The 28 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Nato, have been called for an emergency meeting today by Turkey following the attacks on Turkey by both Daesh (the self proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and the Kurdish separatist group PKK. It is welcome that the meeting has been called under Article 4, which calls for political consultation rather than Article 5, which is a summons to support a Nato member against attack, which George W Bush tragically used to declare war on Al Qaida after September 11.
Nato is a mutual defence alliance between 28 democracies based in North America and Europe of which Turkey is an important member, which is why after 2013 Germany, the Netherlands and the US sent troops to help Turkey defend its borders. But in other theatres Nato has been grossly misused by its members as an American-led expeditionary force, such as in the 13-year occupation of Afghanistan. The alliance should remain true to its core purpose of mutual defence against conventional threats, and it would be an error on the scale of Afghanistan for Turkey to summon its allies and invade Daesh held territory in what is left of Iraq and Syria.
There is a need for more determined action against Daesh, but this should come through the international coalition that has already been established to support Iraq, which should be expanded to cover fighting in Syria. But this is not Nato’s job, even if its member states need to be informed by Turkey of what is going on.
