DOUBLING DOWN: Erdogan calls for mobilization of army reserves in Syria.

Addressing his supporters who were chanting, “Our leader, take us to Afrin,” Erdogan said, “Don’t worry. Once we decide to go we will not leave you behind, but take you with us. Now we are dispatching our trained cadres. Those who received mobilization orders should get ready. But at this moment we don’t need them. The minute we decide we will hit the road.”

Turkish males are subject to conscription when they reach the age of 20, and they are required to mobilize until the age of 41.

Following Erdogan’s remarks that those who have received mobilization orders should be ready, millions visited the official website of the Ministry of Defense to find out if their name is on the list. Due to the heavy traffic the site went down quickly.

Devlet Bahceli, the chairman of the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which has decided to enter into an elections alliance with the AKP and to support Erdogan, answered the president’s call by saying, “We are ready for mobilization. It is time to hoist the Turkish flag over Afrin.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim got into the mood by dressing up in military attire at a meeting of the AKP’s youth wing in Kocaeli.

Pity the Kurds.