Samuel Segev, Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)
From the very beginning of the Syrian unrest more than eight months ago, Turkey opened its borders to Syrian refugees, conducted military exercises along the Syrian border, hosted the Syrian opposition groups and was ready to lead a military intervention against Syria, on condition that it had an Arab cover. Unlike in Libya, however, where the Arab cover gave NATO the legitimacy for overthrowing Moammar Gadhafi, Turkey was offered no such aid. On the contrary. In the cases of Libya and Syria, we witnessed totally different approaches on the part of the Arab League and Turkey. In the case of Libya, the Arab League was quick to give its support to NATO, while Turkey -- because of its economic interests -- was slow to join. In Syria, it was just the opposite. Turkey was fast to react, while the Arab League's reaction was more hesitant.