On January 24 US Vice President Joseph Biden held intensive meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
F. William Engdahl, American-German researcher, historian and strategic risk consultant, believes that the Obama administration manipulates both the ambitious Turkish President Erdogan and the impulsive Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, indulging their militarism and greed.
"The Washington game seems to be to give the Saudi-Turkish duo enough rope to hang themselves in a mad power grab of Syrian and Iraqi oil riches and perhaps, if they are really mad enough, of Iran's oilfields too," the researcher remarks in his article for New Eastern Outlook.
Remarkably, Ankara has no scruples about equating the Syrian leadership, Kurdish PKK and YPG (People's Defense Units), fighting terrorists in Syria, to Daesh (Islamic State/ISIL) and al-Qaeda's affiliate al-Nusra Front.
According to Turkish PM Davutoglu, there are three threats in Syria: "One is the regime [of Bashar al-Assad], another is Daesh, and the third is the YPG," he said as cited by Hurriyet, Turkey's mainstream liberal media outlet.
"Turkey sees no difference between terrorists groups such as Daesh, PKK, DHKP-C [the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front] or al-Nusra," Davutoglu added.
"According to the project, which found support from the US, NATO and the US anti-ISIL coalition will jointly operate at the training base in Bashiqa [a town in the Mosul District]. Nonetheless, no logistical change will be made at the base other than a sign showing that an international force is deployed there. The Iraqi army will be allowed to have a representative as part of the international coalition," Zeyrek wrote, citing sources with the knowledge of the matter.
It seems that there are little if any contradictions between Ankara's foreign policy in the region and Washington's Middle Eastern agenda.
"In fact, Biden discussed US military support, unspecified, for a Turkish military move to take the oilfields of Mosul," Engdahl notes.
"Further, the US Vice President apparently said not a word about the continuing illegal smuggling of Iraqi and Syrian oil by ISIS [Daesh] into Turkey where Erdogan's son ships it to world markets, financing the ISIS terror inside Syria Biden claims to oppose," he adds.
"We do know that it would be better if we can reach a political solution but we are prepared — we are prepared if that's not possible — to have a military solution to this operation in taking out Daesh," Biden stated.
Interestingly enough, the statement came after US Defense Secretary Ashton's announcement of the Pentagon's new strategy in Syria that envisages more boots on the ground in the region. Furthermore, rumors are still simmering regarding the US increasing military deployments at the Syrian Rmeilan airfield.
Engdahl stresses that at the same time Turkey has gained more influence in the region.
"In March this year, as a result of collusion between the Saudi monarchy of Salman and Erdogan, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was coerced to hand over a vital political post to Erdogan," he notes, explaining that Erdogan will soon lead the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a powerful and influential organization regarded by many as the Muslim 'UN.'
According to the researcher, the ongoing preparations signal "something very big and very dramatic in the coming few months in the Middle East."
