"... Damascus is where Ankara's regional role will either be made or broken"

FLC

"... Turkey's role as an "inspiration" was jeopardized only weeks later by its inconsistent policy on Libya, which led to protests outside the Turkish Consulate in Benghazi and put a damper on Turkey's popularity within the Arab world. ... Turkey's flip-flop on Libya was an acknowledgement that, sometimes, hard power is needed when soft power fails to sway autocrats... Going further, Erdogan scolded Gadhafi, in what has also been read as a warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying, "Leaders must take responsibility, make sacrifice, choose the humane and conscientious path with a view to changing the face, fate and image of these lands. While doing so, they should be inspired by the ancient civilizations of these lands." ... ...  with protests ongoing in Syria, Turkey's closest neighbor, Damascus is where Ankara's regional role will either be made or broken. Syria is the litmus test of Turkey's future role in the evolving dynamics of the new Middle East.

Until recently, Syria was Turkey's most successful example of its "zero problems with neighbors" policy...  Syria's economy, now in tatters, will need serious reforms regardless of the political outcome of the current unrest. Unless Syria wants to follow the path of North Korea -- nearly impossible due to its porous borders and geographic location as a regional crossroads -- Damascus has little choice but to look to Aleppo and further north for economic help. "Stability," meaning maintenance of the status quo, has been Ankara's mantra in dealing with the Syrian crisis, bolstered by the real chemistry between Erdogan and Assad. However, the time has come for Ankara to incentivize Damascus to move beyond rhetoric to finally make meaningful reforms... ... One of the Assad administration's only friends during Syria's period of isolation following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and again after the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, fast-growing Turkey has become Syria's biggest trading partner and Damascus' long-term lifeline, both economically and geopolitically...Turkey now faces a test of its leadership in Damascus. Erdogan's task is to create the necessary conditions for the Assad government to bring Syria into the 21st century.

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 9:26 AM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian