The first riot against the oppressive regime in Syria had started in March, 2011. Opponent groups had awaited the support of Western countries, especially the U.S., for a long time. But the states in the group of "Syria's Friends," including the U.S., did not provide support to the opponents. Organizing nice meetings in elegant halls was not of help to those struggling out in the field against the Russia-backed al-Assad army with ineffective weapons.
The years passed by in that way. Over the years, we have witnessed many changes. The opponents trying to survive with light weapons were divided into several units as a result of the fight against Assad; the number of foreign warriors among opponents also increased though it did not reach the extent of Iran and Hizbollah soldiers around Syria.
An army of murderers named ISIS was founded in such an atmosphere in Syria in April 2013, two years after the beginning of the first riot.
Turkey designated ISIS as a terrorist organization in October 2013. So, Turkey had officially declared that it regarded ISIS as a terrorist group even six months before the U.K. recognized it.
While Obama could not display a strong presence against Russia which occupied Ukraine, or against the mass murderer Assad aside from a strong rhetoric, Turkey was trying to enable the opponent groups to remain on a legitimate line. It is known that it is one of the leading countries that promote a merger of the mild groups under the name of "Islamic Front." A warrior from that front illustrates the severity of the situation in a statement he made to The Guardian last week.
"They [ISIS] could storm in like the Mongols, if they wanted to but they're trying to be nice. We have dealt with them before. There is no reconciling with them. We will have to fight" – ISIS surges towards the borders of Turkey as the West mulls its options.
However, this article and many other similar ones succeed in showing Turkey as primarily responsible for the emergence of ISIS since Turkey's border policy which has welcomed Syrian refugees evading death but also caused foreign warriors' entrance to the region.
According to research released by The Economist, 1,740 people joined ISIS from European countries. However, they do not see it as necessary to look for the socio-economic causes behind the emergence of these foreign jihadists or to review some irresponsible Western policies which turned their back on Syrian opposition and transformed the region into a center of attraction for radical groups. The offender is ready: Turkey!
The ones writing these analyses should consider three important factors:
First of all, Turkey shares a 911-kilometer-long border with Syria. Due to the length of the border and some geographical reasons, Turkey has been having difficulty in controlling the terrorist passages to Syria for years. If not so, it would have already implemented policies that could prevent the accessions to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the PKK's Syrian wing.
The second is, on the transfer of foreign warriors from Europe and America to Turkey, Western countries fail to cooperate with Turkey regarding information and intelligence sharing. It is required to question the mindset of European countries who regard this as a chance to get rid of their own jihadists.
Thirdly, Turkey is taking immediate action when it is informed or has obtained information from its own sources. The number of deported people suspected of being radicals is around 2,000. Also, an exclusion order was given to about 6,000 people for the same reason. Besides, authorities are scrutinizing the lists of connecting passengers between Hatay, Kilis, Adana and Antep provinces.
Western countries trying to suppress ISIS must firstly set forth a realistic diagnosis of how this barbarian group could grow stronger and put up a multi-dimensional fight against them instead of making Turkey the scapegoat.
