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Turkey to Allow Use of Key Air Bases for U.S. Warplanes to Bomb ISIS U.S. Jets to Use Turkish Bases in War on ISIS
(about 3 hours later)
AMMAN, Jordan — The United States and Turkey have reached an agreement for manned and unmanned American warplanes to carry out aerial attacks on the Islamic State from two Turkish air bases, Obama administration officials said Thursday. ISTANBUL — Turkey plunged into the fight against the Islamic State on Thursday, rushing forces into the first direct combat with its militants on the Syrian border and granting permission for American warplanes to use two Turkish air bases for bombarding the group in Syria.
The agreement on the bases, Incirlik and Diyarbakir, was described by one senior administration official as a “game changer” that would significantly strengthen the American military’s ability to strike at ISIS targets in Syria and carry out extended aerial surveillance. It came after months of negotiations that culminated on Wednesday with a phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, and President Obama, another administration official said. The developments ended a longstanding reluctance by Turkey, a NATO member and an ally of the United States, to play a more aggressive part in halting the Islamic State’s expanding reach and influence in the Middle East. American officials said it carried the potential to strike Islamic State targets with far greater effect because of Turkey’s proximity, which will allow more numerous and frequent bombings and surveillance missions.
The development came as Turkish forces were reported to have engaged in the first direct combat with Islamic State forces on the Syrian side of the border. Turkey, a vital conduit for the Islamic State’s power base in Syria, had come under increased criticism for its inability — or unwillingness — to halt the flow of foreign fighters and supplies across its 500-mile border.
Both developments vaulted Turkey squarely into the broader battle with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. It was a step the Turkish authorities had been reluctant to take until now in their effort to protect Turkey’s border with Syria, where ISIS is firmly ensconced. Up to now, Turkey has placed a priority on dealing with its own restive Kurdish population, which straddles the Syrian border in the southeast, and in the toppling of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, whom the Turks blame for creating the conditions in his war-ravaged country for the rise of Islamic extremism.
Turkey had allowed unmanned flights from Incirlik but had thus far balked at allowing manned airstrikes. But now that extremism has increasingly menaced Turkey, where 1.5 million Syrian war refugees have also been straining the country. A series of Islamic State attacks on Turks, including a devastating suicide bombing a few days ago that officials have linked to the extremist group, may also have helped accelerate the shift in Turkey’s position.
Officials at both the State Department and the Pentagon said they were hesitant to talk about the pact until the Turkish government acknowledged the agreement publicly. Turkish officials declined to comment on Thursday night. Turkish internal security officials had signaled their growing concern about the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, with a series of large-scale raids in the past few weeks, detaining hundreds of suspected ISIS members and sympathizers. Taking the fight to the Islamic State in Syria, however, represents a huge leap.
The United States and Turkey “have decided to further deepen our cooperation in the fight against ISIL,” the State Department’s spokesman, John Kirby, said in an emailed statement. He said that “due to operational security I don’t have further details to share at this time." “The terrorist organization represents a national security threat to Turkey and we are working closely with our allies, including the United States, to combat terrorism,” said a senior official in the prime minister’s office. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of government protocol restrictions, also emphasized that Turkey had not changed its position regarding Mr. Assad in Syria.
Mr. Kirby added that the United States would work with Turkey and other European partners to curb the flow of foreign fighters to Syria, recognizing that “the foreign fighter problem is not Turkey’s alone.” In what Turkish officials described as the first direct cross-border confrontation with the Islamic State, Turkish jets scrambled as tanks and artillery of its Fifth Armored Brigade shelled militants across the border.
The clash between Turkey’s armed forces and ISIS came after gunmen identified by Turkish news media as ISIS fighters opened fire on a Turkish border outpost in the Kilis region, killing one Turkish soldier and wounding five. At the same time, Obama administration officials, who have been negotiating with Turkey for months, said Thursday that they had reached an agreement for manned and unmanned American warplanes to carry out aerial attacks on Islamic State positions from air bases at Incirlik and Diyarbakir. The agreement was described by one senior administration official as a “game changer.”
Turkey’s semiofficial Anadolu news agency and other agencies said the military scrambled fighter jets and hit suspected ISIS targets on the Syrian side of the border with tanks and artillery. At least one ISIS militant was killed and a number of ISIS vehicles were destroyed, the accounts said. The agreement was sealed on Wednesday with a phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Obama, another administration official said.
The clash came two days after a suicide bomber with suspected ties to ISIS struck a cultural center in the Turkish border town of Suruc, killing 32 people and wounding more than 100. That bombing was one of the worst in Turkey in many years. Turkey had allowed unarmed surveillance flights from Incirlik but had thus far balked at anything more muscular.
Obama administration officials said that the United States had agreed to work with European allies, including Germany, France and Britain, to do more to control their end of the flow of foreign fighters into Turkey. Officials at both the State Department and the Pentagon said they were hesitant to talk about the pact until the Turkish government acknowledged it publicly. Turkish officials declined to comment on the pact Thursday night.
It was unclear what other concessions might have been made by the United States to get the deal, but a NATO official said on Thursday that “the Turks always drive a hard bargain.” The United States and Turkey “have decided to further deepen our cooperation in the fight against ISIL,” the State Department’s spokesman, John Kirby, said in an emailed statement. He said that “due to operational security I don’t have further details to share at this time.”
The breakthrough came after recent talks in Turkey between Gen. John R. Allen, a retired Marine who is President Obama’s special envoy for the fight against ISIS, and Turkish counterparts. General Allen’s trip was preceded by a telephone call from Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to Mr. Erdogan, administration officials said. The clash between Turkey’s armed forces and the Islamic State came after gunmen identified by the Turkish military as Islamic State fighters fired on a Turkish border outpost in the Kilis region, killing one Turkish soldier and wounding five.
A senior Defense Department official said recent attacks by ISIS on Turkish targets had played an important role in Turkey’s decision to deepen its role in the fight against the militant organization. The Turkish military said in a statement that its border shelling was a response, and that at least one militant was killed. Turkish news media said a number of Islamic State vehicles were obliterated in the shelling.
“Attacks in Turkey are part of the catalyst for them to think about how they get in the game,” the official said, speaking on grounds of anonymity. The clash came three days after a suicide bomber with suspected ties to the Islamic State struck a cultural center in the Turkish border town of Suruc, killing 32 people and wounding more than 100. That bombing was one of the worst in Turkey in many years.
For the Pentagon, the Turkish decision is huge because the two air bases are so much closer to the Syrian border than Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and the Persian Gulf, where strikes had been launched. The agreement will significantly increase the amount of time that American spy planes can hover over Syria. In addition, it will speed up the response time for manned flights acting on intelligence. Obama administration officials said that the United States had agreed to work with European allies, including Germany, France and Britain, to do more to control their end of the flow of foreign fighters crossing Turkey to reach Syria.
Acknowledging that commitment to Turkey, Mr. Kirby said the United States recognized that “the foreign fighter problem is not Turkey’s alone.”
It was unclear what other concessions might have been made by the United States to conclude the deal, but a NATO official said on Thursday that “the Turks always drive a hard bargain.”
The breakthrough came after recent talks between Gen. John R. Allen, a retired Marine who is President Obama’s special envoy for the fight against the Islamic State, and Turkish counterparts. General Allen’s trip was preceded by a telephone call from Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to Mr. Erdogan, administration officials said.
A senior Defense Department official said recent Islamic State attacks on Turkish targets had played an important role in Turkey’s decision to join the fight against the militant organization directly.
“Attacks in Turkey are part of the catalyst for them to think about how they get in the game,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
For the Pentagon, the Turkish decision is huge because the two air bases are so much closer to the Syrian border than Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and the Persian Gulf, where strikes had been launched.
The agreement will significantly increase the amount of time that American spy planes can hover over Syria. In addition, it will accelerate the response time for manned flights acting on intelligence information.
But even as they were lauding the agreement, American military officials were cautious because they felt that they had been burned by Turkey before.But even as they were lauding the agreement, American military officials were cautious because they felt that they had been burned by Turkey before.
In 2003, Defense Department officials believed they had an agreement with the Turks to launch the Army’s 4th Infantry Division into northern Iraq from Turkey as part of the invasion of Iraq. But the Turkish Parliament refused to grant permission for the operation and the division’s equipment remained offshore on ships. In 2003, Defense Department officials believed that they had an agreement with the Turks to send the Army’s Fourth Infantry Division into northern Iraq from Turkey as part of the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein. But the Turkish Parliament refused to grant permission and the division’s equipment remained offshore on ships.
Turkey has long opposed the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and blames it for having created the conditions that led to the rise of the extremists within Syria and Iraq. While the United States shares Turkey’s antipathy for Mr. Assad, the Turks had previously insisted on a no-fly zone in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey, in exchange for allowing the United States to use their bases.
While the United States shares Turkey’s antipathy for Mr. Assad, the Turks had previously insisted on a no-fly zone in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey, in exchange for allowing the United States to use its air bases. A no-fly zone would create a safe area to arm and train moderate rebels fighting Mr. Assad and allow an opposition government to take root. The United States has largely opposed this because it would broaden Mr. Obama’s stated objective of focusing only on the destruction of the Islamic State; however, some within the government, especially at the State Department, believe the idea should be given serious consideration.
A no-fly zone would create a safe area to arm and train moderate rebels fighting Mr. Assad and allow an opposition government to take root. The United States has largely opposed this — although some within the government, especially at the State Department, believe the idea should be given serious consideration — because it would broaden Mr. Obama’s stated objective of focusing only on the destruction of the Islamic State. Asked on Thursday at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado whether a no-fly zone was part of the deal with Turkey, General Allen said: “No. It was not part of the discussion.” He referred all other questions about the agreement to officials in Washington.
Asked on Thursday at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado whether a no-fly zone was part of the deal with Turkey, General Allen said, “No. It was not part of the discussion.” General Allen referred all other questions about the agreement to officials in Washington. Other administration officials said the growing Islamic State threat to Turkey as well as Mr. Assad’s shrinking control over territory in Syria had prompted the Turks to drop the condition — at least for now.
Other administration officials said the burgeoning threat to Turkey from ISIS as well as Mr. Assad’s shrinking control over territory in Syria had prompted the Turks to drop the condition — at least for now.
“The agreement seems a watershed moment in terms of airstrikes,” said Andrew J. Tabler, an expert on Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.“The agreement seems a watershed moment in terms of airstrikes,” said Andrew J. Tabler, an expert on Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
But for the Turkish government, Mr. Tabler said, “ISIS is just one manifestation of state collapse in Syria. Solving it is getting Assad out of Damascus.” But for the Turkish government, Mr. Tabler said: “ISIS is just one manifestation of state collapse in Syria. Solving it is getting Assad out of Damascus.”