Moscow's Envious Eyes
As I have written earlier, it is my belief that Turkey will not be allowed to join the nascent European Union because of historical, cultural and religious obstacles that are politically impassable for a Turkish descent into a new Europe. The political and intellectual elites both in Turkey and Europe want Ankara to join the EU but the reality simply is too stark for this dream to come true. Well, for Ankara, there is always Russia.
From the Guardian:
During the Cold War, Turkey's Black Sea coast was the site of U.S. radar stations that looked across the sea into Russia to snoop on the Soviet fleet and nuclear missile tests.
Now, Russian gas warms the Turkish capital, and Moscow is this NATO ally's second largest trading partner.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Turkey's Black Sea coast Thursday for a ceremony to inaugurate a $3.2 billion pipeline, another sign of Russia's growing economic influence in Turkey, ties that are so strong that a Turkish general once proposed that Turkey consider an alliance with Russia instead of the European Union.
Ah yes, Turkey sits astride the worlds highways of commerce, politics and religion which may ultimately become a catalyst for war as the tectonic plates of ancient civilizations grind against each other from Catholic Europe and Orthodox Russia to a seething Arabian Islam and an outnumbered and besieged Jewish state hated and reviled by all. Once Turkey is fully rejected by Europe, will she turn towards Mecca or Moscow?
Washington had balked at proposals to build the pipeline and has warned Turkey about its dependence on Russia, which now supplies 60 percent of the country's gas and 20 percent of its oil.
But Turkish officials say that in a world of tight gas supplies they have little choice but to increase their dependence on Russia, which produces almost as much oil as Saudi Arabia.
And being so close to key energy producers is fueling Turkish ambitions to use its strategic location to become a global energy conduit.
Considering that Russia also supplies nearly 25% of Europes natural gas it becomes painfully clear that Russia may turn its strategic goals south to dominate the Middle East as its trump card over Western Europe and America. Perhaps even going so far as to militarily invade and occupy the simmering cauldron of the Middle East. Would Turkey oppose Moscow or simply open the gates of the Bosphorous to the Russian Crimean Fleet to invest the Eastern Medeterranian in its bid at world rulership vis a vis occupation of Southwest Asia and Egypt? Have I treaded too far into the future to know with certitude the above scenario? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to lobby Putin to support a Turkish project that would extend that pipeline to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, where Russian oil could then be exported to the West, a Turkish official said.
The pipeline could even be extended undersea to Israel, a project that the leaders will also discuss, the official added on condition of anonymity because Turkish officials are not permitted to speak to the press without prior authorization. The meeting says ``Samsun is not the end of the energy line, but the start of it,'' said Soner Cagaptay, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The pipeline ceremony will also highlight growing business ties between the two countries and their burgeoning political relationship. Erdogan and Putin have met five times since Erdogan's party took control of parliament in 2002 and trade with Russia is expected to reach $15 billion this year.
``Having this kind of high profile meeting sends a discrete message to Washington and Brussels that Turkey has other options,'' said Bulent Aliriza, an analyst with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
But he added that ``we're still far away from the point where Turkey might want to exercise that option, not that Russia would not want to nudge Turkey down that path.''
The Cold War is over but we are in a new era yet to be named. America inhereted the responsiblities of the Anglo Empire after World War II when Britain no longer could financially and militarily sustain itself and now old enemies and well as Europes' restive colonies have taken their own separate pathes to ascert themselves in new directions at the expense of the good graces of London and Washington.
Many Turks have grown increasingly frustrated with Europe's ambivalence toward accepting the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. In 2002, a top Turkish general said that Turkey's efforts to join the EU were doomed to failure and Turkey should look toward gas-rich Russia and Iran for alliances.
Gen. Tuncer Kilinc - at the time head of the powerful National Security Council - said that Turkey needed new allies and it would be ``useful if Turkey engages in a search that would involve Russia and Iran.''
Behold, the future!
From the Guardian:
During the Cold War, Turkey's Black Sea coast was the site of U.S. radar stations that looked across the sea into Russia to snoop on the Soviet fleet and nuclear missile tests.
Now, Russian gas warms the Turkish capital, and Moscow is this NATO ally's second largest trading partner.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Turkey's Black Sea coast Thursday for a ceremony to inaugurate a $3.2 billion pipeline, another sign of Russia's growing economic influence in Turkey, ties that are so strong that a Turkish general once proposed that Turkey consider an alliance with Russia instead of the European Union.
Ah yes, Turkey sits astride the worlds highways of commerce, politics and religion which may ultimately become a catalyst for war as the tectonic plates of ancient civilizations grind against each other from Catholic Europe and Orthodox Russia to a seething Arabian Islam and an outnumbered and besieged Jewish state hated and reviled by all. Once Turkey is fully rejected by Europe, will she turn towards Mecca or Moscow?
Washington had balked at proposals to build the pipeline and has warned Turkey about its dependence on Russia, which now supplies 60 percent of the country's gas and 20 percent of its oil.
But Turkish officials say that in a world of tight gas supplies they have little choice but to increase their dependence on Russia, which produces almost as much oil as Saudi Arabia.
And being so close to key energy producers is fueling Turkish ambitions to use its strategic location to become a global energy conduit.
Considering that Russia also supplies nearly 25% of Europes natural gas it becomes painfully clear that Russia may turn its strategic goals south to dominate the Middle East as its trump card over Western Europe and America. Perhaps even going so far as to militarily invade and occupy the simmering cauldron of the Middle East. Would Turkey oppose Moscow or simply open the gates of the Bosphorous to the Russian Crimean Fleet to invest the Eastern Medeterranian in its bid at world rulership vis a vis occupation of Southwest Asia and Egypt? Have I treaded too far into the future to know with certitude the above scenario? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to lobby Putin to support a Turkish project that would extend that pipeline to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, where Russian oil could then be exported to the West, a Turkish official said.
The pipeline could even be extended undersea to Israel, a project that the leaders will also discuss, the official added on condition of anonymity because Turkish officials are not permitted to speak to the press without prior authorization. The meeting says ``Samsun is not the end of the energy line, but the start of it,'' said Soner Cagaptay, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The pipeline ceremony will also highlight growing business ties between the two countries and their burgeoning political relationship. Erdogan and Putin have met five times since Erdogan's party took control of parliament in 2002 and trade with Russia is expected to reach $15 billion this year.
``Having this kind of high profile meeting sends a discrete message to Washington and Brussels that Turkey has other options,'' said Bulent Aliriza, an analyst with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
But he added that ``we're still far away from the point where Turkey might want to exercise that option, not that Russia would not want to nudge Turkey down that path.''
The Cold War is over but we are in a new era yet to be named. America inhereted the responsiblities of the Anglo Empire after World War II when Britain no longer could financially and militarily sustain itself and now old enemies and well as Europes' restive colonies have taken their own separate pathes to ascert themselves in new directions at the expense of the good graces of London and Washington.
Many Turks have grown increasingly frustrated with Europe's ambivalence toward accepting the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. In 2002, a top Turkish general said that Turkey's efforts to join the EU were doomed to failure and Turkey should look toward gas-rich Russia and Iran for alliances.
Gen. Tuncer Kilinc - at the time head of the powerful National Security Council - said that Turkey needed new allies and it would be ``useful if Turkey engages in a search that would involve Russia and Iran.''
Behold, the future!
posted by Bruce R. McConnell | 10:30 AM
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