Turkey, the 'catalyst' of Syrian crisis?

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Oct. 8 that the escalating conflict along the Syrian-Turkish border could evolve into a regional calamity with global ramifications. The situation in Syria has dramatically worsened, which poses serious risks to the stability of Syria’s neighbors and the entire region. Turkey’s intervention has added uncertainty to the Syrian crisis, and there is little chance to solve it through peaceful means. The conflict has escalated along the Syrian-Turkish border since October. Turkey has taken a tough stance on the border conflict. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Turks to be fully prepared for a possible war with Syria if necessary. Turkish President Abdullah Gul also said that necessary measures would be taken to protect the country. It takes only one year for two countries to change from alliance to enemies. Their diplomatic relations have deteriorated rapidly since massive protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad broke out in March 2011. Furthermore, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu asked Bashar al-Assad to step down immediately, and transfer his power to Syrian Vice President to Farouk al-Sharaa who leads the transitional government. The Turkish government has taken aggressive military and political measures to overthrow the Assad regime. Turkey has exerted increasing influences on the Syrian crisis, which is closely related to the change in geopolitics in the Middle East and embodies strategic considerations of certain major powers. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the United States would curb the intensification of the conflict through diplomatic means to relieve worries of international community. Some foreign media outlets reported that Saudi Arabia and Qatar had abandoned plans of providing heavy weapons to Syria’s rebels due to opposition from the United States. Obviously, the United States is unwilling to become deeply involved in the conflict and thus Turkey, its reliable ally, has serves as a pawn of Washington. Besides, NATO is ready to support Turkey in this regard, with its secretary-general claiming that NATO would use “all necessary means” to protect Turkey. With the approaching presidential election and the shift of strategic focus back to Asia Pacific, the United States has withdrawn its troops from Iraq, leaving a power vacuum in the Middle East and offering local powers an opportunity to vie for discourse power in regional affairs. Presently Egypt and Syria, traditional powers in Middle East, have suffered inner turmoil while NATO’s vanguard Turkey happens to take advantage of the opportunity to increase its regional influence. It cannot be denied that Turkey has a military advantage over Syria. Therefore, its intervention may have a decisive impact on the settlement of the Syrian crisis.