Τrump and Erdogan
The ruling class, and the political class in general, in Greece has been disturbed by the praise US President-elect Donald Trump
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OPINION
Τrump and Erdogan
The ruling class, and the political class in general, in Greece has been disturbed by the praise US President-elect Donald Trump heaped on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recognizing Turkey’s intervention and involvement in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad as a positive development.
It is inaccurate, as Trump claimed, that the Ottoman presence in the region spanned 2,000 years. On August 24, 1516, Sultan Selim I won the first decisive battle near Aleppo in modern-day Syria against the Shiite forces of Persia. Within two years, after conquering Damascus and Jerusalem, he defeated the Mamluk armies in Gaza and Egypt.
The Ottoman Empire ceased to exist a century ago. The last caliph of Islam, Abdulmecid II, was deposed in 1924 and settled in Paris. Trump is well aware of all that. He also understands that the situation he inherits in the Middle East is, quite literally, out of control.
The 2003 US war against Iraq not only led to the fragmentation of the country but also contributed to the rise of Shiite Iran as the leading Islamic power. The US and its key allies’ support for the Arab Spring resulted in Western military interventions in Libya and Syria, which yielded chaotic consequences. Trump, however, has no intention of engaging militarily in the Middle East. He is a staunch supporter of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump certainly believes that, with decisive US support, Israel has dealt significant blows to Hamas’ military wing, Hezbollah and Iran. However, as a politician, he does not intend to let Netanyahu act without constraints. That is a right he reserves for himself alone.
Hence, there is a need for a political counterbalance. The reactions in support of Palestinians at US universities are troubling, and the same applies on a larger scale in Europe. The largest Arab country by population, Egypt, has neither the capacity nor the inclination to take on this role.
This leaves Turkey, the only NATO Muslim country with a historical understanding of the region. Erdogan is a fierce critic of Netanyahu. However, unlike in Christian Europe, Jews were never persecuted in the Ottoman Empire or Kemalist Turkey, where they found a safe haven. If there are excesses from Turkey, Trump knows how to engage with Erdogan. Netanyahu is concerned about Turkey’s rise, but as he is completely dependent on the US, he will adjust. As Lord Palmerston once said: “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual.” This seems to align with Trump’s perspective as well.
