Turkey counters US's Middle East strategy
By Mohammad Pervez Bilgrami
The turnaround of the Arab Spring, Egypts bloody coup, Irans nuclear program and the continued civil war in Syria are among a number of factors leading the approaches of the United States and Turkey to the Middle East to diverge for the first time in decades.
Once presented by the European Union and the US a democratic model for Muslim Middle East, Turkey is now facing a mix of US ire and intrigue on all its fronts in the Middle East.
Events such as an abduction of Turkish pilots in Lebanon, a terrorist attack on the Turkish embassy in Somalian capital Mogadishu and Israeli bonhomie with Greek Cypriots concerning vast natural gas reserves in the latter's Mediterranean coast are further complicating Ankara's outlook.
Perhaps it is over Egypts coup that views have diverged the most. While the US has backed the coup along with European and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) partners, Turkey has vehemently opposed the overthrow, questioning as a result the credibility of the US's commitment to democracy.
On Syria, the US has played a wait-and-see approach in line with Israeli interests. The US didnt heed Turkey's insistence on solving the crisis before it got out of hand. Now, more than 100,000 have been killed, and Turkey is sheltering hundreds of thousands Syrian refugees.
The US-Russian agreement on Syrian chemical weapons has further isolated Turkey. While US Secretary of State John Kerry last week praised Bashar al-Assad for realizing his commitment on destroying his chemical arsenals, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Assad was still a terrorist who was killing his own people.
While Turkey appears to have isolated itself in the Middle East by protesting so vehemently against the US-Russian plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons and over Egypt's bloody coup, Ankara's efforts to form a Turkish-Kurdish alliance could create a force that directly challenges US influence in the region.
Asia Times Online :: Turkey counters US's Middle East strategy
By Mohammad Pervez Bilgrami
The turnaround of the Arab Spring, Egypts bloody coup, Irans nuclear program and the continued civil war in Syria are among a number of factors leading the approaches of the United States and Turkey to the Middle East to diverge for the first time in decades.
Once presented by the European Union and the US a democratic model for Muslim Middle East, Turkey is now facing a mix of US ire and intrigue on all its fronts in the Middle East.
Events such as an abduction of Turkish pilots in Lebanon, a terrorist attack on the Turkish embassy in Somalian capital Mogadishu and Israeli bonhomie with Greek Cypriots concerning vast natural gas reserves in the latter's Mediterranean coast are further complicating Ankara's outlook.
Perhaps it is over Egypts coup that views have diverged the most. While the US has backed the coup along with European and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) partners, Turkey has vehemently opposed the overthrow, questioning as a result the credibility of the US's commitment to democracy.
On Syria, the US has played a wait-and-see approach in line with Israeli interests. The US didnt heed Turkey's insistence on solving the crisis before it got out of hand. Now, more than 100,000 have been killed, and Turkey is sheltering hundreds of thousands Syrian refugees.
The US-Russian agreement on Syrian chemical weapons has further isolated Turkey. While US Secretary of State John Kerry last week praised Bashar al-Assad for realizing his commitment on destroying his chemical arsenals, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Assad was still a terrorist who was killing his own people.
While Turkey appears to have isolated itself in the Middle East by protesting so vehemently against the US-Russian plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons and over Egypt's bloody coup, Ankara's efforts to form a Turkish-Kurdish alliance could create a force that directly challenges US influence in the region.
Asia Times Online :: Turkey counters US's Middle East strategy
