Democracy did not bring secularism to Turkey.
In fact democracy is eroding secularism in Turkey.
Ataturk and the Turkish Army enforced secularism and “guided” democracy.
Obama encourages democracy in unlikely places, like Egypt, while staying silent in places like Iran, where it is more of a possibility.
A pro-western Iran would change the entire balance of power in the Middle East. The Shia populations in Iran and Iraq much more reasonable than the Sunni populations of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
A democratized Iran and Iraq would would give us access to a lot of oil, and nullify our dependence on the Saudis.
I’ll predict the following and propose to bet $1000 stimulus dollars (if I get funded) that:
Turkey becomes the head of an Islamic Union which includes, Libya, Algeria, Iran and several other nations.
Iran will not become pro-western until possibly after the Islamic Union (a revived Byzantine empire), gets smacked down by Israel.
While the United States and the European Union initially hedged their bets, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sided squarely with the demonstrations for democracy in Tahrir Square -- a move that enhanced Turkey's prestige among the democratic opposition in Egypt and elsewhere in the region.That would have been a great time to plant him.