Catherine Shakdam, from the Shafaqna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies says that the timing of the attack on the Russian plane indicates that Turkey is afraid Russia might find proof that Ankara is working with terrorists.
"The downing of the plane now is very telling about the relationship that Turkey has harbored with the radicals in the region and particularly ISIL, but not only ISIL – we have many, many groups in the region, we have al-Nusra, al-Qaeda...
The timing of this attack and the very fact that Russia was about getting rid of those financial veins towards ISIL, suddenly, I would say, maybe spooked Turkey a little bit - whether Russia would find out about technicalities or maybe undeniable proof on the ground that Turkey is working with terrorists or whether it is just a money flow will be stopped... There are many, many links between Turkey and ISIL.
As Professor David Graeber of London School of Economics
pointed out:
“Had Turkey placed the same kind of absolute blockade on Isis territories as they did on Kurdish-held parts of Syria… that blood-stained ‘caliphate’ would long since have collapsed — and arguably, the Paris attacks may never have happened. And if Turkey were to do the same today, Isis would probably collapse in a matter of months. Yet, has a single western leader called on Erdoğan to do this?”
Some officials have spoken up about the paradox, but to no avail. Last year,
Claudia Roth, deputy speaker of the German parliament, expressed shock that NATO is allowing Turkey to harbour an ISIS camp in Istanbul, facilitate weapons transfers to Islamist militants through its borders, and tacitly support IS oil sales.
Nothing happened.
http://www.mintpressnews.com/211559-2/211559/
