Turkey changing sides
Reader comment on item: The Real "New Middle East"

Submitted by Debanjan Banerjee (India), May 11, 2009 at 21:19

Dr. Pipes,

I believe that Turkey has changed sides for the following reasons :

1. Turkey probably understands it will never be considerred a part of the Europe since europeans are still too concerned about admitting an Islamic country among themselves.That is why Turkey under AKP is looking towards the middle east to have some influence among the areas , previously ruled by the Ottoman empire.

2. Turkey probably realises that Israel is increasingly becoming rightwing and militantly Jewish which is very different from what Israel used to be may be a decade back i.e. a nationalist , secular republic.So , Turkey probably would not likely to have common causes with an Israeli state which is becoming increasingly militant.

3. Iran(and Syria to some extent) has played it's cards well as of now vis a vis Turkey particularly in Iraq.Both the nations do not like to see a Kurdish state coming into picture in northen Iraq and both the states are not comfortable with "moderate" Arab regimes like Jordan or Egypt.Turkey and Syria are also trying to sort out some of their land disputes which used to be bone of contentions between these two states.

---- I would like to know your viewpoints about all these above mentioned points.

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