Globe Trot: Turkey sends armed jihadists into Syria

TURKEY: Over the weekend, Turkey armed and sent a reported 850 jihadists into northern Syria to recapture Azaz from the Kurds and their allies, rebel groups armed by the United States. There are reports of massacres of hundreds of Kurds in southern Turkey, all under cover of fighting ISIS. What’s unfolding—as we keep saying—isn’t simply “civil war,” it’s the undoing of NATO (of which Turkey is a member), the unraveling of European order, and massive atrocities spiraling out of Syria, all under the watchful eye of American passivity:

What becomes of Syria could well be determined in the border areas around Azaz, where a Game of Thrones-like cast of players is vying for supremacy over lands that stretch south to the ancient city of Aleppo, and north beyond the Turkish frontier, over which Ankara now has less control than at any point since the modern state of Turkey was formed.

SYRIA: In Syria today, more than 122 have been killed by ISIS bombings in the cities of Homs and Damascus. Life in Homs is the focus of this week’s WORLD cover story.

EUROPE: The British head of Europol says up to 5,000 jihadists could be roaming Europe.

FRANCE: The Battle of Verdun began 100 years ago (yesterday), with Germans dropping a million shells onto the forts, forests and ravines on the Western Front. It was one of the largest battles of World War I. In the 10 months that followed, the French stopped the German advance—but 300,000 men died.

UNITED STATES: If you missed the homily given by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s son on Saturday, you can watch it here and read it here.

ELECTION 2016: Is dirty money spent by corrupt Chinese officials at Macau casinos flowing into U.S. elections via casino magnate and GOP donor Sheldon Adelson? And if you’re wondering why the leading GOP contenders bring up Israel every chance they get, Adelson is one reason.