Erdogan Good Will Tour--Even A Teleprompter Wouldn't Help

FM Davutoglu co-opted his critics' derisive term for his personalized foreign policy, saying, "Yes, we are the New Ottomans." In so doing, he made coherent the past six years of Turkish foreign policy, which has seen an intensive interest in being part of peace negotiations stretching from Bosnia through Palestine to Afghanistan, the opening of embassies throughout much of Africa, and rapprochement with previous rivals, such as Iran, Syria, and Armenia.
Wikileaks [emphasis added]

Like Iran, Turkey too is looking to revive past glory--in this case, the lost glory of the Ottoman Empire. Along those lines, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is on a tour of the Middle East, presenting Turkey as a friend and benefactor.

But according to Haaretz, maybe Erdogan should keep in mind that many Arabs do not look kindly upon what the Ottoman Empire did to them:

Despite the frequent applause by the Arab League foreign ministers, some faces must have blanched when Erdogan said: "The Turks and the Arabs are linked by brotherhood for hundreds of years. We share the same culture and the same faith ..."

Collective memory in Arab countries has not forgotten Ottoman rule, which is blamed for the backwardness of the Arab world. An Ottoman sultanate or modern Turkey are not quite what the protesters in Tahrir Square longed for. That might be the reason that Al Jazeera twice interrupted the broadcast of Erdogan's speech.

But if he turned off the Arab street with its condescending reference to past Arab history, the Palestine Press News Agency reports that Erdogan also managed to turn of the Muslim Brotherhood as well in his speech to the Arab League:

(I call on Egyptians to build Egypt's secular) This is the shocking sentence uttered by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Ordegan in his speech to the League of Arab States, where he confirmed that secularism is the solution to the Egyptian state to solve its problems.

This sentence was a great shock to the Islamists in Egypt, mainly belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom Party and justice, especially as there have been previous statements by party leaders and the group of [being] impressed [by] the model of Turkey and the ruling Justice and Development Party there...[hat tip: Elder of Ziyon]

The Haaretz article claims that "Erdogan is no Turkish Obama."

I don't know.
Maybe Erdogan's problem is that he is.

And Erdogan's tour has just begun!

The errors are just a minor setback--he can also climb back onto the saddle.

On second thought...

Technorati Tag: Turkey and Erdogan.