Syria Shells Turkey

[LongBlade]

Three Syrian tanks have rolled into the Golan DMZ.

Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel said, raising concerns violence from Syria's civil war could heat up a long-quiet frontier that has not seen such an incursion in nearly 40 years.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-11-03/activists-rebels-fight-syrian-troops-over-airbase

[Staggerwing]

It might be an attempt to cause an Israeli response which would distract from the internal situation: "Hey, look! Israel is starting shit in the Golan! Time to band together guys!"

[Martok]

^  That was my first thought as well, but then I wondered if it isn't too obvious.  I doubt their civilians are that gullible (some, yes, but surely not all). 

[Staggerwing]

Well, it's not like the Regime and it's Hezbollah allies have much to lose at this point. By now they should be ready to try just about anything including blackmailing Turkey and Jordan with threats of 'Accidental' CBW attacks.

[Martok]

Good point. 

[Centurion40]

Get a load of this delusion:

http://rt.com/news/assad-interview-exclusive-syria-265/

I was not the target; I was not the problem anyway. The West creates enemies; in the past it was the communism then it became Islam, and then it became Saddam Hussein for a different reason. Now, they want to create a new enemy represented by Bashar. That's why they say that the problem is the president so he has to leave. That is why we have to focus of the real problem, not to waste our time listening to what they say.

Let's be precise once again. The problem is not between me and the people; I do not have a problem with the people because the United States is against me and the West is against me and many other Arab countries, including Turkey which is not Arab of course, are against me. If the Syrian people are against me, how can I be here?!

If the whole world, or let us say a big part of the world, including your people, are against you, are you a superman?! You are just a human being. So, this is not logical. It is not about reconciling with the people and it is not about reconciliation between the Syrians and the Syrians; we do not have a civil war. It is about terrorism and the support coming from abroad to terrorists to destabilize Syria. This is our war.

...  when they are going to stop smuggling foreign fighters from different parts of the world especially the Middle East and the Islamic world, and when they are going to stop sending armaments to those terrorists. If they stop, this is when I can answer you; I can tell that in weeks we can finish everything. This is not a big problem. But as long as you have continuous supply in terrorists, armaments, logistics and everything else, it is going to be a long-term war. Turkey supports more than any other country the smuggling of terrorists and armaments.

Erdogan thinks that if Muslim Brotherhood takes over in the region and especially in Syria, he can guarantee his political future, this is one reason. The other reason, he personally thinks that he is the new sultan of the Ottoman and he can control the region as it was during the Ottoman Empire under a new umbrella. In his heart he thinks he is a caliph. These are the main two reasons for him to shift his policy from zero problems to zero friends.

... we had good relations with Iran since 1979 till today, and it is getting better every day, but at the same time we are moving towards peace. We had peace process and we had peace negotiations. Iran was not a factor against peace. So, this is misinformation they try to promote in the West that if we need peace, we do not have to have good relation with Iran. There is no relation; it is two completely different subjects. Iran supported Syria, supported our cause, the cause of the occupied land and we have to support them in their cause. This is very simple. Iran is a very important country in the region. If we are looking for stability, we need good relations with Iran. You cannot talk about stability while you have bad relations with Iran, Turkey and your neighbors and so on. This is it.

[W8taminute]

The only thing that I do not consider delusional is the 4th quote down from the top.  Erdogan does indeed style himself the leader of a revived Ottoman Empire.