Given the implications of these claims, all eyes are now on Ankara. Al-Monitor spoke to several security sources, all of whom requested anonymity. They all said that for the time being, the possibility of a ground operation against Syria or Iraq is not on the table in Ankara.

One source also said, “If these claims had any truth to them, I wouldn’t be in Ankara today, but either on the Syrian or the Iraqi border.” According to this source, both the Turkish army and the air force are in principle against major operations in Syria and Iraq. He said, “For today, the realism of the military is the best braking system we have in front of our political decision-makers.”