Turkey plays out of its league

Tony Badran
NOW Lebanon
20 July '10

Two months after the Gaza flotilla affair, it seems the wager made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, namely to boost his domestic standing while making a bid for regional primacy with an American blessing, has not panned out. And with that, President Barack Obama’s designs for Turkey in a post-American Middle East have perhaps hit a wall as well.

Obama signaled Turkey’s privileged place in his regional vision during his April 2009 visit to Ankara. Turkey was supposed to be the cornerstone of his policy of engagement with the Muslim world. According to this view, the country, with its supposedly moderate Islamic and democratic government, was the perfect partner for Obama’s agenda. The American president at the time urged Turkey “to help bridge the gap between the Muslim and Western worlds,” and remarked that his visit was a “statement about the importance of Turkey, not just to the United States, but to the world.”

In an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama laid out his view of Turkey as a partner in traditionally American roles, such as mediating peace between Israelis and Palestinians (and Syrians), and helping “to forge a new dialogue that reconciles differences” in Iraq. As the United States lowered its regional profile, Obama seemed to outline new dynamics in the region in which Turkey enjoyed pride of place.

Not surprisingly, this led the ambitious Erdogan, whose foreign policy was already premised on so-called “neo-Ottomanism,” to overreach. First came the deal Turkey and Brazil negotiated with Iran. Erdogan thought he had delivered a masterstroke, only to find himself slapped down. Worse, he embarrassed the Obama administration and its European allies at a critical moment in the drive to impose sanctions on Tehran. Here was Turkey appearing to be playing out of its league.

(Read full article)

If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
.