The failure of Turkey's Syria and Egypt policy

Kurdish forces? capture of Tel Abyad, previously a stronghold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has coincided with the unfortunate June 16 confirmation of the death sentence for Mohamad Morsi, the first elected but toppled former president of Egypt.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu and President Tayyip Erdo?an have again condemned the court decision in Egypt, but they have not said much about the Tel Abyad situation. In fact, both are evidence of the failure of the Justice and Development Party?s (AK Parti) Middle East policy.

Considering these cases, it is impossible not to recall the recently published book ?12 Years with Abdullah Gül? by the former president?s press advisor, Ahmet Sever. In it, Sever writes that Gül accused both PM Erdo?an and Foreign Minister Davuto?lu at the time of acting like the prime minister and foreign minister of Egypt and Syria, and not in line with best Turkish interests.

There is a very heavy atmosphere in Ankara regarding the capture of Tel Abyad from ISIL by the YPG, the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria that is linked to the Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK) in Turkey. There has been a last-minute effort to attach a small group within the Free Syrian Army (FSA) called Burkan el F?rat to the months-long offensive led by Kurdish forces, in order to be able to tell the public that it was not only Kurdish forces that captured the key border town. 

The same Kurdish forces repelled a massive ISIL attack on Kobane (formerly Ayn al-Arab), another town bordering Turkey, back in January. Now, almost 200 km of Syria along the Turkish border is under the control of Kurds. That is a matter of concern for the Turkish government, also within the context of what it...