On a parallel track, NATO has been running the Mediterranean Dialogue program since 1994. Partners include Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan and Israel. In 2012, Libya was invited to join. Under the terms of this dialogue, NATO now has Individual Cooperation Programmes(ICP) with Israel, Egypt and Jordan. The Israeli ICP will see it contributing to the NATO naval patrol in the Eastern Mediterranean - Operation Active Endeavour.
In this context, it is no coincidence that since the collapse of the socialist bloc the regimes in the Middle East that have been eliminated by the 'international community' were anti-imperialist regimes that restricted access to international capital, maintained national and social control of energy resources, and opposed Euro-Atlanticist military and political hegemony. Only Syria and Iran now remain as unambiguous antagonists of the project. The 2011 rising against Assad provided the opportunity for the Euro-Atlanticist bloc to sponsor and promote an attack on the Syrian regime for strategic and geopolitical reasons.
But what is Turkey's role in this? The AKP regime has not enjoyed a particularly close relationship with NATO or even the EU, despite imminent accession.
Certainly, Turkey's importance to NATO has declined since the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, it was critical as the southern flank of the NATO encirclement of the Eastern Bloc. This is why Turkey was able to be remain a NATO member despite the on-going war with Kurdish separatism and the invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
With the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe, Turkey's role has diminished. It is now just one of three NATO members on the Black Sea. The other two, Bulgaria and Romania, host the US Joint Task Force East program, which includes a permanent US military presence and on-going joint training exercises. Turkey opposed both this venture as well as a plan to expand Operation Active Endeavour into the Black Sea. The AKP has also been at pains to point out that Turkish participation in NATO operations in Iraq and Afghanistan does not include combat troops. Added to all this, relations between Turkey and Israel are currently at an all-time low. Turkey was the first Muslim country to recognise the State of Israel, but under the AKP regime events such as the 2009/9 Gaza war, the 2010 Gaza Flotilla raid, and alleged Turkish involvement in the exposure of Israeli agents in Iran in 2013, have significantly soured relations. Alongside this there is greater Turkish openness to Russia - a significant geopolitical opponent of the Euro-Atlanticist bloc. Turkey is a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation and has signed numerous economic and visa-free travel agreements with Russia.
Turkey's major trading partner is now the EU, but at the same time that the Turkish regime is seeking full EU membership it is also carving out an increasingly independent role in regional and global affairs, with a particular interest in the nations of the former Ottoman empire. This has led analysts to describe AKP policy as a form of neo-Ottomanism. It should also be noted that the AKP have strong links to the Islamist strand in Turkish politics. Recep Erdogan was himself a member of the Islamist National Salvation Party and the Islamist Welfare Party. In 1999 he served 4 months in prison for reciting an Islamist poem in public. The AKP/Erdogan regime is commonly associated with the Islamic Brotherhood, and enjoyed good relations with the Morsi regime in Egypt. Whilst the label is not entirely accurate, there are Sunni Islamist elements in the AKP that are broadly aligned with the Islamic Brotherhood.
In light of this, should Turkey's war against the Syrian regime be seen as part of the Euro-Atlanticist geopolitical project for the Middle East, or should it be seen as part of a neo-Ottoman policy of reviving Turkey's role as a regional power while furthering the Islamist cause?
The answer seems to be - both. Turkey is pursuing a regional neo-Ottoman Islamist agenda and at the same time serving Euro-Atlanticist geopolitical interests.
The AKP regime has a direct, national interest in the outcome of a civil war played out on its southern border. The regime is a major sponsor of the rebellion, and is not making any noticeable efforts to focus its support exclusively on the 'liberal' factions, such as the Syrian National Council, based in Istanbul. Turkey is directly sponsoring, aiding and abetting the radical Islamist elements that have come increasingly to the fore in the war and that, on the ground, dominate the opposition to the Syrian regime. The AKP regime as a whole is clearly working for the overthrow of the Assad regime and the institution of a regime that is more amenable to Turkish interests. Islamist elements in the AKP, with roots in the banned Welfare Party, also have an ideological commitment to eliminating the last bastion of post-colonial secular socialism in the Arab world and furthering the Islamist cause.
However, whilst pursuing its own national and ideological interests, the AKP regime is also serving the geopolitical interests of the Euro-Atlanticist bloc, which require that the Assad regime be eliminated as an obstacle to Euro-Atlanticist hegemony in the Middle East. Furthermore, by eliminating the Assad regime, a significant state supporter of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime would be removed, stabilising Lebanon, strengthening Israel, and preparing the ground for the end-game confrontation with Iran.
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