The Turkish elections had some startling results. For once, we have news from the Middle East which is good. President Erdogan of Turkey saw his party rejected by the Turkish voters. Erdogan had been asking the voters to give his party a two thirds majority in parliament so that the constitutional system could be changed to give him more power. The voters' response was to switch away from Erdogan's party to the extent that it no longer has even a majority of the seats in parliament. The principal opposition parties have all said that they will not form a coalition with Erdogan's group, so it is still unclear who will form the government.
This is good news for the USA and for the world. Erdogan is an Islamist. During his tenure, Turkey has supported many of the worst elements of the opposition in Syria. The people who are going to Syria to join ISIS all come through Turkey. The al Qaeda affiliates in Turkey get resupplied through Turkey. When ISIS threatened to overrun the city of Kobani which is on the border with Turkey, Erdogan's response was to mass troops on the Turkish side of the border and to bar Kurdish forces access to the city through Turkey so that they could help stop ISIS. Erdogan has also changed Turkish foreign policy from cooperation to hostility towards Israel. Put all this together, and it means that the Turkish elections will reduce or end any Turkish cooperation with the jihadi terrorists.
It would make sense for the US to try to assist a change in direction for the Turkish foreign policy. Most likely, president Obama will ignore it.
This is good news for the USA and for the world. Erdogan is an Islamist. During his tenure, Turkey has supported many of the worst elements of the opposition in Syria. The people who are going to Syria to join ISIS all come through Turkey. The al Qaeda affiliates in Turkey get resupplied through Turkey. When ISIS threatened to overrun the city of Kobani which is on the border with Turkey, Erdogan's response was to mass troops on the Turkish side of the border and to bar Kurdish forces access to the city through Turkey so that they could help stop ISIS. Erdogan has also changed Turkish foreign policy from cooperation to hostility towards Israel. Put all this together, and it means that the Turkish elections will reduce or end any Turkish cooperation with the jihadi terrorists.
It would make sense for the US to try to assist a change in direction for the Turkish foreign policy. Most likely, president Obama will ignore it.
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