Axis Shift?

In the 1990s, America, Canada and Europe shared 60 percent of the world economy; however, in 2009, this number dropped to 49 percent. If there were no financial crisis, the economists wouldn't have expected this 60 percent to drop to what it is now until 2015.

“The G-20 countries, such as China, Brazil, India and Turkey, who are on the rise, are taking the power away from the G-8 countries that control the world economy.”*

A world economy where countries, including Turkey, which is a regional leader and a controlling force according to Davutoglu, are rising in economic and political power is a very exciting thing for me.

This is an exciting thing because Turkey is gaining vision and dynamism.

In a fact, during the past ten years, Turkey’s active trade jumped from $20 billion to above $100 billion; most exports are now to outside of the European Union.

The most trade takes place with the fast-growing market in the Muslim world! This is a proud accomplishment for Turkey.

To the West Rational, to the East Emotional

Just a vision is not enough; there shouldn’t be any accidents on the way and we need to be careful.

In the U.N., Turkey’s veto seems like an accident to me. Of course, Turkey needs to explore the Middle East and support Palestine. We have to have a good relationship with Iran as well. Turkey is going to choose a diplomatic path for the exploration of the Middle East. Instead of just turning to the West like in the Cold War era, Turkey is going to turn to both the East and the West. My only worry comes from one observation. The Turkish government is rational in its movement towards the West, which is a smart, effective move; however, Turkey takes an emotional approach to the East, using anger, excitement and sometimes tears.

I do not doubt that these emotions are real; I have these emotions about the East as well. However, being too emotional is going to take Turkey off track and can cause small accidents on the way to becoming a leader. The neocons in America and Israeli propaganda are trying to group Turkey with Hamas and Iran. They are painting the AKP as “Islamist Fascists,” which is an old neocon propaganda trick.

The Picture of Iran and Hamas

Because of recent events, Turkey seems to be getting closer to Hamas and Iran, and Turkey’s veto in the U.N. gave the neocons a chance to make better propaganda!

Of course we couldn’t remove our signature from the Tehran Treaty; the right thing would have been to not attend the U.N. conference and explain the reason to the world. We participated in the Tehran Treaty to promote America and the West; we opened up the diplomatic road, and because of this used our veto in the U.N. against Iran. Turkey being a NATO country and America’s ally are the reasons we can’t say “no;” we are just going to abstain.

An attitude like this would have been the perfect answer for the neocons and the Israeli propaganda machine, but using the veto will also help out the neocons and the Israelis.

Balance Adjustment

Balance in the world is changing in the long term, but the importance of the West is not going anywhere. Look at Russia with their “Medvedev Doctrine;” they are getting closer to the West and acting in parallel without affecting their national politics. Even though they sold rockets and nuclear technology to Iran, they still accepted the embargo against Iran. This is an important factor for Turkey; Robert Gates stated that the “Sarkozy-Merkel Europe is excluding Turkey.”* Turkey’s balance is not off, but we need a balance for our foreign policy. Turkey should signal that it cannot get away from the West, and the stubborn Europeans should be smart about it. In a globalized economy, Turkey should be a bridge between the West and the East. Turkey will add more dynamism to the elderly Europe, and can show the importance of peace and democracy to the East; this will create more opportunities for Turkey, as it should.


*Editor’s Note: This quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.