The Turkish government says that its military forces are in Northern Iraq at the invitation of the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government, while Baghdad vehemently objects to this and says that it’s an illegal invasion.
Meanwhile, President Erdogan has ignored the criticism coming from his Iraqi counterpart and even ordered the Turkish military to assist the Kurdish Peshmerga with artillery and tank support, raising the stakes that Turkish and Iraqi forces might clash and distracting from what should have been their shared focus on Daesh.
As the coalition’s campaign to liberate Mosul bumps into problems of its making, the momentum might dwindle and the real enemy might seize the chance to retreat and fight another day.
Sergei Oznobischev, Director, Institute of Strategic Assessment (studio guest), Max Suchkov, Member of the Russian International Affairs Council, columnist, Al-Monitor, and Alaa Ebrahim, Syrian journalist joined us to discuss the topic.
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