Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

While Greece sinks, Syria splits and the Mideast is in turmoil, Turkey quietly rises

While everyone worries about the Arab spring, the Syrian turmoil, the Iraq mess, and the Greek economy, Turkey seems to be quietly collecting its winnings. Economy doing well, economic and political influence spreading northeast, southeast and south. Seems pretty stable politically. My guess: It is reassuming the role it played for thirty or more centuries, ...

546485_chart6.jpg
546485_chart6.jpg

While everyone worries about the Arab spring, the Syrian turmoil, the Iraq mess, and the Greek economy, Turkey seems to be quietly collecting its winnings. Economy doing well, economic and political influence spreading northeast, southeast and south. Seems pretty stable politically. My guess: It is reassuming the role it played for thirty or more centuries, before the Cold War temporarily cut it off, of a great nexus of trade both east-west and north-south. I remember reading that a lot of the wheat for ancient Greece and then Rome came on ships out of the Black Sea. (If I recall correctly, Rome’s three great breadbaskets were Sicily, Egypt and Ukraine.)     

But there are some rumblings of concern out there. One smart guy I know writes, "Turkey probably sees the removal of the Al-Assad regime and the Baa’th Party with that its downside of civil war as inevitable, and is putting is putting its weight behind the Muslim Brotherhood. . .the crux being which is better: a secular Syria in orbit with Iran under the Ba’ath Party, or Syria dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood .  .  . it is now about what Turkey finds best in its interests." Hmm-I wonder how that plays out.

(HT to DLM)

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.