Worked-Up Turkey Leans Toward One of Its Two Worlds

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ANKARA, Turkey - In 2008, when I last visited this hilly capital city in the Anatolian heartland, I talked with top officials about their efforts to mediate between Israel and Syria.

What a difference two years make. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warmly embraced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and voted against Iran sanctions. And he's become a bitter critic of Israel after its 2009 invasion of Gaza and its raid last spring on a Turkish aid ship trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza; eight Turks and one Turkish-American were killed, shocking Turks of all political outlooks.

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Extract

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Worked-Up Turkey Leans Toward One of Its Two Worlds

This shift has raised doubts in Washington about the political direction of this secular Muslim state that spans Europe and Asia. It has also spawned exaggerated claims that Erdogan has joined a Tehran-Damas...

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