Haider al-Abadi

Turkey is not participating in the battle to retake Mosul from jihadists because of the government's wrong foreign policies, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said yesterday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Oct. 15 that Turkey's presence in the Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq will remain, amid the ongoing row with Baghdad, which has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish military from the camp. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan uttered a historic sentence during the latest cabinet meeting held at the Beştepe Palace in Ankara.  I read it in daily Yeni Şafak writer Mehmet Acet's column on Oct. 10. Take note of this sentence. This is what Acet wrote: 

Washington has reiterated its support for Iraq's territorial sovereignty amid a spat between Turkey and Iraq before an operation on Mosul to liberate it from jihadists. "As we have repeatedly made clear, the United States supports Iraqi unity and sovereignty," the U.S. State Department said Oct. 11.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 11 following the latter's harsh criticism, needling the Turkish leader for resorting to FaceTime during the failed July 15 coup attempt.  

Turkey will not accept orders from Iraq regarding the Bashiqa military base, stated Turkish Presidet Recep Erdogan, cited by the Anadolu Agency.

In just the past decade, Turkey has turned from being lauded as a "model country" to being termed a "patria non grata" (unwanted country) by its Western allies and neighbors. 

The dramatic change occurred for many reasons, such as the failure of "the moderate Islam model" after the Arab Spring, the United States' policy change in Syria and, finally, the U.S. deal with Iran.

Baghdad's recent remarks on Turkish soldiers stationed in Iraq are "dangerous and provocative," Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Oct. 7, responding to claims that his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi allegedly said "Turkish soldiers should not think they are having picnic."

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Masoud Barzani, president of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, have discussed an upcoming military campaign to retake the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-held city of Mosul. 

The United States will send about 600 extra troops to Iraq to train local forces for an offensive on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stronghold of Mosul, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Sept. 28.