Fairy tales for grown-ups

Back in January, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in broken Turkish – unusual for this great orator – that he was approaching the Middle East issue “with a Muslim’s approach.” At that time, this column argued that Erdoğan as an honest broker between Israel and Syria would be similar to then-Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis being an honest broker in the Cyprus dispute, naturally “approaching the Turkish occupation of the island with an Orthodox approach,” (Approaching the Middle East ‘with a Muslim’s approach,’ Daily News, Jan. 16, 2009).

At that time, we were still several weeks away from Erdoğan’s famous tirade that “Jews know well how well to kill,” but I argued, word for word, that “Mr. Erdoğan is not a neutral peace-broker. He cannot be one. Because he approaches what is basically a Jewish-Muslim conflict ‘with a Muslim’s approach.’”

In less than nine months, Erdoğan’s Turkey has become Syria’s best friend (the two have held military exercises and have agreed to have more), defended Iran’s ambitions for nuclear weapons “because Israel also has them,” kicked out Israel from military exercises and begun airing on state television a drama deemed anti-Israeli by any neutral criteria.

Eventually, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu and Knesset member (Kadima) Avi Dichter discovered that Turkey could not act as an honest broker between Israel and Syria. Well, right from the beginning, the idea sounded to me like appointing Hamas as an honest broker between Iran and the United States, or the Hezbollah as an honest broker between Israel and Iran.

Can it be a coincidence that the two warm-hearted congratulations for the Turkish decision to oust the Israeli Air Force from the drill came from Syria and Iran? Can it be a coincidence that Iran’s Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the Turkish action was in the best interests of the Islamic world?

Erdoğan defended that decision with a dangerous argument that “he had to listen to the voice of his nation which did not want Israel in the exercises.” We surely have no idea which opinion poll told him so, but that would be irrelevant as we can empirically guess that the prime minister is right about the “nation’s sentiment.” But “listening to what my nation wants” in making foreign policy decisions can be a dangerous precedent.

Will, for example, Erdoğan listen to his nation’s voice about the “strategic partnership with the United States?” No, that rule won’t apply to costly adventures. Besides, Americans are not overwhelmingly Jewish and are not directly hurting our Palestinian brothers. How about Russia and our Chechen brothers? No, that’s not a good example either, since we must not offend our major trading partner and top natural gas supplier. And the Russians are not overwhelmingly Jewish either, nor are they hurting our Palestinian brothers.

More recently, Erdoğan switched to a new rhetoric that said “Turkey has never, in its history, been on the side of the persecutors, it has always defended the oppressed.” So, after being a nation that “knows how well to kill,” the Israelis are now the “persecutors.” But, OK, enough about the persecutors for a moment. I shall leave it to the reader to decide whether or not to fall off the chair laughing with remarks like “Turkey has never been on the side of the persecutors and it has always defended the oppressed.” Or just take it as fresh material for entertainment. But there is more.

Asked about the infamous TV drama featuring Israeli soldiers killing babies and other innocent Palestinians “for fun,” Ahmet Davutoğlu, the foreign minister, claimed that the state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television, or TRT, was an autonomous institution and Turkey was not based on censorship. TRT is autonomous and there is no censorship in Turkey! I would not comment on that and test to see if there is censorship, as that would risk a punishing prosecution. For that, I will leave the floor to anyone who thinks the minister was telling the truth. The volunteer should just publish a text I shall write up commenting on the minister’s claims – I promise there will be no words of insult!

Most recently, President Abdullah Gül said that Israel’s misdemeanor was proven by the Goldstone report which accused Israel of inhuman behavior during Operation Cast Iron and was endorsed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. That’s true, but only partly. The report in fact calls on Israel and Hamas to carry out credible investigations into alleged abuses during the war last December and January. But that was the “honest” president of the “honest broker” speaking…

Whichever foreign dispute Turkey gets – or tries to get – involved with claiming it is “unbiased” has, by coincidence, an element of Islam or Muslims in it. In the case of the Han Chinese versus the Uighur Turks in July, the problem was doubly important and Turkey did not even bother to look “unbiased” since one of the sides was both Muslim and Turkish.

With this double brotherhood effect, Erdoğan said the events in the Uighurs’ Xinjiang province amounted to “near genocide.” So, after the Israelis “who know well to kill,” we had the Chinese “who know well to commit genocide.” Mind you, the death toll there was only 200, but was mostly Han Chinese and not even Uighur. I personally would not be surprised if Erdoğan has already taken bold action that may drive Beijing crazy.

All that tells us is that the real thrust of Turkish foreign policy is a bit of this and a bit of that, but, increasingly and invariably, a bizarre brotherhood based on common faith that is disguised as a blend of pragmatism and regional peace ambitions is beginning to take hold. But every man is free to go back to his childhood and keep falling asleep to fairy tales.