Why is Turkey expanding in Afghanistan?.. What are its military objectives?
With US President Joe Biden assuming power in the United States last January, he explicitly announced his intention to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan by September 11, in memory of the terrorist attacks on America that led to the Afghanistan War, Washingtons longest war. The United States launched a war on Afghanistan in 2001, to pursue the terrorist al-Qaeda elements that launched the attacks in Washington and New York, in addition to striking the Taliban movement that was hosting al-Qaeda elements, and for 20 years the United States was unable to eliminate the Taliban, and was forced to conduct negotiations with them. Certainly, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan leaves a void, which the Taliban insurgent movement may rush to fill, especially in light of the weakness of the local government. In light of these facts, Turkey emerged, which offered to bear the security burdens after the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan. The talk about Ankaras role came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before the Atlantic summit earlier this June, when he said that his country is the only reliable country that maintains troops in Afghanistan after the US and NATO withdrawal. Erdogan said he would discuss the matter with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, at the NATO summit. Indeed, the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, announced after the summit that Erdogan and Biden had agreed that Ankara would play a security role in securing the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which is a very vital institution as it is the gateway to diplomatic bodies and aid workers>  The American magazine Foreign Policy says that Turkeys offer may have come as an attempt by Turkey to ease US sanctions on it due to the Russian S-400 missile defense system deal, and even return to the program to manufacture the most advanced fighter F-35. Turkish-American relations are tense due to more than one file, and the S-400 missiles are only one reason, which confirms that Turkeys offer came in this context. But Turkey is looking for broader interests than evading US sanctions. It has sent troops and mercenaries to Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan and maintains a large base in Somalia. It wants an iron foothold in Central Asia. Turkey is not an emergency in Afghanistan, as it has been there for many years, militarily under the umbrella of NATO, but it did not push its soldiers to participate in military operations, despite Washingtons pressure. It also expanded its sphere of influence there by strengthening ties with the Turkic-speaking Uzbeks and Turkmens, and had previously supported former Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum. In parallel, Ankara has been establishing Turkish schools, increasing scholarships and training staff, and has not forgotten the establishment of several consulates there. And the Turkish military presence in Afghanistan, without a NATO ceiling, would mean opening a road between Ankara, Central Asia and the Caucasus, where there are Turkish peoples there, as well as presenting Erdogan as a regional leader, as well as using Afghanistan as a pressure card within NATO. Turkey is likely to face major security problems if the Taliban decides to confront the Turkish forces, especially since it has announced that any foreign forces will be treated as occupying forces. But according to the former Turkish official in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Hikmet Cetin, Ankara can avoid Taliban attacks. Cetin adds, according to the Voice of America website, that Ankara has in the past maintained extensive relations with all parties to the conflict there, and it can use Qatar and Pakistan to exert influence on the Taliban to reduce opposition to the Turkish role. Turkey is blind to its military involvement in a number of countries, such as Syria and Libya, where it did not suffer heavy losses, which motivates it to intervene again.