Excerpts: Turkey-Qatar 'strategic alliance'. Egypt heavy sandstorm and 5.2
earthquake same day. Shell firings from Syria kill 1,injure 4 in Jordan town
June 27, 2015
+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 27 June 1‘15:”What does the Turkey-Qatar deal mean
for Arab conflicts?, By Meneske Tovav,Al Arabiya
SUBJECT: Turkey-Qatar ‘strategic alliance’
QUOTE:”the agreement was spurred by the need to balance Iranian
assertiveness in the Gulf as well as China’s growing role in the Middle
East”
FULL TEXT:Strategic alliance:The military agreement signed by Turkey and
Qatar in December, whose details became public this month, has symbolic and
material implications for security in the Gulf region.
Some experts say the impetus behind the agreement were the conflicts in
Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, as well as the rise of Daesh (the so-called
IS) group.However, others say unforeseen challenges may arise for Turkish
soldiers deployed on Qatari territory.
The two countries also agreed to exchange operational training experiences,
cooperate in the defense industry and carry out joint military exercises.
Turkey and Qatar will be able to use each other’s ports, airports, air space
and military facilities, as well as share intelligence.
They will also further their counter-terrorism cooperation. “Any dispute
that may occur during the implementation phase or in interpretation of this
agreement shall be settled through consultations and negotiations between
the parties. They shall not apply to any national or international tribunal
or third party,” says the 10-year agreement.
Metin Gurcan, a security policy researcher at Ankara’s Bilkent University
and a former special-forces officer, said the agreement was spurred by the
need to balance Iranian assertiveness in the Gulf, as well as China’s
growing role in the Middle East.
“This military alliance will enable Qatar to boost its defense industry
capacity and enhance its military experience, while diversifying its
military partners in the region,“ Gurcan told Al Arabiya News.
Turkish ambitions
Experts say this move is consistent with Turkey’s ambitions to become a
regional power using soft power such as diplomacy, along with hard power
such as its military.
“The return of Turkish soldiers to Qatar, which it evacuated on Aug. 19,
1915, after one century carries a significant symbolic meaning.
However, the Turkish military takes these strategic steps by rigorously
considering domestic and international norms,” Gurcan said.
He added that the last couple of years have seen more Gulf students educated
in Turkish military schools, indicating the rising regional prestige of the
Turkish army.
Qatar observed on June 18 the two-day Anatolian Eagle air exercise in Turkey’s
Konya airbase, with the involvement of land, sea and air forces from Turkey,
the United States, Germany, Britain, Spain, Pakistan and NATO.The aim of the
exercise was to evaluate countries’ war-readiness and expand multinational
cooperation.
“If you add a security component to the political relations, the alliance
will become longer-term... but you should avoid being trapped into local
politics and sectarian conflicts,” Gurcan said.
Mehmet Akif Okur, a security expert at Gazi University in Ankara, said one
of the main Turkish motivations for such a deal was to gain access to a
lucrative market.“The Gulf region has significant importance in terms of
global economic and political balances, not only for global powers but also
for regional actors. This deal will provide Turkey with an opportunity to
increase its weapons export to the region,” Okur told Al Arabiya News.
However, Okur expressed concern about possible tensions that Turkish
soldiers may be subject after being deployed to Qatar.
“Although the presence of the Turkish military will be a counterbalancing
force for general stability, Turkey might be engaged in unforeseen
challenges,” Okur elaborated.He pointed to border issues between Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, as well as the sizable Shiite community in Qatar, accounting
for 10-20 percent of the population.
Common interestsMichael Stephens, head of the Royal United Services
Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI) in Qatar, said Ankara and
Doha share a number of regional interests that concern them deeply,
especially regarding the turmoil in Syria and the change of power in Egypt.
“Their general outlooks also closely align in Libya, where they support the
government based in Tripoli and look toward politically Islamist actors as
vehicles for their interests across the region,” Stephens told Al Arabiya
News.
“It was natural, therefore, that they should look toward each other for
support at a time of major regional upheaval in which new actors have
emerged, threatening the break-up of regional states and the established
order.”
Stephens said it was unlikely that either country would be required to come
to the defense of the other against an external state aggressor, but this
was nonetheless a strong message of political and security solidarity that
clearly defines an arc of regional policy in the Sunni world.
“Saudi Arabia has clearly invested time in trying to reunite a fractured
Sunni bloc in the face of what is perceived to be an expansive Iran.
AlNadi DigitalBoth Turkey and Qatar form a vital part of this axis,” he
said. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad “is currently on the back foot.
As his regime comes under increasing pressure, it is likely that cooperation
between Saudi, Turkey and Qatar will increase, with Riyadh attempting to
keep Egypt involved on the fringes,” Stephens added. — Al Arabiya News
+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon)27 June ’15:”Egypt Sees Sandstorm and
Earthquake on Same Day. Associated Press
SUBJECT:Egypt:Heavy sandstorm and 5.2 earthquake same day
FULL TEXT:Egypt faces treacherous weather conditions as a sandstorm
blanketed the north of the country and a 5.2 earthquake centered in the
Sinai peninsula shook buildings more than 200 miles away in the capital,
Cairo.
Airports near Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh, along the Mediterranean coast,
closed and diverted flights to Cairo due to poor visibility from the day's
sandstorm, Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel said.
In the Red Sea town of Dahab, near the epicenter of the quake in the Sinai
peninsula, the tremor shook loose clouds of dust that enveloped nearby
mountains, according to a witness. The quake appeared to startle local
residents and tourists. Fierce winds whipped through the capital as many
residents took cover from the sand by staying indoors. No damage was
immediately reported from the earthquake.
+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 27 June ’15:”One dead,four injured after stray shell
from Syria hits house in Ramtha”, by Raed Omari
SUBJECT: Shell firings from Syria kill 1,injure 4 in Jordan town
QUOTE:”Jordan News Agency /Petra quoted an official as saying that several
mortar shells fell on Ramtha Thursday [25 June]and that work is underway to
identify the source of the attack to retaliate in the ‘proper way’ “
FULL TEXT:AMMAN — One person was killed and four others injured Thursday[25
June] after “a stray bomb shell” from Syria's Daraa town hit a house in the
northern city of Ramtha, an official confirmed.
Ramtha District Governor Bader Qadi told The Jordan Times that a 23-year-old
resident of Ramtha died after the shell hit his family home, adding the man
died in hospital from his injuries.
Residents of Ramtha told The Jordan Times that the dead was Abdul Munem Al
Hourani, who was a student of engineering at the Jordan University of
Science and Technology.
The health conditions of the injured are fair, according to Qadi, who noted
that the house is in the centre of the main market of Ramtha.
The governor also described the condition in Ramtha, some 90km north of
Amman, as "stable and normal", acknowledging at the same time that "anxiety
and fear are natural during such circumstances".
The Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted an official as saying that several
mortar shells fell on Ramtha Thursday[25 June] from Syria, adding that work
is under way to identify the source of the attack to retaliate in the
“proper way”.
In recent remarks to The Jordan Times, residents of the border town, just a
few kilometres from the Syrian border, said they have had “sleepless nights”
over the past few days due to the proximity of the intense clashes between
the Syrian army and the armed opposition near shell firings from Syria the
border
=====================
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA
|
