By Darius Shahtahmasebi. Published 6-23-2016 by The Anti-Media.

The Turkish role in the Syrian conflict is purely political. Islamist militants are strategically vital in order for Turkey to carry out its political agenda in the region, and this is why Turkey continues to support them today.

Image via twitter.

Following the recent mass shooting in Orlando, Florida — and other recent attacks seen around the world, including Europe — one might naively assume eliminating support for Islamist militants in the Middle East would be at the top of the list of issues that need to be addressed. According to a recent report by RT’s Lizzie Phelan, however, this is not the case.

Turkey openly supports Islamist militants in Syria — and this has been going on for years. These militants have ties to al-Sham, who have ties to al-Qaeda, who have ties to ISIS. Al-Sham has been documented carrying out atrocities against civilians in Syria as recently as May 2016, but the NATO establishment still refuses to classify them as a terrorist group — despite the fact they have been openly fighting alongside al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. As Turkish journalist Fehim Tastekin, who writes for Al-Monitor, told RT, “Al-Nusra uses other groups, such as Ahrar al-Sham, as proxies to distribute weapons ‘coming from Turkey.’” Continue reading →