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Erdogan is a serious threat, to everyone who comes near him

Reader comment on item: Erdoğan to Me: Stay Out of Turkey

Submitted by Michael S, Feb 26, 2017 at 05:14

Well written, Daniel.

I am apprehensive about Gen. Mattis's upcoming recommendations for US policy in the Middle East. If Pres. Trump is to go "whole hog" after ISIS, as he seems eager to do, he must make a choice:

1. to continue supporting the Syrian Kurds, who have been our staunchest allies in Syria (as have their PKK counterparts in Iraq), or

2. to support our Turkish NATO allies, who are bent on destroying the Syrian Kurds.

Israel and the Saudis are some of our best allies in the region, mainly because of their mutual concern over Iranian ambitions. They are trying to woo the Turks to their cause; but in order to do so, they will necessarily have to:

A. undermine the Syrian Kurds, who will go over to the Russian-Iranian-Syrian-Hizbullah camp, and

B. risk being successful in helping Turkey eradicate both the Kurds and ISIS, leaving Turkey as the new primary Sunni threat in the region.

I hope our President will do none of the above; but will do lip service against ISIS and keep the US out of the Levantine quagmire. Whether we help the Turks eradicate the Syrian Kurds or not, the Turks will ultimately turn against us. We ought to know that about Erdogan by now.

After dividing the ISIS spoil with the Iranians, he will ultimately team up with them on the only mission both of them are ideologically in favor of: destroying Israel. This happened once before in history: when King Croessus of Lydia (of the house of Gog, or Gyges) was suddenly defeated by a surprize attack by the Medes (Kurds) and Persians (Iranians), Croessus joined his new master in attacking Babylon, and eventually, Israel.

The Persian Empire at its height, to which the Ayatollahs aspire, went across Israel into Egypt. Ditto for the Ottoman Empire at its height, to which Erdogan aspires. In both cases, conquering Israel is the key to their ultimate objective, control of Mecca and Medina. Those cities were once held by the Shi'ite Fatimids (religiously akin to the Iranians). When the Ottomans later controlled them, they styled themselves as Califs, paramount authorities in the Islamic world. These are ambitions for Muslims with overblown egos, something which describes both Erdogan and the Ayatollah.

This is the real dynamic in the region, and it has nothing to do with the US, Russia or any outside power. In fact, it doesn't even have that much to do with Israel, except that Israel is in the way. It has a great deal to do with the Saudis, of course, since they are currently the protectors of Mecca and Medina. President Trump and Gen. Mattis need to consider long and hard, before getting caught up in this mess.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (18) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Fethullah Gülen and Respect for Erdogan [610 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
RobertOct 8, 2022 18:07287247
Cautionary Tales of Turkiye and Sponsorship of PM Erdoğan's Version of Its History - Which is the Authorised Version [385 words]M ToveyOct 10, 2022 15:04287247
Historical analogy [31 words]Ephraim LiorMar 16, 2017 17:36237646
1Turkey facing Ethnic breakup? the last failure of Versailles? [130 words]GeneMar 16, 2017 12:19237638
1Christian prisoner in Turkey [36 words]Michael ZornMar 11, 2017 14:45237518
Expect Rutte to change his mind after the Dutch elections [19 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
AnonMar 10, 2017 11:28237475
coup [82 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
ramiz dayiMar 7, 2017 06:10237200
flaw in ramiz dayi analogy [81 words]John in MichiganMay 22, 2019 09:49237200
A Revelation About Turkey [237 words]M ToveyMar 1, 2017 11:10237069
Erdogan is a serious threat, to everyone who comes near him [456 words]Michael SFeb 26, 2017 05:14236995
Erdogan to Me: Stay out of Turkey [98 words]Judith DaviesFeb 23, 2017 12:52236923
What has happened to the legacy of Mustafah Kamel Attaturk? [66 words]ron copeFeb 23, 2017 12:01236919
2After Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Advovating Treason, and a Coup d'état [658 words]RobertFeb 23, 2017 10:22236918
Playing 'Devil's Advocate' here [149 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
PhilipFeb 23, 2017 03:59236915
2Erdoğan View of Females [61 words]DENNIS ALLEN DURKOPFeb 22, 2017 19:57236900
4Erdogan's current conspiracies and crisis created [399 words]Admiral Peter KikareasFeb 22, 2017 19:56236898
1Tks to Erdogan ... [19 words]stevenlFeb 22, 2017 19:54236897
6I liked the reference to your father and the photo [219 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Howard DanielFeb 22, 2017 19:07236892

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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