Monday, October 24, 2016

Well This is Troubling: ''Mosul and Aleppo Belong to the Turkish People''--Erdoğan

The guy really thinks he's the sultan, or caliph or something.
Both the sources we found for the quote are not BFFs with the Turks but the video is what it is,

First up al-Masdar News:

Erdogan proclaims Mosul and Aleppo belong to Turkey
ANKARA, TURKEY (1:20 P.M.) - Speaking during an opening ceremony for an educational institution in Bursa on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared the way that Syrians and Iraqis have been driven away from homes because of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; ISIS/ISIL), to how Turkish people were once forced out from the same cities.

Erdogan added that the cities of Mosul and Aleppo belong to the Turkish people.

Video footage of this speech was broadcasted by Ruptly on Sunday morning:...

This is not the first time that Erdogan has said something this controversial; just last week, the Turkish President told Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider Al-'Abadi, he should know his place and that they are not equals.
And from armedia (Armenia):

Erdogan: ''Mosul and Aleppo Belong to the Turkish People''
The cities of Mosul and Aleppo belong to the Turkish people, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced speaking during an opening ceremony for an educational institution in Bursa on Saturday, AMN reports.

During his speech Turkish President also compared the way that Syrians and Iraqis have been driven away from homes because of the self-proclaimed Islamic State to how Turkish people were once forced out from the same cities.
Probably related, from Debka:

Ash Carter fails to sell Turkish role in Mosul operation to Iraq, Kurds

DEBKAfile October 23, 2016, 8:33 PM (IDT)
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter was unable to persuade either the Iraqi government or Kurdish leaders to allow the Turkish army a role in the Mosul operation, as vociferously demanded by President Tayyip Erdogan. In the last 48 hours, Carter met their leaders in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional capital of Irbil. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that a Turkish expeditionary force of around 1,000 men has crossed into Iraq and is standing by near Bashiqua, north of Mosul. The force consists of elite troops, assault helicopters and artillery. Carter tried explaining, to no avail, that cutting Turkish troops into the battle for Mosul would open the way for their participation in an offensive against ISIS’ Syrian base at Raqqa, which he is seeking to launch alongside the Mosul operation.
The Kurd's recalcitrance may have something to do with the fact Turkey is attacking them in Syria:
Turkey bombs Syrian Kurdish militia allied to U.S.-backed force