South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Voice of America on the US alliance with Turkey to combat ISIS in Syria:
After four years of trying to avoid major entanglement in Syria’s multisided civil war, the Obama administration is being pulled deeper into the fight to stem the advances of the group that calls itself Islamic State (ISIS).
Turkey’s decision at long last to allow the United States to fly armed drones and other combat missions out of the NATO base at Incirlik and potentially Turkish air force bases such as one at Diyarbakir farther east, should increase the ability of the anti-ISIS coalition to seal off crossings ISIS has used to funnel in foreign fighters and other supplies.