German troops poised to leave Turkey for Jordan
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might have miscalculated the patience of Western leaders who adopted an “appeasement” policy regarding Turkey.
Relations between Ankara and Berlin hit a new low today as Germany's Cabinet approved moving its troops from Turkey's highly valued and strategic Incirlik Air Base to Jordan. The move, which still needs parliamentary approval, could affect the battle against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq.
The widening rift between Turkey and Germany also is likely to have a strong impact on the entire NATO alliance, which perhaps hasn't witnessed such a dramatic row among its members since France withdrew from the alliance's military command in 1966.
