "Turkey's military action against the Kurds have raised doubts over its priorities, namely whether it is more interested in limiting Kurdish capabilities in Syria and Iraq than tackling ISIL."