RIGHT SPEAK: Turkey moves towards the Use of Force in Syria and Iraq

Turkey is moving to reverse its non-intervention stance and approve the use of force in Syria and Iraq to fight radical Islamic State militants who have advanced against cities along the Syrian-Turkish border.

At least 15 tanks were positioned, some with their guns
pointed towards Syrian territory, near a Turkish military
base just northwest of Kobane. (Photo: Cihan)

A proposed resolution that would authorize the army to fight the extremists is all but certain to win formal approval from the parliament Thursday. It would allow the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the militants to use Turkish air bases, a significant help to the coalition, given Turkey's proximity to the fighting.

Turkish Soldiers Stand Guard at a post at Syrian Border

"We are a determined government," Turkey's deputy prime minister, Bulent Arinc, was quoted as saying Tuesday in the Hurriyet Daily News. "We perfectly know what's going on inside and outside Turkey."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "has been on the fence about intervening," said James Phillips, an analyst at Heritage Foundation. "It looks like he is jumping off the fence."

Smoke rises from a residential area near the Kurdish
border town of Kobane during an attack from Islamic
State fighters.(Photo: Getty Images)

The United States has said forming a broad coalition is critical to defeating the Islamic State. Tuesday, British aircraft participated for the first time in the air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq. It launched two airstrikes in support of Kurdish forces fighting militants in northwestern Iraq.