"This move on the part of Turkey looks like and is an insane step, as such," DeBar said.
He added that " diplomatic norms and Erdogan are not quite compatible things," and that the Turkish President acts as a "bad crazy cop," irrespective of whether the downing of the Russian warplane was a premediated or unintentional move.
DeBar also drew attention to the fact that Turkey had unleashed hostilities against Russia, a nuclear superpower which is linked to Syria via a Treaty on Mutual Assistance.
"Of course, Russia's possible response will be much more reasonable, but in fact — it is nothing but the scenario of the Third World War implemented by Erdogan," he said.
Additionally, DeBar pointed to the fact that the Su-24 warplane was downed after Russia had cut off the Islamic State's supply routes for smuggling oil to Turkey, which he said cannot be a coincidence.
"The Russian attack on ISIL's 'oil pipeline' – an endless convoy of oil tanker trucks – understandably prompted escalation on the part of Turkey. I do not think that it is a coincidence," he pointed out.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted to the Turkish downing of the Russian warplane by describing it as a "stab in the back by accomplices of terrorists." He stressed that Russian pilots were in no way a threat to Turkey, underscoring that this was "an obvious fact."
He added that the Su-24 incident in Syria had crossed the line in the conventional war against terrorism.
