This is especially true when we have been entertaining such an ambitious foreign policy for the last eight years. Turkey must take the lead, build the necessary diplomatic consensus /coalition and communicate in a way that leaves Damascus in no doubt that Turkey will no longer stand by while Syrian security forces kill their own citizens. One of the first available options is to make clear that Turkey might abandon Syria diplomatically and seek an international coalition/consensus to pressure Damascus into desirable action. There are other tools in the toolbox such as sanctions.
Turkey should not become hostage to the Iranian-Saudi rivalry in the region. Every proposed action meets an angry response from either side and simply limits policy options. Despite the vocal and eager pro-Iranian lobby in this country Turkey will have to act from an Ankara perspective. If it is true that a very harsh Iranian message has been communicated to Ankara recently, then we are entering a new phase of rivalry between Turkey and Iran not necessarily confined to Syria. Regardless of what is happening externally with regard to Syria, what really matters are internal Syrian developments. As long as the protests continue and gruesome footage continues to make waves, Turkey’s doves will have more difficulty in promoting the “caution line.”
American neocons inflicted great damage to the idea of democracy and intervention in the name of liberty and human rights. They have so excessively tainted these ideas that it has become almost impossible to engage in a neutral discourse on this. I am in favor of Turkey taking a tougher stance because I feel Turkey should not support a minority dictatorship that kills its own citizens in broad daylight.
Secondly, Turkey’s regional weight and reputation is on the line. What makes Turkey special in the region is its regional identity, which is based on certain values -- democracy and human rights are some of them. Not only do Turkish products give us the soft power we have, our values do too. Yes, we are imperfect in all areas, and it is a continuing struggle to improve, but having said that, it is what makes us who we are. If we are not to defend these values in Syria, where and when will we? What would make us different from other regional countries if we simply see the violence in Syria as an internal Syrian affair, or buy the Damascus line that these are all Salafists who infiltrated the country, wreaking havoc?
There is every indication that the Syrian protests are broadening their base to include the Syrian middle class now, too. Even in the wealthy suburbs of Damascus and the business community in Aleppo there are signs that cracks are forming. For Turkey there are two issues at stake here. One is the humanitarian, human rights issue, and there is little doubt that that has its own merits. The second one is Turkey’s neighborhood policy and Turkey’s regional weight and credibility. The latter concerns me. If we do not play this right, we risk losing valuable influence and power that has been accumulated over the last eight years. As a country that has ambitions to build a new order, we simply should not support a minority dictatorship that sees itself as equal to Turkey. It is time that Turkey take a harder line.
