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West Should Be Wary of Playing Turkey's Game in Syria

(Telegraph-UK) Con Coughlin - Before NATO gets too carried away with committing itself to Turkey's defense, alliance leaders would do well to consider Prime Minister Erdogan's less-than-altruistic reasons for seeking a change in the way Damascus is governed. Before the recent wave of Arab uprisings hit the Middle East, Erdogan's main focus was to develop better relations with the ayatollahs in Tehran. He was forced to abandon this policy only after it became clear that he could no longer tolerate the survival of the Assad regime, which happens to be Iran's most important regional ally. To compensate, Erdogan has made a point of befriending Mohammed Morsi, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood president. Like Morsi, the Turkish leader would be happy to see the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria emerge as the eventual victors, a development which would lead to the establishment of a network of Islamist governments - a "Sunni arc" from North Africa to the eastern Mediterranean. It is highly questionable whether such an outcome would benefit Western interests.
2012-10-05 00:00:00
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