And what do governments do when they are threatened?
They start wars:
"Turkey shoots down Syrian warplane; Aircraft did not heed warning to clear airspace" by Sebnem Arsu | New York Times March 24, 2014
ANKARA, Turkey —Turkey cut ties with Syria in 2011, and since then, it has officially been providing support to an umbrella group for the Syrian political opposition, which also had a military wing active along Turkey’s southern border.
The rebels have clearly benefited from some level of Turkish logistical and military support, although the Turkish government has so far denied arming the fighters.
Turkey was lobbying for an international military response against the forces of President Bashar Assad of Syria even before the use of chemical weapons by the Syria government....
Of course, the world knows now it was not the Syrian government but the rebels that used the chemical weapons -- if the event ever happened at all because videos cited have been shown to be fraudulent and the U.N. found no evidence of sarin at the site.
--more--"
"Syrian rebels seize town near Turkish border; Advance is minor, but slows progress of Assad’s forces" by Ryan Lucas | Associated Press March 25, 2014
BEIRUT — On Sunday, Turkey’s military said it shot down a Syrian MiG-23 after it entered Turkey’s airspace. Syria says the jet was flying over Syrian territory when it was hit.
Yeah, who is trying to start a war?
Turkey, a NATO member, is one of the main backers of the three-year-old rebellion against Assad. Ankara allows rebels to use Turkish territory as a logistical and support base, and weapons and fighters move fairly freely across the border into opposition-held parts of northern Syria.
I'm surprised the propaganda pre$$ put that in the article.
The ongoing rebel offensive in Latakia is not the opposition’s first significant incursion in the province.
Last August, a mix of moderate and extremist rebel brigades captured around a dozen villages in the Latakia mountains, before a government counteroffensive expelled them.
Afterward, Human Rights Watch said nearly 200 civilians, including children, the elderly and the handicapped, were killed in the attack. It said rebel abuses during the operation amounted to war crimes....
Time to make it go away.
--more--"
Turkey is helping the terrorists, and what interesting timing seeing as Syria had just plugged the hole in the border with Lebanon.
Speaking of terrorists, governments always see those:
5 in Turkey accused of Al Qaeda ties
3 killed in roadblock attack in Turkey
Yeah, right, it was Kurds.
Then there is the purge of the bureaucracy:
Turkish minister offers resignation over scandal
Ousted from scandal inquiry, prosecutor condemns Turkey’s government
Three Turkish cabinet members resign
Turkish commentators believe the probe is fallout from an increasingly public feud and power struggle between Erdogan’s government and an influential U.S.-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whose followers are believed to have a strong foothold within Turkey’s police and judiciary. Four pro-government newspapers accused U.S. Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone of scheming against the government.
Erdogan is screaming international plot, and I had no reason to doubt it at that point.
Turkey broadens its purge of officials on police force
Hundreds of police officers reassigned in Turkey
The investigation has been attributed by government allies, fairly or not, to Fethullah Gulen, a reclusive and powerful Muslim preacher who lives in Pennsylvania.
I may be a little slow to get to things, but that sure does stink.
My newspaper offering defense and sympathy for a terrorist harbored by the U.S.? So what did Turkey do to make USrael angry? The Gaza thing?
The scandal must not be too bad since Germany still wants to talk.
Governments then move to limit communications:
Turkey leads in journalist jailings again, says N.Y. group
Turkish ruling party blocks airing of graft claims
Turkey’s ban on Twitter unleashes protest
At first I thought the protests were the usual controlled opposition deployments, and thought the agenda-pushing coverage of Turkish corruption was a subtle attempt at regime change; however, now I see it only as a wedge to use to keep Turkey compliant -- and voila, they are almost at war with Syria and have stepped in to fill the breach for the insurgents!
