Turkey is losing its ally in Egypt - and quickly losing influence in the Mideast
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed to rile the Brotherhood when, shortly after the revolution, he suggested they adopt the Turkish model in which a religious head of state presides over a secular state. Turkey, the members of the Brotherhood said, is not a useful model for Egypt. But after Morsi was deposed, and especially since the armys massacre of demonstrators, Erdogan has spearheaded protests against the military coup, demanding that Morsi be returned to power.
On Tuesday it seemed that Erdogans anger over the loss of the most friendly Egyptian regime to Turkey in a decade had driven him crazy. He resorted to Protocols of the Elders of Zion-esque nonsense to try to sully the name of the Egyptian army, declaring that the coup is the result of a conspiracy between the Egyptian military and Israel, citing proof from a Jewish intellectual (Bernard-Henri Levy) from two years ago. He was thus revealed as a prisoner of concepts typical of anti-Semitic thinkers who laid the groundwork for the despicable idea that Jews control everything and run the world.
Erdogan burns with anger every time it is hinted that he is anti-Semitic, and he quickly presents proof from Turkeys long history that it helped the Jews. He stresses that his government is doing everything to protect the Jewish community in Turkey. This time, though, it seems he will have trouble persuading even his own supporters that he only meant the political aspect of the conspiracy.
Such statements certainly do not help the Muslim Brotherhood, but Erdogan - whose declarations have already created a deep rift between Egypt and Turkey - seems to think Turkey no longer has anything to lose.
The outcome is that Turkeys leader, the man who wants to influence the Middle East, is taking Turkey out of the circle of decision makers in the region.