Words like bullets

[abomvubuso]

A lot of ink has been spilled over the Israeli-Turkish scandal in the wake of the Israeli raid on the flotilla. One thing keeps getting repeated: "Nothing will be the same any more". That was repeated by the Turkish PM Erdogan himself, as well. I think his words summarise the situation in the Middle East very properly. And things are of course much

Comments

[a_new_machine]

Turkey's rise really shouldn't be all that surprising. Their role in the Israel-Syria talks rang louder than this does, to me. They were trying to be facilitators, a conduit for political power, the peacemakers. They're acting like Russia started to act towards some Middle East countries - the big power that's more "reasonable" than the US. There's a lot of room for a local, culturally similar, acceptable-to-both-sides power broker in the Middle East. Turkey may be able to do that if they swing things properly, but I wonder how much the internal politics are weakening that position. Had Turkey been able to peacefully defuse the blockade, they'd have been heroes. As it stands, though, they were forced by the Israelis to take a less conciliatory stand. Too bad, that.

Very good post, btw.

[a_new_machine]

BTW, if this happens, it'll be very-not-good for progress on the blockade issue.

[abomvubuso]

Heheh. Silly as it may seem, i assure you its also a well calculated move ;)

[a_new_machine]

I dunno. I really think Turkey is sacrificing something by giving up its ability to bridge the gap between Israel and the Arab states. If it's calculated, I'd wager it's weighted solely on the domestic political scale. They can't really think that the US and Israel are going to become suddenly conciliatory because Turkey got belligerent. It'll just be another state to toss into that balance of power calculation, likely meaning more support for Israel.

[merig00]

Also need to take into account Turkish very secular military establishment and history of coups.

Very very good post! Two thumbs up :)

[mahnmut]

Perhaps Israel should send an escort of humvees carrying humanitarian aid to the Kurds in the Van province now? I don't think deliberate confrontation would solve anything, least of all the blockade question. If Turkey really wants to be a hero and help solve the conflict, may they please step forward and do it instead of fuelling the fire even more. Why don't they start with influencing their new friends Egypt who, like you said are cheering Erdogan in Cairo, and make them lift their blockade on Gaza

[abomvubuso]

Interesting point. What has made Turkey such a strong economy and military? First of all, they have (had?) a secular model, and were a key ally against the Soviets and kept good relations with Israel. What has remained of all those advantages to other Muslim countries today

[htpcl]

Confirming the huge cultural influence of Turkey. They're like a juggernaut. And they're doing it in a very subtle way.

For instance we're now flooded with Turkish soapies on TV. The Latin American telenovelas are history, now it's all about Mehmet & Gümüs. Duh.

[telemann]

Obama's administration will now have to do some extra effort and use their brains to seek a more active involvement in the Middle East peace process.

Well, he's been doing just that. In the year after President Obama sought out some conciliation with his speech in Cairo: Israel did not freeze all settlements, Palestinians did not return to direct negotiations, and Arab states did not provide confidence- building measures to the Israelis.

Aaron Miller's recent paper about the "False Religion of Mideast Peace" demonstrates precisely why that happened.

[abomvubuso]

That would be an interesting read. Link?

[telemann]

Here ya go.

[abomvubuso]

Gee, thanks! Or should i say, tesekkür ederim! :)

[the_rukh]

When I first heard about this event, my first thoughts were that this is very sad. Things happen in conflicted areas, and its sad when they do

[htpcl]

And thus you fall directly into the category described in the 2nd paragraph of the OP.

[the_rukh]

No that's exactly what I'm saying. People jump into needing to find blame before feeling compassion, and that more than the event itself is horrifying. I don't care who started it.

[htpcl]

Oh OK.