|
Trending Topics
|
Turkey's New Threat Assessment: A Challenge for Washington
(Heritage Foundation) Ariel Cohen - Turkey's dramatic announcement that it revised the list of countries which it believes threaten its national security confirms Ankara's strategic drift away from the West and greater embrace of Iran and other states hostile to the U.S. These alterations prove the ascent of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's "neo-Ottoman" geopolitical approach and the continuation of a staunchly anti-Israel foreign policy. Turkey removed Russia, Iran, Armenia, Iraq and Syria from the list. Finally, Turkey has put its former strategic and trade partner Israel at the forefront of the list as a "severe threat." The Obama administration should express grave concern over Turkey's foreign policy trajectory, as relations with Iran and Israel have become a litmus test for the course of Turkish foreign policy.