Turkey’s increasingly desperate predicament poses real dangers

The Washington Post ^ | February 20, 2016 | Liz Sly

[MinorityRepublican]

Turkey is confronting what amounts to a strategic nightmare as bombs explode in its cities, its enemies encroach on its borders and its allies seemingly snub its demands.

As recently as four years ago, Turkey appeared poised to become one of the biggest winners of the Arab Spring, an ascendant power hailed by the West as a model and embraced by a region seeking new patrons and new forms of governance.

All that has evaporated since the failure of the Arab revolts, shifts in the geopolitical landscape and the trajectory of the Syrian war.

Russia, Turkey’s oldest and nearest rival, is expanding its presence around Turkey’s borders — in Syria to the south, in Crimea and Ukraine to the north, and in Armenia to the east. On Saturday, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the deployment of a new batch of fighter jets and combat helicopters to an air base outside the Armenian capital, Yerevan, 25 miles from the Turkish border.

Blowback from the Syrian war in the form of a string of suicide bombings in Istanbul and Ankara, most recently on Wednesday, has brought fear to Turkish streets and dampened the vital tourist industry.

[cardinal4]

Ckickens, roost, yada, yada, yada..

[sparklite2]

Tuck Furkey.

[ken5050]

Remember, during the Iraq war, Turkey REFUSED to allow the US 4ID to invade from the north. This allowed Saddam to concentrate his forces to the south, and also for the radical Islamist fighters to set up around Bagdad. It cost us in KIA and WIA

[DoughtyOne]

[MasterGunner01]

Is that too funny. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thought he was going to reinvent a new Ottoman Empire with Turkey at the head of his new caliphate. And now he's got to contend with enemies — Iranians, Iraqis, Kurds, Russians, etc. on all sides. That's what happens when your wants and desires have a head-on collision with reality. I would not count on NATO membership to bail out Turkey. Too many of the NATO partners are hooked on Russian natural gas. Saudi Arabia and Yemen as allies? You've got to be joking. I think President Erdogan has more to worry about than a new caliphate with Turkey at its head.

[RightGeek]

Sometimes it sucks to be Caliph, eh Erdogan?

[SunkenCiv]

Turkey is confronting what amounts to a strategic nightmare as bombs explode in its cities, its enemies encroach on its borders and its allies seemingly snub its demands.

Sure, but no worries -- Obama said he'd stand behind Turkey no matter what, so it'll all be okay. Same goes for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and...

"Death to America!"

[Vinnie]

As recently as four years ago, Turkey appeared poised to become one of the biggest winners of the Arab Spring, an ascendant power hailed by the WestObama as a model and embraced by a region seeking new patrons and new forms of governance.

Arab Spring = Fundamentalist Islam

[Moltke]

Turkey is on the brink of bankruptcy. David Goldman aka Spengler has written a number of columns on the topic.

[mikeIII]

On Saturday, Turkey dug in, demanding unconditional support from the United States.

Really? Turkey is fast becoming a failed rogue Sunny nation - a la Pakistan.