NATO Split on Iran, Straight Turk Express? Moving Forward to the Past..................
“Turkish prime minister Erdogan announced in Tehran his support for Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s Ahmadinejad praised what he called Erdogan’s clear positions regarding Israel. He said Iran and Turkey can deepen their relationship and fill the vacuum in the world....…”….... for his part Erdogan described Iran as a friend and accused Western countries of not dealing objectively with Iran’s nuclear program..…… Erdogan said much of Western talk about Iran is hypocritical……...” Aljazeera
“The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has exposed divisions in Nato by accusing the west of treating Iran unfairly over its nuclear programme and describing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, its vehemently anti-western president, as a friend. In a Guardian interview, Erdogan down-played western fears that Iran wants to build an atomic bomb as "gossip" and said a military strike against Iranian nuclear installations would be "crazy". He also strongly implied that those countries which were pressuring Iran to clarify its goals were guilty of hypocrisy because they all had nuclear weapons themselves…...…” Guardian
“Israel is in denial over Turkish rage. Turkey was shocked by Goldstone's report on the Gaza conflict, but Israel is seeking other explanations for deteriorating ties…...…..” Guardian
Is this the beginning of a new deal between Turkey and Iran over the Middle East?
The Turks are disgusted by European denial of entry into the EU, obviously mainly because they are mostly Muslims. The old "Turks at the gates of Vienna" fear. That and the Iraq situation have pushed them to return to their old sphere and the old border accommodation with Iran in Mesopotamia. Ahmadinejad’s talk of filling a vacuum is meant for the Middle East. There is in fact a vacuum in the Middle East, one that is partly filled by Western powers.
Unfortunately, the Arab dictators, oligarchs, and potentates are busy fighting internal wars of succession, genocide, and making sure their peoples are under tight control. They are in no position to fill any vacuum, they are part of the vacuum that is being filled by the Western powers, Israel, Iran, and now Turkey.
Interesting how things haven’t changed much in the Middle East. For a fleeting decade, until the mid-1960s, the Arabs looked like they were on the verge of taking control of their own destiny.
But that is no more. Nowadays the future looks like the past. Trillions of petroleum revenues later, many billions of weapons purchases later, millions of university graduates later, and the Arab world is looking to a dubious past for salvation. The people are no freer. They have access to more media, like the rest of the world, but the instruments of intimidation have become sophisticated as well. Some of the reliable old crude instruments remain. They probably still use some of these "reliable" old methods of intimidation in Iran as well, according to opposition reports.
The Arabs now can get Big Macs and Starbucks, watch Oprah, those who can afford them, but most, over 90%, still can’t afford those, and don't need them. And they are all no freer.
Cheers
mhg
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