Hurriyet Daily News published an article by Cihan Celik headlined "US, Turkey realize al-Qaeda threat in Syria – a bit late."
"The diplomatic solution to the ongoing Syrian civil war made baby steps last week while the government and opposition have at least managed to hold face-to-face talks last week and agreed to discuss the so-called Geneva Communique - a blueprint for a transition period and eventually for peace in the country," the article reads.
"While the Syrian government’s acknowledgement of the U.N.-backed Geneva Communique would count as “success” for a negotiated solution, hopes are slim that the two sides would make significant progress in the second round of talks. Even if they would, its effect on the ground is highly doubtful, since the real war has been nearly overtaken by al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria."
"The Syrian government has been voicing “terrorism” concerns since the start of the war. It includes the Western-backed “moderate” anti-regime forces in its “terrorism” threat, thus its warnings have fallen on the deaf ears," the author writes.
"Apparently, not anymore," the author writes. "Two intelligence reports – penned by the U.S. and Turkish intelligence separately – have pointed out the rising al-Qaeda threat in the country, particularly areas bordering Turkey. While the American officials are expecting an attack on the United States by foreign militants trained by al-Qaeda in Syria, their Turkish counterparts also have a similar fear that al-Qaeda’s Syrian arm would launch attacks on the Turkish soil with trucks passing through the border. A recent attack by the Turkish military was also the crystallization of these fears."
"Just like the Western-created jihadists rulers of Afghanistan, and this later became a host of al-Qaeda and brought a more costly war. With Syria replacing Afghanistan as a new and better host, it has been a little late of a call," the author concludes.
