Epstein Secrets

ih Idiz August/10/2012 -- Syria has made a mockery of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's "zero problems with neighbors" policy. Just two years ago Ankara was going out of its way to court Bashar al-Assad, in apparent defiance of the West. It was also courting Iran in a similar fashion at the time. A

called "Turkey's principled attitude regarding the Iranian nuclear program adopted during the voting in the UN Security Council." Foreign Minister Davutoglu told reporters on Wednesday that statements such as Firozabadi's "could also harm Iran," and added that Turkey expected Iranian officials "to think

key really began when Ankara allowed the United States to deploy radar facilities on Turkish soil for NATO's "defense shield" project. Erdogan and Davutoglu still insist these facilities are not against Iran, but this is a claim no one, least of all Tehran, is buying. Matters between the two countries h

could think and act for itself when it comes EFTA00660751 to foreign policy, that the Cold War was over and that Washington could no longer take Ankara for granted. And yet this move did not mean, as some critics immediately claimed, a turn toward Islam and away from the West. As recently shown, Tu

Armenians in Turkey a crime. Troubles to be sure, but should these be interpreted as "failures," and more precisely as "Turkish failures"? Perhaps, Davutoglu was insufficiently cautious, or alternatively too optimistic, when he articulated the zero problems diplomacy, but was it not an accurate way of si

sociated with Ottoman rule over much of the Arab world. It should be recalled that Turkish foreign policy began charting a new course years before Davutoglu became foreign minister. In an important sense, the turning point came in 2003 when the Turkish government refused to allow the United States to us

following months, especially in the wake of Turkey's response to the Mavi Marmara incident, a number of U.S. congressmen withdrew their support for Ankara on important policy issues. For example, Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) argued that Turkey's membership in NATO should be "called into question," while Sh

he campaign trail, the AKP's senior members have consistently championed the party's foreign outlook. At a speech in April, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, "Our ideal is to make this country a pioneer in the world, like our predecessors who carried out their goal of order for the whole world." Er

join the European Union.In late May, on the eve of the coming elections and just before the first anniversary of the storming of the Mavi Marmara, Davutoglu dismissed pleas by the United Nations and others to prevent a new flotilla from departing for Gaza. (Fifteen ships, including the Mavi Marmara, are

e world that it could think and act for itself when it comes to foreign policy, that the Cold War was over and that Washington could no longer take Ankara for granted. And yet this move did not mean, as some critics immediately EFTA_R1_00228270 EFTA01841734 claimed, a turn toward Islam and away fro

accurate way of signaling a new dawn for Turkey's approach to neighbors, especially its Arab neighbors, and actually, to the world as a whole. And Davutoglu followed through with a dizzying series of initiatives, conceiving of the neighborhood in a broad sense and managing to banish many of the bad mem

Europe and North America in recent months have delighted in citing with a literary smirk "zero problems with neighbors," the centerpiece of Ahmet Davutoglu's foreign policy agenda since he became foreign minister on May 1, 2009, having previously served as chief advisor to both the prime minister and f

ortrayed himself as a neo-Ottoman savior. "Believe me, Sarajevo won today as much as Istanbul, Beirut won as much as Izmir, Damascus won as much as Ankara!" he told cheering crowds at a victory speech in the capital. "The West Bank and Jerusalem won as much as [Turkish Kurdistan's leading city] Diyarb

ts have bombed separatist Kurdish guerrillas in the mountains of northern Iraq, killing an estimated 160 people, according to the Turkish military. Davutoglu has begun publicly calling for Syria's embattled dictator, Bashar al- Assad, to step down. And during a planned visit to Egypt this week, EFTA00586

orcible regime change. But the increased hostility exhibited by Turkey, Syria's most powerful and best-connected neighbour, may yet prove decisive as Ankara assumes a crisis leadership role. Until the uprising tore apart old certainties, the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had invested consi

essage to President Assad that ... he should step down," said Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser. In a series of statements, Davutoglu has insisted it is "no longer possible to trust the Syrian government" ". Adding provocation to insult, he underscored Ankara's support for the prote