Sarajevo, Beirut, Damascus, Ramallah Won With Erdogan

"Believe me, Sarajevo won today as much as Istanbul. Beirut won as much as Izmir; Damascus won as much as Ankara; Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, the West Bank and Jerusalem won as much as Dyarbakir", Recep Tayyip Erdodan crowed when he delivered his victory speech on his third consecutive national election win.

Ah, those WikiLeaks, making life edgily difficult for diplomats whose secret missives have now become discussion fodder for the common folk. Telling us things that we may already have observed through careful follow-up of the news as it is disgorged day by day. Particularly of late, in a restive world where East keeps banging its petulant nose against the stability of the West's more sturdy, even-tempered chin.

Isn't it then, a surprise to heard that Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a haughty autocrat with a thin skin and a sense of himself as being infallible, his decrees inviolable, his riotous anger justified. A ruler, in effect, who has circled himself with an "iron ring of sycophants (but contemptuous) advisors", understanding little beyond Ankara, and who foster "exceptionally dangerous", "neo-Ottoman Islamist fantasies".

Precisely. Well put. Quite an excellent summation. Give that man a cigar.

Erdogan has distinguished himself as a capable politician. His party, first by careful stealth, then with growing confidence, has been in charge of a growing economy. His party has also, first stealthily, then with a clarified self-assurance, began distancing itself and the country from a historical alliance with the State of Israel, claiming itself more pure in intent and practise than the other.

Israel attempts to protect its population from constant attacks from militant (read terrorist) Palestinians representing all manner of violent factions from Fatah to Hamas, none of which have any intention of recognizing the legal reality of the existence of Israel a Jewish state, all of which insist on destroying Israel so the Palestinians may once again 'own' the geography.

Turkey refuses to admit it conspired to destroy Armenians in a mass, violent slaughter. Its ongoing argument with Greece over the disputed territory in Cyprus mark it as a country that invites the prospect of violence. And its brutal repression of the Kurds, the world's largest ethnic group without a country of their own, distinguishes Turkey as a human rights violator; it protects its territory, while violating the rights of its own citizens.

While the world sits in apprehension over the long-range plans of the Islamic Republic of Iran which is determined to create and own their own nuclear weaponry, just as Pakistan did, to become the second Muslim country to proudly boast of its destructive potential, threatening its neighbours and the stability of the geography, Turkey, although a member of NATO, applauds the exploits of official Iran.

Turkey has refused the consensus opinion of the UN special investigation into the Mavi Marmora incident where Turkish thugs were killed by Israeli naval personnel who had been violently set upon by those thugs. That opinion being that Turkey should have made more of an effort to dissuade its nationals from their rash and dangerous intention, and emphasizing that Israel was within its rights in its response. The blockade of Gaza is internationally justified.

Turkey refuses to acknowledge the Greek Cypriot government, despite that it is internationally recognized. Erdogan has visited the 'Arab Spring' countries of Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen to congratulate its citizens for throwing off the yoke of dictatorship, extolling the virtues of democracy. Arab-style democracy brought Hamas to Gaza, and Hezbollah to Lebanon, both utter social, civil, economic, failures.

Revelling in his growing popularity on the Arab street because of his approval rating resulting from casting Turkey's traditional relationship with Israel aside, he has felt empowered to challenge Greece and Israel militarily in the Mediterranean, claiming that he has ordered jet fighters, frigates and torpedo boats to patrol those waters where gas exploration is being conducted.