Erdogan standing across the Vistula. (war, invaded, state, Russians)

[ovcatto]

The refusal of President Tayyip Erdoğan to send the Turkish army to relieve the siege of Kobani reminds me of Stalin's refusal to adequately support the Warsaw uprising. It has been reported that the Kurds urgently hope for support against ISIS but like the Poles who were not enamored by the idea of being occupied by the Red Army, the Kurds, are not enamored by the idea of being rescued by Turkish armor; and like Stalin, Erdogan has other long term political reasons for not being overly eager to come to their aid.

Any thoughts?

[Troyfan]

Turkey has fought a long war against Kurdish separatists, whom they regarded as terrorists. And Erdogan insists that ISIS can't be defeated without support from Syria and that means getting rid of Assad. No leader supports him publicly although I suspect most think he's right.

I believe Erdogan is sincerely frightened by the prospect of a caliphitic state on his borders, but maybe not much more than he is of a Kurdish one, with whom Turkey's large Kurdish minority might desire anschluss.

I think Stalin saw the Warsaw uprising as a windfall. It occupied the Germans, making their defeat easier, and weakened the Poles, making their conquest easier.

The Kurds have been encouraging Turkey to help with Kobani. I don't know how the Poles felt about the Russians throwing out the Germans. Both invaded in 1939.

Similarities, but I believe there're bigger differences.

[SHABAZZ310]

Originally Posted by ovcatto

The refusal of President Tayyip Erdoğan to send the Turkish army to relieve the siege of Kobani reminds me of Stalin's refusal to adequately support the Warsaw uprising. It has been reported that the Kurds urgently hope for support against ISIS but like the Poles who were not enamored by the idea of being occupied by the Red Army, the Kurds, are not enamored by the idea of being rescued by Turkish armor; and like Stalin, Erdogan has other long term political reasons for not being overly eager to come to their aid.

Any thoughts?

I believe one of the main reasons the Turks are hesitant to help at need Kurdish fighters is because of their fear of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. They don't want to let their Kurdish citizens cross the boarder to fight, nor do they want to give a hand themselves.