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IS ERDOGAN THE NEW NASSER?
Hurriyet
Sept 9 2011
Turkey
Gamal Abdel Nasser's remarkable string of successes propelled him
to dominate Arab world throughout the 1950s thanks to the power of
long-distance audio broadcasting, as well as the spread of affordable
transistor radios, says Eugene Rogan in his notable "The Arabs." His
anti-imperial credentials while nationalizing the Suez Canal and
defending it against the French, British and Israeli forces in 1956,
successfully ending British rule, coupled with his emphasis on Arab
solidarity, made him a peerless leader. "Nasserism" became the dominant
expression of Arab nationalism which promised the unification of the
Arab people.
Since the U.N. Palmer Report was released last Friday, a rougher era
of ties between Turkey and Israel has begun. First, Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu decreed a "Plan B," which included diplomatic,
military and legal sanctions against Israel.
This week Ankara decided to ratchet up the pressure. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly threatened that Turkish gunboats would
escort aid vessels (some say work is already in progress) the next
time they set sail. Erdogan also said Turkey had taken steps to stop
Israel unilaterally exploiting natural resources from the eastern
Mediterranean.
Ankara then leaked a "Plan C" to pro-government media on Thursday.
According to this plan, following Turkey's decision to campaign
actively for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, which the
State Department considered a "a matter of concern," Turkey plans
to sign an "Exclusive Economic Zone" agreement with the "newly born"
state of Palestine even though the latter's proposed U.N. initiative
is still very much up in the air. Turkey also plans to sign the same
type of agreement with Turkish Cyprus for gas and oil exploration as
well as to ink strategic and economic agreements with Egypt, which is
said to contain similar exclusive economic zone and exploration plans.
Considering the U.S. firm Noble Energy plans to start drilling in
the eastern Mediterranean next month, things appear to be moving
rather quickly.
Erdogan, on the other hand, is gearing up for an Arab Spring tour,
in which he will visit Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, countries who have
successfully overthrown their dictators. Erdogan will be the first
head of government to visit Libya since rebels forced Col. Moammar
Gadhafi to leave Tripoli, just as Davutoglu was the first to visit
Benghazi following the march of the rebel forces into Tripoli. It is
clear that Ankara is trying hard to close the gap between itself and
the French-British coalition which gave the earliest support to the
Libyan National Transitional Council.
The visit and the messages that will be given during the tour will
be watched by Washington and Tel Aviv with deep curiosity. Israel's
undisclosed nuclear arsenal is said to be another part of the Turkish
assault strategy on Israel in this trip.
A well-positioned Washington source stated that following the release
of the Palmer report, a meeting was held at the U.S. Defense Department
in which it was posited that Davutoglu's tough rhetoric was meant
for domestic consumption and was expected to fade away slowly.
However, as the week progressed and alternative plans were announced
(in addition to the direct threats from Erdogan), the mood in
Washington started changing. By week's end, the relative comfort
earlier in the week in Washington had disappeared, replaced by a
worry that "things might actually spiral out" of control in the
eastern Mediterranean.
Nasser's remarkable run of successes came to an end when the union
with Syria unraveled in 1961, the Egyptian army got mired in Yemen's
civil war and he led his nation and its Arab allies into a disastrous
war with Israel in 1967. The liberation of Palestine was set back
by Israel's occupation of the remaining Palestinian territories,
as well as Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Syria's Golan Heights.
Needless to say, Erdogan is not Nasser, and neither is Turkey Egypt.
The Middle East has changed enormously, even in just the last few
months. Still, history holds lessons dear for ambitious leaders,
particularly when it comes to the Middle East.
Hurriyet
Sept 9 2011
Turkey
Gamal Abdel Nasser's remarkable string of successes propelled him
to dominate Arab world throughout the 1950s thanks to the power of
long-distance audio broadcasting, as well as the spread of affordable
transistor radios, says Eugene Rogan in his notable "The Arabs." His
anti-imperial credentials while nationalizing the Suez Canal and
defending it against the French, British and Israeli forces in 1956,
successfully ending British rule, coupled with his emphasis on Arab
solidarity, made him a peerless leader. "Nasserism" became the dominant
expression of Arab nationalism which promised the unification of the
Arab people.
Since the U.N. Palmer Report was released last Friday, a rougher era
of ties between Turkey and Israel has begun. First, Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu decreed a "Plan B," which included diplomatic,
military and legal sanctions against Israel.
This week Ankara decided to ratchet up the pressure. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly threatened that Turkish gunboats would
escort aid vessels (some say work is already in progress) the next
time they set sail. Erdogan also said Turkey had taken steps to stop
Israel unilaterally exploiting natural resources from the eastern
Mediterranean.
Ankara then leaked a "Plan C" to pro-government media on Thursday.
According to this plan, following Turkey's decision to campaign
actively for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, which the
State Department considered a "a matter of concern," Turkey plans
to sign an "Exclusive Economic Zone" agreement with the "newly born"
state of Palestine even though the latter's proposed U.N. initiative
is still very much up in the air. Turkey also plans to sign the same
type of agreement with Turkish Cyprus for gas and oil exploration as
well as to ink strategic and economic agreements with Egypt, which is
said to contain similar exclusive economic zone and exploration plans.
Considering the U.S. firm Noble Energy plans to start drilling in
the eastern Mediterranean next month, things appear to be moving
rather quickly.
Erdogan, on the other hand, is gearing up for an Arab Spring tour,
in which he will visit Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, countries who have
successfully overthrown their dictators. Erdogan will be the first
head of government to visit Libya since rebels forced Col. Moammar
Gadhafi to leave Tripoli, just as Davutoglu was the first to visit
Benghazi following the march of the rebel forces into Tripoli. It is
clear that Ankara is trying hard to close the gap between itself and
the French-British coalition which gave the earliest support to the
Libyan National Transitional Council.
The visit and the messages that will be given during the tour will
be watched by Washington and Tel Aviv with deep curiosity. Israel's
undisclosed nuclear arsenal is said to be another part of the Turkish
assault strategy on Israel in this trip.
A well-positioned Washington source stated that following the release
of the Palmer report, a meeting was held at the U.S. Defense Department
in which it was posited that Davutoglu's tough rhetoric was meant
for domestic consumption and was expected to fade away slowly.
However, as the week progressed and alternative plans were announced
(in addition to the direct threats from Erdogan), the mood in
Washington started changing. By week's end, the relative comfort
earlier in the week in Washington had disappeared, replaced by a
worry that "things might actually spiral out" of control in the
eastern Mediterranean.
Nasser's remarkable run of successes came to an end when the union
with Syria unraveled in 1961, the Egyptian army got mired in Yemen's
civil war and he led his nation and its Arab allies into a disastrous
war with Israel in 1967. The liberation of Palestine was set back
by Israel's occupation of the remaining Palestinian territories,
as well as Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Syria's Golan Heights.
Needless to say, Erdogan is not Nasser, and neither is Turkey Egypt.
The Middle East has changed enormously, even in just the last few
months. Still, history holds lessons dear for ambitious leaders,
particularly when it comes to the Middle East.