Erdogan's Turkey: Drunk on power (Jerusaelm Post)

The raging conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has given Turkey another opportunity to expand its violent, imperialist tendencies under the iron fist of President Recep Erdogan, The Jerusalem Post reports.

In fact, the sudden outbreak of violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan is more than likely orchestrated in part by Turkey, given the current Turkish regime’s increasingly aggressive international policies. From Libya to Syria to Greece to Iraq to Azerbaijan, and yes, even to Israel, Turkey’s actions are far beyond acceptable by any standards of international law – or morality.

As if the bloody civil war in Syria wasn’t complicated enough, Turkey took advantage of the chaos in Syria and took aggressive military action beginning as early as 2016, and continues until today, occupying parts of Syria in order to oppress the local Kurdish populations, claiming they were clearing “terrorist zones.”

Multiple independent organizations reported that Turkey carried out ethnic cleansing and other war crimes against local minority populations. Despite this, international bodies and the United States did nothing to hold Turkey accountable. As frequently happens with human rights violators when they aren’t held accountable, Turkey’s aggression and war crimes haven’t stopped with Syria.

Turkey has also begun to recruit local populations in Syria to fight foreign wars in Libya, another brewing violent conflict in which Turkey is meddling, and there also reports of Ankara recruiting Syrians to fight against Armenia as well. Most recently, Turkish involvement expanded to Azerbaijan, as Turkey is backing the violence against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey has repeatedly bombed Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, and is regularly threatening Greece over maritime access to gas exploration. Its military invasion in Libya and enhanced ties with the war-torn nation have also led to increased tensions with Cyprus and Israel over the EastMed energy deal. Turkey has been on the literal warpath, and no one seems to be paying attention.

Meanwhile, Erdogan’s interests are expanding to Israel. Erdogan is a longtime supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has routinely aligned himself with Muslim Brotherhood-supporting nations such as Qatar. He has provided support to Hamas terrorists repeatedly, including welcoming them to Turkey and even granting them citizenship. Within Turkey as well, Erdogan has brutally oppressed political dissidents and aided in the Islamization of historic sites, such as turning the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.