I was still onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited Turkey. According to the Armed Forces Network, Panetta was full of praise for Turkey and its role in the region.
Unfortunately, the more the Obama administration puffs up Turkey, the more Turkish officials see a green light to encourage radicalism and bash Israel. On the same day as Panetta’s visit, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu bragged, “It is our policies which made Israel kneel down in the region in front of us. We have always sided with people who demand democracy, not with authoritarian and oppressive regimes.”
In Turkey, up is down and right is wrong. Turkey may be a model, but rather than be one for democracy, its anti-Israel and anti-Semitic leadership is instead transforming it into a model for incitement and Israel-bashing which makes that in Egypt and Saudi Arabia look mild.
Leon Panetta was far more effective as Director of the C.I.A., a post that required him to keep his mouth shut and stay out of the spotlight.
How telling that the only world leader at the recent G-20 meeting physically embraced by Obama was Turkey's Erdogan. One would think they were long lost brothers. Turkey is clearly Obama's favorite country in the region, and he has not an unkind word to say about them.
and Panetta's fawning over Turkey is a surprise, considering who he works for?
Same administration that cut Israel loose over the Mavi Marmara and then carried Erdogan's water and suggested that Bibi shelve the UN report that embarrassed Turkey and vindicated Israel. No news here.