Erdogan vows to tackle enemies abroad

Smarting over exclusion from an Iraqi-led offensive against Islamic State in Mosul and Kurdish militia gains in Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday Turkey “will not wait until the blade is against our bone” but could act alone in rooting out enemies. In a speech at his palace, Erdogan conjured up an image of […]

Smarting over exclusion from an Iraqi-led offensive against Islamic State in Mosul and Kurdish militia gains in Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday Turkey “will not wait until the blade is against our bone” but could act alone in rooting out enemies.
In a speech at his palace, Erdogan conjured up an image of Turkey constrained by foreign powers who “aim to make us forget our Ottoman and Selcuk history”, when Turkey’s forefathers held territory stretching across central Asia and the Middle East.
“From now on we will not wait for problems to come knocking on our door, we will not wait until the blade is against our bone and skin, we will not wait for terrorist organizations to come and attack us,” he told hundreds of “muhtars”, local administrators generally loyal to the government.
“Whoever supports the divisive terrorist organization, we will dig up their roots,” he said.