Turkey, Gulf States Establish Secret Base to Aid Rebels
Local Editor
Gulf forces revealed Friday that "Turkey has set up a secret base with allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct vital military and communications aid to Syria's rebels from a city near the border."
News of the clandestine Middle East-run "nerve center" shows the extent to which the three countries have joined forces in meddling in the Syrian crisis and aiding the armed groups.
"It's the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main coordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom," a Doha-based source informed Reuters.
The source also unveiled that "the Americans are very hands-off on this. US intelligence is working through middlemen. Middlemen are controlling access to weapons and routes."
"The center in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 100 kilometers from the Syrian border, was set up after Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud visited Turkey and requested it, "a source in the Gulf said.
He further explained that "the Turks liked the idea of having the base in Adana so that they could supervise its operations."
Meanwhile, a Saudi foreign ministry official was not immediately available to comment on the operation.
It is worth mentioning that "Adana is home to Incirlik, a large Turkish/US air force base which Washington has used in the past for reconnaissance and military logistics operations. It was not clear from the sources whether the anti-Syrian nerve center was located inside Incirlik base or in the city of Adana."
Qatar, the tiny gas-rich Gulf state which played a leading part in supplying weapons to Libyan rebels, has a key role in directing operations at the Adana base, the sources said. Qatari military intelligence and state security officials are involved.
"Three governments are supplying weapons: Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia," said a Doha-based source. Ankara has officially denied supplying weapons.
"All weaponry is Russian. The obvious reason is that these guys (the Syrian rebels) are trained to use Russian weapons, also because the Americans don't want their hands on it. All weapons are from the black market. The other way they get weapons is to steal them from the Syrian army. They raid weapons stores."
The source added: "The Turks have been desperate to improve their weak surveillance, and have been begging Washington for drones and surveillance." The pleas appear to have failed. "So they have hired some private guys to come do the job."
The presence of the secret Middle East-run "nerve center" may explain how the Syrian rebels, a rag-tag assortment of ill-armed and poorly organized groups, have pulled off major strikes such as the devastating bomb attack on July 18 which killed at least four key al-Assad aides including the defense minister.
Gulf forces revealed Friday that "Turkey has set up a secret base with allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct vital military and communications aid to Syria's rebels from a city near the border."
News of the clandestine Middle East-run "nerve center" shows the extent to which the three countries have joined forces in meddling in the Syrian crisis and aiding the armed groups.
"It's the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main coordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom," a Doha-based source informed Reuters.
The source also unveiled that "the Americans are very hands-off on this. US intelligence is working through middlemen. Middlemen are controlling access to weapons and routes."
"The center in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 100 kilometers from the Syrian border, was set up after Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud visited Turkey and requested it, "a source in the Gulf said.
He further explained that "the Turks liked the idea of having the base in Adana so that they could supervise its operations."
Meanwhile, a Saudi foreign ministry official was not immediately available to comment on the operation.
It is worth mentioning that "Adana is home to Incirlik, a large Turkish/US air force base which Washington has used in the past for reconnaissance and military logistics operations. It was not clear from the sources whether the anti-Syrian nerve center was located inside Incirlik base or in the city of Adana."
Qatar, the tiny gas-rich Gulf state which played a leading part in supplying weapons to Libyan rebels, has a key role in directing operations at the Adana base, the sources said. Qatari military intelligence and state security officials are involved.
"Three governments are supplying weapons: Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia," said a Doha-based source. Ankara has officially denied supplying weapons.
"All weaponry is Russian. The obvious reason is that these guys (the Syrian rebels) are trained to use Russian weapons, also because the Americans don't want their hands on it. All weapons are from the black market. The other way they get weapons is to steal them from the Syrian army. They raid weapons stores."
The source added: "The Turks have been desperate to improve their weak surveillance, and have been begging Washington for drones and surveillance." The pleas appear to have failed. "So they have hired some private guys to come do the job."
The presence of the secret Middle East-run "nerve center" may explain how the Syrian rebels, a rag-tag assortment of ill-armed and poorly organized groups, have pulled off major strikes such as the devastating bomb attack on July 18 which killed at least four key al-Assad aides including the defense minister.
A Turkish diplomat in the region insisted, however, that his country played no part in the Damascus bombing.
However, two former senior US security officials said that Turkey has been playing an increasing role in sheltering and training Syrian rebels who have crossed into its territory.
Source: Reuters, Edited by moqawama.org
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