In what can prove to be a key strategic partnership, Turkey has allowed to let the U.S. military launch airstrikes against the Islamic State from Incirlik. The move will give a fillip to the efforts of the U.S.-led coalition while drawing Turkey deeper into the conflict, senior U.S. officials said Thursday.
A phone call between President Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday saw the agreement finalized, after months of negotiations, U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity have said. The agreement is yet to be confirmed by Ankara, according to the BBC.
Until now, the U.S. was only allowed to fly unarmed surveillance drones out of Incirlik. But increasing threats from Islamic State, combined with persistent American pressure, have finally convinced Turkish leaders to take more decisive steps to fight the militants, officials said. "In the end, we too have become the target for the ISIS," said a Turkish official at the Syrian border near Kilis-site of Thursday's cross-border clash. "There's a growing nervousness along the border," said the official according to Wall Street Journal.
Incirlik Air Base, is a joint U.S.-Turkish installation that houses the U.S. Air Force's 39th Air Base Wing and is located across the border from the Syrian city of Aleppo. Turkey shares a 1,250-kilometer (775-mile) border with Syria and Iraq. Incirlik's proximity to IS-controlled territory in Syria - including Raqqa, the group's de facto capital - makes it a suitable launching pad for U.S. airstrikes against the militant group. "Turkey is a critical partner in degrading and defeating ISIL, and we appreciate the essential support Turkey provides to the international coalition across the many lines of effort," said Alistair Baskey, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, according to Fox News.
The Turkish government has for long engaged in a gamble: sporadically cracking down on jihadists, but avoiding overt confrontation to limit the risk of retaliatory attacks on Turkish soil. The decision to decline Incirlik base to U.S. warplanes was a centerpiece of that strategy, allowing Ankara to distance itself from other Western and Muslim nations taking part in airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
This decision will now align Turkey more definitively with the U.S. while placing it in confrontation with the militants, with uncertain but profound implications for the country.
