Turkish government poised to open three fronts

The inspection visit by Gen. Hulusi Akar, the Chief of Turkish General Staff, to Incirlik and Diyarbak?r on Nov. 6-7 might be a strong indication of a new wave of air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in Syria and Iraq. But when considered together with police operations inside Turkey, one can add the police and judiciary probes against the sympathizers of the Fethullah Gülen group within the state, or the "Parallel State" as the government calls them, as a third front.

It may not be the case if the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) had not won the elections on Nov. 1 with a clear win, but now both President Tayyip Erdo?an and Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu feel the circumstances are ripe to open three fronts at one time to consolidate their power.

Actually, the government is already active on all those fronts, and especially after a security meeting in the prime minister's office on Nov. 4, it is possible to talk about a coordinated and combined move which is likely to continue through the winter months.

Now the focus of Turkey's security forces is on the G-20 Summit in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, where world leaders are going to be hosted from Nov. 14-16. On the other hand, because ISIL and the PKK are seen as two threats to the summit as well, it would not be wrong to say the operation is waiting for a go. 

Turkey's efforts against ISIL are in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition, after the opening up of its strategic Incirlik airbase for joint flights last July. Turkey is in the core group of four (including the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia - all G-20 countries) discussing the future of Syria, which is directly related with...