The war of words between the United States and Turkey over the next steps in Syria and the response to the crisis in Kobani is an early sign of the tough job the Obama administration is going to have building and maintaining a regional coalition to counter the Islamic State.
Although Turkey is a NATO ally, it has thus far resisted becoming a full-fledged member of the anti-ISIS coalition the United States is forming in the region and around the world.
Turkey’s reasons for standing on the sidelines are complicated, but in essence, it has two priorities that are higher than defeating ISIS: removing the regime from power in Syria and preventing the emergence of a separate Kurdish state.
The above excerpt was originally published in New York Daily News.
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