Turkey vs Iran is *The* Struggle

Submitted by Samuel Asher (United States), Aug 26, 2011 at 12:53

I believe this is quite understated. The real power play today in the ME is between Turkey and Iran. It was seeded when Turks elected an Islamist government, but for the first few years of the regime, they were only trying to consolidate power (silencing the press, haranguing military officers). In the last couple of years they have clearly become strident. With Israel the major foil, their competition with Iran was primarily "who can be more anti-Israel." Hence, their pro-Hamas policies with the Mavi-Marmara affair.

Now, we are fortunate to have Syria as the foil. Assad has been on Iran's payroll for years, and Turkey wants to dislodge him. The brilliance of their strategy is that to the West, they make it look like Turkey supports the abused and oppressed Syrian people against the tyrant Assad. What a joke!

This is all strategic: control of land, trade, resources, and influence. Turks and Persians are compatibly belligerent. My choice of strategy would then be to encourage that conflict without turning Israel into a common enemy.

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