The Cutting Edge

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Shimon Peres

Turkey has initiated a series of unexpected diplomatic departures from its long time Western allies, the United States, Israel and NATO, creating a potential tectonic shift in the Middle Eastern balance of diplomatic power and indeed global relations.

The first tremors of this movement began when Turkey requested that Israel not participate in a joint NATO military exercise scheduled to begin between October 12 and October 24 in the central Turkish city of Konya. The exercise dubbed “Anatolian Eagle” combined forces from Israel, Italy, the U.S. and NATO. Following Turkey’s request to exclude Israel, the U.S. and Italy all withdrew participation in the exercise. Turkish officials stated, "The feeling is this was not the right time for such an exercise.” The Israeli military reacted by saying the drill was delayed "indefinitely.”

Despite occasional disagreements, Turkish-Israeli relations have been exceptionally cooperative for years. Turkey was one of the first Muslim majority countries to recognize the State of Israel and has frequently played the role of mediator between the Muslim world and the Jewish state. Additionally, Israel has participated in fifteen joint air force exercises with Turkey and has functioned as a major arms supplier to the Turks. However, these recent developments have widened the rift between the allies, which began earlier this year with Turkish condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, called the war in Gaza "a crime against humanity" and at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Erdogan stormed off stage after an intense and emotional dispute with Israeli president Shimon Peres.

A further corrosion followed the debut of “Ayrilik” (Farewell), a fictional drama that premiered on state-sponsored television in Turkey. The show depicts scenes of Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinian children and abusing elderly Palestinians in Gaza. The Turkish government has said that Turkish Radio and Television Corp are the ones who decide what to broadcast and that "This is a matter to be evaluated entirely as part of their broadcast policies. Turkey does not have censorship." Furthermore, Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said, "The TV series does not have any political target."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "disappointed" that Turkish television would broadcast the show and expressed concerns regarding "the direction we have seen from Ankara for some time."

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman protested against “Ayrilik”, saying, "Broadcasting this series is a serious case of state-sponsored incitement. Such a series... is unworthy of being broadcast in enemy states, let alone in a country which had full diplomatic relations with Israel."

Further contributing to the rift between the allies, Turkey has begun warming up to Israel’s arch-foe Iran. When speaking of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said, “There is no doubt he is our friend.” Erdogan says that he supports Iran’s "right to peaceful nuclear energy” and called Iran’s recent advance in nuclear discussions with the West "positive."

The Turkish Prime Minister has been dismissive of Western accusations that Iran desires to build nuclear weapons stating that, “Iran does not accept it is building a weapon. They are working on nuclear power for the purposes of energy only”.

According to an advanced copy of a televised address scheduled for the night of October 31, Erdogan was to say "... those who criticize Iran's nuclear program continue to possess the same weapons…I think that those who take this stance, who want these arrogant sanctions, need to first give these [weapons] up. We shared this opinion with our Iranian friends, our brothers."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has commended the Turkish Prime Minister for his "clear stance against" Israel.

On the economic front, Turkey is promising to double trade with the Iran by 2011. Ankara also plans to end its dependence on the U.S. dollar and Euro by switching to national currencies in trade with Iran and China, which accounts for approximately twenty percent of its commodity earnings. Adding more strain to the greenback that is already being challenged as the global reserve currency by Russia, China and the IMF. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said, "We have adopted a necessary legislative act and are prepared for the transition."

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu recently stated that the U.S. and Turkey have a "model partnership," and said Ankara must change its "zero-problem-based relations" with its neighbors to "maximum mutual-interest-based ones."

Israeli Ambassador Gaby Levy has expressed confidence that things will “return to business as usual...” Moreover Levy stated that bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel are based upon “strategic interests,” and even the closest allies “have from time to time misunderstandings and disagreements.”

Cutting Edge Mideast correspondent writes from Tel Aviv.