Turkey’s Syrian Woes Double

As Assad’s Alawite regime in predominantly Sunni Syria continues its war against its citizens, neighboring Turkey is getting pushed and squeezed in every way conceivable.

• Something like 100,000 refugees have fled across the border into Turkey, into 11 refugee camps,  creating almost insuperable problems of shelter, food, water and security.  Food riots against Turkish police have taken place.
• The mostly Sunni refugees have been settled in a predominantly Alawite area of Turkey, leading to resentments and suspicions, added to the above.
• Turkey after  initially saying it would handle the refugees without international help, now needs it badly.
• The United States has twice turned down please by Turkey to begin setting up a no-fly zone over XXXX
• Turkey’s ruling party, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has publicly called for the replacement of Assad in Syria.  Assad, therefore , is thought to be arming Kurdish rebels in south east Turkey.  Attacks against the Turkish army have increased and fears are growing that Syrian missels could fall into PKK hands.
• Public support for Erdogan in Turkey, re-elected in a landslide several years ago, is falling over his handling of  ‘the Syrian problem.’

Karin Bruillard at Washington Post

And what would Mr Romney do if he gets his dream job?  With no one to criticize he’d have to do something — which is probably, as one analyst  points out, exactly that which he has criticized.

What would ‘President Romney’ do about Syria?

The same thing President Obama has been doing. Contrary to his condemnations of Obama’s foreign policy, handling of the Syria crisis, and stance toward Bashar al-Assad, Romney would effectively have the same policy on Syria as Obama

AND, Top Senators Can’t Explain Romney’s Syria Policy

e.g. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who admitted last week that he didn’t know what Romney’s Afghanistan policy was, couldn’t name any specifics of Romney’s Syria policy Tuesday and instead launched into a monologue about America’s role in the world.