The term “talk turkey” means to discuss a subject frankly; ironically, however, such frankness has been lacking with the emergence of Turkey’s evolving role in Syria. 

In the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad surrendering power and fleeing to Moscow, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been jockeying to position his country as a major player there. A brief history of Turkey is important in understanding why his actions today are not in the best interests of NATO, of which it is a member.

With the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the newly-formed Turkish Republic emerged. General Kemal Ataturk became a founding father of the Republic in 1923 who, as its first president, implemented numerous political and cultural reforms in stages serving to undermine the old days of empire. While the Ottomans’ directional compass had long embraced Islam, by 1935 Ataturk removed any reference to the religion from the constitution. He established a secular, democratic republic with a new compass bearing that gave power to the people.

Ataturk knew it would not be easy to keep Turkey’s compass so oriented after his death (1938); accordingly, he entrusted the military with responsibility for ensuring the country remained on course. There were times the military did have to act to do so but, always cognizant of its guardian responsibility, power was returned to the people.

By 1952, Turkey had firmly established itself as a democratic nation, having shed its long-held Islamic belief fostered under Ottoman rule its destiny was to create a regional caliphate. Abandoning that mindset, Turkey reflected the democratic thinking of the other nations in NATO.

But just like a democracy-minded Russia briefly had appeared to give power to its people after the demise of the Soviet Union only to have Vladimir Putin reverse the process beginning in 2000, the same reversal back to an Ottoman mindset occurred with Erdogan’s emergence as Turkey’s president in 2014. 

As Erdogan began a gradual shift in power from the people to himself, the military attempted a coup in 2016. It failed and Erdogan called it a “gift from God,” allowing him the opportunity to “cleanse our army.” Unfortunately, Erdogan used the coup to “cleanse” other institutions as well, such as academia and even sports. By the time he was finished, he had fired, suspended, or jailed 60,000 people.

Since then, much has been written about Erdogan’s desire to “resurrect” the Ottoman Empire, styling himself as a sultan. It has been noted that his “love affair with the Ottoman Empire should worry the world.” It is this mindset that should also worry us about what he is now doing in Syria.

In February 2025, Erdogan assured the world it had no intentions to establish military bases in Syria. A senior Turkish official reported Ankara was creating a “roadmap” to assist the new Syrian regime of Ahmad al-Shara with its security and defense needs. Al-Shara is a former member of al-Qaeda who led the opposition that toppled the al-Assad government. It is now reported, however, that Turkey is establishing a military base in Aleppo, Syria at the Menagh Air Base which was previously occupied by the Russians before they withdrew their forces last year.

Two issues concerning Turkey’s presence in Syria are of concern.

First, as thousands of Syrian Christians and Druzes have been slaughtered, Turkey has made no effort to stop the massacres. More victims have been claimed in Syria than were claimed by Hamas in its October 7, 2023 raid into Israel. Turkey’s inaction should not be surprising, however, in view of Erdogan’s love for the Ottoman Empire which had as its goal the elimination of all non-Muslims.

Second, as a would-be sultan, Erdogan -- unlike his love for the Ottomans -- has none for Israel. And, by assisting al-Shara, he only strengthens a threat existing on Israel’s border. 

US aircraft are equipped with devices to enable them to determine in combat whether an approaching plane is friendly or not -- a device known as IFF (Identification Friend or Foe). While no IFF exists to determine Turkey’s ultimate intentions vis-a-vis Western interests, Erdogan’s efforts to support al-Shara and undermine Israel forewarn us we may well have a foe we will eventually need to confront.

Image: The Kremlin