Dr. Bahaa Helmy Writes: Turkey and Europe's ISIS Fighters

Last February, defense ministers and intelligence officials from more than 14 European countries met in Rome, Italy, to discuss the return of foreign ISIS terrorists to their home countries, with the participation of the United States and Turkey.

The US Department of Defense, the Pentagon, had previously announced that it was considering plans to deal with a huge number of foreign ISIS fighters in Syria after they had been captured by US-backed factions and had come under its responsibility, which means, as usual, that it is responsible for protecting them.

Turkey is considered the main hub where terrorists are based, trained and armed, and from which their arrival in conflict zones is secured, as well as the place where they and their families are taken back in and redistributed according to plan.

It is true that Turkey's role is prominent and well known in supporting and moving Europeans who join terrorist organizations and in securing their movements with the participation of elements of Turkish intelligence. This is something Turkey boasts about, as reflected in the Turkish President's earlier statement that the terrorists are on their way to Sinai.

The Turkish role stands out in all the agreements concluded between the Syrian regime and the leaders of terrorist organizations, the most recent being the agreement for thousands of militants and their families to leave Ghouta for Idlib, as an assembly point before they cross into Turkey, the safe haven of terrorism.

There is no doubt that Turkey benefits economically, militarily and politically from harboring foreign and local terrorists. It also blackmails its Western partners—in inflaming the conflict zones of the Middle East and carrying out schemes to spread chaos and drain the resources of states—in order to obtain international and UN cover for Turkey's moves and its attempts to carve out a new regional role, and to secure silence regarding its seizure and occupation of Syrian territory.

This became clearly evident when France expressed its annoyance and concern at Turkey's announcement of its occupation of the Syrian city of Afrin, and that it would not stop there but would move its forces, supported by the so-called Free Army, toward the border areas adjoining Iraq. The Turkish response came swiftly and even more bluntly from its Foreign Minister, who declared that "those who armed terrorist organizations have no right to utter a word against Turkey." This contributed to the international silence regarding Turkey's moves, which violate the UN Charter, international law and international norms, through its seizure and occupation of Syrian territory with the weapon of "Olive Branch."

The situation will remain as it is as long as Turkey is the main center for receiving, training and distributing terrorists and a hub for supplying them with Western equipment and weapons, at a time when the policies of European countries diverge out of anxiety over facing the nightmare of ISIS returnees. This is in light of the information and forecasts announced by German intelligence, which detected jihadist calls to launch attacks in Germany against children and hospitals, as well as the terrorist incidents that recently took place in France. All this points to a new and hidden role for the European jihadists who took part in terrorist operations in Syria and Iraq, namely carrying out strategies that pose a greater threat to the societies and capitals of European countries.

Add to that Turkey's suspicious role in facilitating and transporting terrorists to conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya, under the supervision of an international intelligence alliance in which the United States and Europe take part, in light of Russia's recent expression of concern over ISIS activity in Afghanistan, where unidentified helicopters are transporting militants and weapons to the Afghan wing, "the Taliban."

Hence, cooperation between Turkey and the West proceeds in harmony and accord, even if it appears otherwise, as long as Turkey remains an effective and active member and an international center for harboring terrorists and Europe's ISIS fighters. It seems that Turkey will not learn from past lessons of the spell turning against the sorcerer once its interests clash with those of its European allies and it loses its pivotal role in receiving, rehabilitating and distributing terrorists and Europe's ISIS fighters. That is why it is striving with every effort to prolong the conflict through its intervention in Syria, with the approval of the stakeholders, as long as the price is collected from a source that is easy to obtain.