The dust has settled, and the effects are now painfully clear: an extended, dogged campaign by Turkey to see the Assad regime toppled has yielded nothing but a humanitarian catastrophe in its wake, leaving Syria fractured and a shadow of its former self.
What started off as a fairly noble endeavor to assist the Syrian opposition forces has turned out to be an epic nightmare. The grand vision of regime change by President Erdogan has only managed to leave in its wake a landscape of destruction, displacement, and festering sectarian divisions which will take generations to recover from.
Let’s be brutally honest: Turkey’s intervention was not about the Syrian people’s liberation but about its own coldly calculated geopolitical move cosseted in humanitarian support. The so-called “Syrian rebels” that Turkey championed were actually an assortment of fragmented groups, the majority of which had more interest in personal gain than in genuine democratic transformation.
The human cost has been staggering: millions displaced, communities torn apart, and the physical infrastructure of the country bombed into rubble. As he spoke with seeming conviction about Syria “belonging to Syrians,” his actions said much more-a tale of the external manipulation of cynical power politics.
The extent of Turkey’s participation became clear when it became fixated on the Kurdish YPG force. Under the pretense of combating “terrorism,” Turkey carried out military actions that resulted in extensive harm to civilians. Due to their systemic marginalization and position between many antagonistic groups, the Kurdish populations suffered the most during this conflict.
What is left after the overthrow of the Assad regime? a total collapse of social order, a power vacuum populated by rival militias, and outside interests. Erdogan’s stated desire for “peace, stability, and tranquility” has turned into an unattainable ideal.
It is impossible to overlook the complicity of the world community. Syria was viewed by Turkey and other regional and international powers as a chessboard, with pieces being moved without consideration for the people at risk. The so-called “responsible actors” Erdogan spoke of were anything but responsible.
What’s particularly galling is the revisionist narrative now being pushed. Erdogan and his supporters want us to believe they were liberators, champions of Syrian freedom. The reality is far more complex and far more damning. The former identifies the interviewees as opportunists who seize a multi-layered war as an opportunity to pursue personal agendas.
The ‘Kurdish issue’ is still, however, a potential source of future conflict and remains explosive. These actions have not only pitted Syria but also implanted long-term sour relations that will persist throughout the existence of the regions for many decades.
Let’s be clear: a change of regime is not liberation. What Turkey has helped to unleash is not freedom in Syria, but a shattered and poisoned nation barely hanging on. The rebels they backed have been even worse than the regime they ousted – often more violent, more nationalistic, and less competent.
These are some of the questions that we need to be answering. But what kind of people benefited from this intervention? Not the Syrian people, at least most of them have to endure lives that are unimaginably terrible. Not the regional stability that was supposed to be the outcome. Not democracy that was supposed to be on sale.
Turkey’s experience in Syria will be a story People will read and remember not to interfere with societies’ systems no matter the intentions it brought will demolish that society. It is, therefore, common to find that the road to hell is well lit with good intentions.
While Syria is attempting to rise from the ashes of this catastrophic conflict, the memory of Turkey’s involvement will linger—as the grim reaper of geopolitical misadventure.
