- Update 6/4/10 - Ralph Peters concludes further analysis of Turkey's strategies saying, "On Monday, Turkey turned its back on the West. History changed. Only the closed minds in Washington have not."
- Update 6/3/10 - Robert L. Pollock writes in the Wall Street Journal of the lies -- truly shocking lies [if the WSJ blocks access, click here for summary paragraphs]-- about Israel and the U.S. in the Turkish media. Pollock: "It is no exaggeration to say that such anti-Semitic fare had not been played to mass audiences in Europe since the Third Reich."- (Original post) Ralph Peters understands Turkey and its role 1,000% better than the U.S. State department. Turkey is no ally or friend of the West. Read his article on the flotilla bound for Gaza. Excerpts:
Three ships of that six-ship pro-terror convoy flew Turkish flags and were crowded with Turkish citizens. The Ankara government -- led by Islamists these days -- sponsored the "aid" operation in a move to position itself as the new champion of the Palestinians.
And Turkish decision-makers knew Israel would have to react -- and were waiting to exploit the inevitable clash. The provocation was as cynical as it was carefully orchestrated . . .
The US and the European Union cling to the fiction that Turkey's a "westernized Muslim democracy." But Turkey's moving to the east as fast as the Islamist leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) can drag it there.
Turkish leaders visit the West and sing, "Democracy, democracy, democracy!" We coo and clap. Then they go east and cry, "Islam, Islam, Islam!" And we insist they don't mean it.
Then there's Turkey's unfortunate NATO membership. Since the rise of its Islamists, Turkey has been a Trojan horse, not an ally. What happens now if Ankara provokes a military confrontation? How would we respond, given NATO's mutual-defense agreements?
The madcap agenda of Turkey's current rulers is to create a 21st-century version of the Ottoman Empire. Turks even mutter about the caliphate -- headed for centuries by the Turkish sultan. This is explosive stuff. And the Turks are playing with matches.
But we've obstinately ignored every warning sign. First, our "ally" stabbed us in the back on
the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom, denying our troops their planned routes into Iraq. Then the Turkish media intensified its anti-American fantasies.
Headscarves became de rigeur for the wives of top officials in Ankara as the Turks made mischief in Iraq. Emulating the history-obliterating Saudis, the Turks began work on the vast Ilisu Dam -- which will permanently submerge pre-Islamic and Kurdish archaeological sites of incalculable value. (The Bamiyan Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban were of comparatively minor interest to researchers.)
Then, just last month, the Turks moved to provide the Iranian regime with cover for its nuclear program. And we still didn't get it.
The most dramatic transformation in the Middle East since the fall of the shah is playing out before us. And we can't see behind the mask of the "plight of the Palestinians" (a key Obama administration concern).
In yesterday's confrontation, Israel behaved clumsily. The peace activists behaved savagely. The Turks behaved cynically. The world reacted predictably.
And Washington scratched its head.
See also Matthew Continetti on Turkish Power. His concluding paragraph:
Since 2005, Americans have been worrying about Iran's ambitions for regional hegemony. Maybe it's time we started worrying about Turkey's regional ambitions as well. The Turks ruled the region from 1453 to 1922, after all. A renascence of Turkish power, in an Islamist guise, would cause all sorts of troubles no one can anticipate.
My previous blog post on the flotilla can be found here.