Cover of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Ottoman empire map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dr Alf is correct, the Jerusalem Post has made a telling and incisive analysis of where Erdogan, the Muslim Brotherhood of which he is a member, and Turkey as a nation, are attempting to position themselves.

TURKEY under Erdogan is attempting to be all things to all people:

–A NATO member and friend to America

–A bridge between the West and the East in terms of trade and commerce

–Against terrorists and for stability

–A would be member of the EU

–A close partner with Germany

–A country that would like money from the new BRICS bank (he met Vladimir Putin to ask for money)

–A country that wants to overthrow Syria and recreate the lost Ottoman Empire, having lost it 96 years ago following defeat in World War 1 at the hands of the British and Commonwealth troops

–A country that is in league with ISIS and sees them as a vehicle towards greater regional ambition

Turkey needs to attend to its own economic affairs and stop trying to imagine a greater role for itself running the recreated Ottoman Empire.

It is not going to be allowed to join the EU, which is essentially a Christian club and needs to make progress on improving the well-being and prosperity of its people.

The Jerusalem Post likens Turkey to a woman who has upset too many lovers only to find that nobody trusts or loves her anymore.

My prognosis is that Turkey cannot be trusted and needs to be watched carefully.

Beyond that, Erdogan is long past his sell-by date and, like a worn tyre, needs to be reconstituted into something less useless and then be replaced with someone more in tune with our interests.

John Gelmini