An interesting narrative has been emerging from the Arab world since the tragic Israeli boarding of a flotilla of vessels seeking to break the blockade of Gaza: By taking the lead in challenging Israel, Turkey has embarrassed Arab rulers by exposing them as impotent lackeys of the United States.
After yesterday’s article from the Palestinians headlined, Blockade of Gaza Shows Arabs are a ‘Dead Nation’ Under American Control, K. Selim of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran, writes that Turkey has taught compliant Arab leaders that ‘blind alignment with the Americans is a dead end.’
Amid the general stupor and stammering pseudo-condemnations of Western defenders of human rights, only the voice of Turkey is clearly perceptible. The Turks, through their prime minister and foreign minister, reiterated their demand for an investigation by an international commission – with the support of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
The Turks have made lifting the blockade a precondition for a resumption of normal relations with Israel. The great dignity and firmness of Turkish officials have been perfectly calibrated to the international crisis provoked by Israeli terrorists.
The Turkish lesson to Arab “moderates” is a stark one. Democratic Turkey, a key member of NATO and traditional ally of the United States, shows a degree of autonomy which those who aspire to leadership in the Arab world are far from showing. In this grim landscape of capitulation, the reopening of the Rafah crossing [Egypt into the Gaza Strip] is the bare minimum that must absolutely be maintained. The Turkish position demonstrates that blind alignment with the Americans is a dead end.
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