Turkey Close to War with Syria

By Nicholas Merges

Just last week things were looking up as far as the violence in Turkey. Although stats came out that said that the violence was increasing over the past year, Turkey started to look closer to a resolution as leaders said they would start to meet with PKK leaders and possibly negotiate an end to the violence.

This progress appears to have been brought to an abrupt end this week with violence now spilling over the border from Syria, whom Turkey had accused of helping the PKK over the past year. Multiple sources including the Vancouver Sun and the Pittsburgh Gazette have reported a recent mortar attack from across the Syrian border which killed 5 Turkish citizens, has risen already very high tensions between the two countries. Turkey responded to the attack with a bombardment of their own on Syrian military bases, a reaction that many fear will escalate into a full fledged war. 

Turkeys desire to wage war on Syria became even more evident when Turkey called a meeting of NATO powers to discuss possibility of a military intervention. While it is obvious that Turkey is seriously considering taking the violence on its borders to new levels, the other NATO powers are more reluctant and want to avoid escalating the situation in Turkey further than it already has.

The situation in Turkey become ever more complex as the weeks go on. One day officials are ready to talk and the next they want a war, what has become more obvious is that although sometimes seeings signs of progress, the violence and tension in the area is steadily increasing and one can only wonder when the breaking point will be. 

Turkey is allied with the United States and it is possible they could ask for some help if this becomes a larger conflict, but as of now NATO countries would rather take a passive stance, however if tensions continue to rise in the area it is increasingly likely that the United states may become involved.