The Middle East Media Sampler 2/27/2012: Iran vs Turkey

From DG:

1) Brotherhood aids SCAF

This is something I've written about before. It's nice to see someone else mention it explicitly. An analysis in MEMRI is titled, Crisis between Egypt, U.S. Deepens over American Funding to Civil Society Organizations – Part II: The Islamists Join the Government/SCAF Campaign against the U.S.:

In February 2012, the anti-U.S. campaign was joined by Egypt's Islamists. Though they had previously made it a point to avoid any direct dispute with the U.S., as Egypt's conflict with the latter intensified they could no longer remain on the fence. Senior officials in the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) Freedom and Justice party, for example, warned that any cuts in U.S. aid would be met with a review of Egypt's peace agreement with Israel, as U.S. aid was a condition of the agreement. Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, deputy to MB General Guide Muhammad Badi', claimed that U.S. Ambassador to Cairo Anne Patterson was striving to incite fitna (civil strife) in Egypt, just as she had committed crimes in Pakistan. He added that Egypt had no need for U.S. aid, which he described as tainted and as an impediment to a free Egypt.

Likewise, Egypt's Salafi circles could no longer remain neutral on the issue. Salafi Sheikh Muhammad Hassan, formerly close to Mubarak and currently to the SCAF, launched an initiative to raise donations for the purpose of helping support Egypt's economy so that it would not have to rely on U.S. aid. The initiative won avid support among the Egyptian public; Egyptian businesses, both large and small; Egyptian businessmen and workers, who contributed portions of their salary; Egyptian banks, which paid their taxes early; and even prisoners.[8] The initiative was even taken up by the sheikh of Al-Azhar.[9]

Barry Rubin, for a while, has been writing that the Islamists, despite Western claims otherwise, has been working with the military to stifle dissent. The Muslim Brotherhood's support of the military crackdown on NGO's is the latest (and perhaps most blatant) example of this alliance.

2) Iran isolated

Netherlands Wants NATO To Reconsider Turkey's Membership

Looks like the Netherlands wants Turkey to go Dutch treat--at the very least, the Netherlands does not think Turkey can be trusted to be a member of NATO

The Dutch Freedom Party, the Netherlands’s third largest political party, urged the Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministries last week to reconsider Turkey’s continued membership in NATO.

Does Iran's Warning Mean It And Turkey Are Edging Towards A Showdown?

Two of the most aggressive Middle East countries today are Turkey and Iran, working on increasing their power and influence in the region.
Along the way, Ahmadinejad and Erdogan use many of the same tactics: both make threats against Israel a staple of their speeches, both make a point of sending out their navy as a show of their power--they even have both made overtures to Egypt.

But they differ in key ways too.
Iran is run by a theocratic regime; Turkey claims to be more secular.
Iran needs the Syrian regime to remain; Turkey has made clear that it opposes Assad.

So it's not surprising that Iran has threatened Turkey it better watch what it is doing:

Iran Sees New Opportunity for Regional Domination Despite Turkish Competition

This is not to say that Iran sees an opportunity to share the region--on the contrary, Iran and Turkey are going to be competing for domination in the Middle East. That is a good thing, especially since the current policy of the Obama administration appears to "lead from behind"

Iran Sees New Opportunity for Regional Domination Despite Turkish Competition

Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall

• The Iranian political-military leadership has argued that the protest movement in the Arab world draws its inspiration from Iran's Islamic Revolution. In the Iranian conceptual lexicon, one does not encounter the concept of the "Arab Spring" that is so prevalent in Arab and Western political discourse. Instead, Iran has coined the term "Islamic awakening," which also reflects Iran's policy, course of action, and aspirations.

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:

Will The New Ottomans Clash With The New Persians?

From Wikileaks, we learn about Turkey's aspirations in the Middle East to revive the Ottoman Empire as the New Ottomans:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001717

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR TU
SUBJECT: FM DAVUTOGLU: YES, WE ARE THE NEW OTTOMANS

REF: A. ANKARA 1688
¶B. ANKARA 1618
¶C. ANKARA 1651

Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, for reasons 1.4(b,d)

¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a recent speech before the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) retreat, Turkey's Foreign Minister Davutoglu appeared to embrace the concept of Neo-Ottomanism as a framework for Turkish foreign policy. Though Davutoglu and the MFA have tried to step back from the statement (which they insist was taken out of context), the concept reinforces Turkey's aspirations to re-engage estranged neighbors and to serve as mediator in conflicts in the Middle East and the Balkans -- particularly coming so soon after Davutoglu's Sarajevo speech, which raised some hackles in the region. It also leaves AKP open to criticisms of "creeping" Islamization, naivete, and anti-Westernism. END SUMMARY.

¶2. (C) Twice yearly, AKP party leaders and members of parliament meet at Kizilcahamam for a consultative retreat to go over party policies and the state of Turkey in a relaxed, informal environment. At the most recent retreat, held November 21 and 22, 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.

Ahmadinejad And Erdogan: Separated At Birth?

It's getting to the point that it is getting increasingly difficult to tell Ahamadinejad and Erdogan apart.

o Both Ahmadinejad and Erdogan are sending their navy out Israel's way.
o Both Ahmadinejad and Erdogan are improving their ties with Egypt.
o And of course both make a point of being publicly hostile towards Israel, making threats:

• Ahmadinejad has been doing this for years--as far back as October 2005.
• Erdogan is still trying to get up to speed.

It's almost as if Erdogan and Ahmadinejad were separated at birth...