Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was an early and indispensable backer of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Some of the most intense fighting in the five-year Syrian war erupted after last month’s failed Turkish coup—and it is probably no coincidence. Since 2011, Turkey served as a rear base and supplier for a variety of Syrian rebel groups, including those on the Islamist fringe. That support is...

Source: Wall Street Journal August 04, 2016 09:22 UTC