Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham in Idlib, Taliban in Afghanistan!

President Tayyip Erdoğan’s announcement stating that, “Turkey has nothing wrong with the faith of Taliban”, has caused a new argument. As it is known, Erdoğan was very eager for Turkey to ensure the security of the international airport in Kabul after the US-NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. Therefore, with this announcement, he wanted to convey a message of agreement with the Taliban. In the aftermath of this announcement, reactions arose amongst the secular nationalist circles, wondering how “Turkey could ever be likened to the Taliban”. Erdoğan is correct as there is a government in Turkey that tries to use the claim of Sunni Islamic leadership and cooperation with jihadist groups for its expansionist ambitions. Therefore, Erdoğan’s search for a role in Afghanistan is brought to the agenda as part of his policy. Moreover, those who show reactions seems to have forgotten the de facto cooperation of Erdoğan with jihadist groups through the Syrian war, and today with the HTS (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham) terrorist organisation in Idlib.

Afghanistan, which is in a strategic position due to being a transition region between Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, has been the scene of a struggle for sovereignty, led by the USA, Russia and China, and involving regional countries such as India, Pakistan and Iran for a long time.

The Taliban, which was founded in the process of the USA supporting al-Qaeda against the USSR in 1979, and Pakistan hosting jihadist militants, seized power in Afghanistan in 1996. However, after the 2001 September 11 attacks, which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for, the USA lost power after the invasion of Afghanistan. On the other hand, despite the 20-year occupation of the US-NATO, the Taliban could not be destroyed and the US had to sign a peace agreement with the Taliban in the talks held in February last year in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

During the withdrawal process from Afghanistan, the US very much wants Turkey to take over the security of Kabul International Airport and for the Erdoğan government to be effective on the Taliban. This is because the role that the Erdoğan government will play there is of great importance in terms of limiting the influence of the US-NATO on Russia and China. The fact that Afghanistan is one of the most important crossroads of China's belt-road project makes it one of the most important areas of the US's struggle for dominance with China around the world.

It will be appropriate to make the following reminder here. Before Erdoğan's meeting with US President Biden on June 14, there was an expectation that Biden would take a tough stance due to the unresolved problems between the two countries, especially the S-400s. However, before this meeting, the announcement by the Erdoğan government that the security of the airport in Kabul could be undertaken, led to the postponement of problematic issues and the emergence of an attitude contrary to expectations. Even this situation alone is explanatory in terms of showing the importance of this issue for the USA.

This picture is also explanatory in terms of understanding why the Erdoğan government is so eager to play a role in Afghanistan. The Erdoğan government, which is economically and politically cramped, sees taking a role in Afghanistan as an opportunity to renew relations with the western imperialists led by the USA and to have a say in the struggle for division in the region. For this reason, Erdoğan sends warm messages to the Taliban, which controls most of Afghanistan. Just as he sees HTS, the successor of al-Nusra in Idlib, as a "resistor".

Erdoğan, at every opportunity, says that the only regime that is truly fighting against ISIS is his own government. This is because the fight against ISIS was quite functional in terms of preventing the unification of the Kurdish cantons in Syria and limiting the Kurdish sphere of influence. However, the same Erdoğan sees HTS, the successor of Nusra, who, like ISIS, comes from the al-Qaeda tradition as a "resistor". HTS stands as a trump card that strengthens the Erdoğan government's hand against the Syrian regime and Russia in Idlib.

The USA, implements the strategy of fighting ISIS to strengthen its own regional bases and cooperates with the Kurds on this basis, describes HTS in Idlib as "an organization focused on the fight against the Assad regime and does not pose an international threat". It is also known that while there were clashes between the Turkish and Syrian armies in Idlib in the first months of last year, Jeffrey, the US Special Representative for Syria at the time, made encouraging statements to the Erdoğan government regarding the conflict with the Syrian army and Russia. Because the presence of the Turkish military and HTS in Idlib stands as one of the obstacles to a solution that will strengthen Russia's hand in Syria against the USA.

To conclude, with the statement on Taliban, Erdoğan is sending a message to the US and western imperialists about the subcontracting role that his government can play. For this reason, it does not make sense to object to the comparison of Turkey to the Taliban without opposing relations with the imperialists and policies of intervention, and without taking a stand for a democratic order in which peoples can live together in the country.