All Policy Analysis by Soner Cagaptay

Unfortunate civil unrest could emerge if the jihadist group continues targeting anti-government Turks and Moscow keeps its sights set on Erdogan and his party.

Although Ankara has the necessary parliamentary authorization and professional military capacity to establish a safe zone, it would still need Western intelligence help, air support, and diplomatic backing to cover the operation and deter Russian retaliation.

The Kurdish issue in Turkey stands on the precipice of becoming an international problem, involving all sorts of nefarious actors from the Syrian civil war.

Explore the roles of Salafism, jihadism, nationalism, and other movements as drivers of conflict and alliance post-Arab Spring.

Understand the policy implications of humanitarian safe havens, safe zones, buffers, or no-fly zones in Syria with these assessments of the who, what, where, why, and how of the various options.

The situation in the Middle East is beginning to resemble the Balkans: either the Balkans in the early 1990s, before Washington woke up and played its role as security leader, or the Balkans before World War I, when no one woke up.

Tighter border security would pose an existential threat to IS, not to mention hindering its travel, smuggling, and recruitment efforts.

The Turkish leader seems intent on uprooting the Ottoman legacy and restoring Islam's central role.

Although Ankara is seemingly responding to westward-oriented pressures at home and abroad, it could still swing Turkey back to the right if it continues to pursue the politics of religion, especially while the Islamic State looms on its borders.

The Islamic State's choice of target likely reflects a very deliberate attempt to short-circuit U.S.-Turkish military efforts along the Syrian border and exacerbate tensions in Europe.

Having a permanent military foothold in the Gulf will put Turkey in an elite group of powers, but more presence also means more exposure, whether to Saudi-Iranian tensions or other local crises.

With his plans to become a regional power on the rocks, Erdogan rediscovers Ankara's Western allies.

Despite moving some forces away from Mosul under pressure from Baghdad, Turkey still retains a robust cross-border presence that could help counter any PKK or Islamic State hostilities in northern Iraq.

Moscow's lack of easy retaliatory options and Ankara's longstanding fear of Russia should forestall any showdown requiring NATO intervention, and the recent shootdown incident will help bring Ankara closer to the alliance in the long term.

After a decade of trying to become a Middle East player in its own right, Turkey may now find comfort in the NATO alliance when faced with the historic Russian menace.