Iran, like all other countries in the region, was taken aback by the eruption of the Arab Spring. It tried to celebrate it, and rejoiced when some of its opponents were overthrown. Iran spoke of the need to respect the will of the people. But Iran's attempt to reconcile itself with the sudden wave stumbled when the Arab Spring reached the Syrian stop. And Tehran does not need to be reminded that those who flocked to the public squares of this or that capital, had not been inspired by its model, and had not reached into the slogans of its revolution. Turkey, like all other countries in the region, was also taken aback by the eruption of the Arab Spring. Turkey paused, thought and revised its positions. It discovered that it is the country best poised to withstand the earthquake and perhaps even invest in its twists and turns. A party with Islamist roots ruling under a secular constitution, and drawing its legitimacy from the ballot boxes in uncontested free and fair multi-party elections. A country that has forged a moderate Middle Eastern and Islamist discourse, without forsaking its NATO umbrella. A country that can claim that its economic policies have borne fruit, and that its growth rates have taken it from one position to another altogether different. Thus, Turkey chose to embrace the Arab Spring. Based on these Turkish calculations, Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to examine some of the arenas of the Arab Spring. His appearance in Cairo was reminiscent of that of Barack Obama there two years ago. True, Turkey is not the United States. But Turkey speaks in its capacity as a part and parcel of the region and its culture, and on the basis of its ability to understand this complex part of the world, the aspirations of its people, and the reasons behind their frustrations. It can be said that Erdogan was brilliant in the way he addressed both hearts and minds. He warned those who wager on brute force to suppress the legitimate demands of their peoples. He said that Mohammed Bouazizi ‘reminded the world once again of the value of human honor'. Erdogan's message was clear in this regard. A call for building a state that accommodates all its constituents, who are supposed to live together under institutions and respect for the law. As he is aware of the position that the Palestinian Cause occupies in the hearts of the Arabs, Erdogan played this tune brilliantly. He spoke about Palestine as being a cause ‘for all those who support justice and dignity', and criticized Israel while stressing that ‘it will not come out of its isolation unless it behaves as a sensible, responsible, serious and normal state'. Erdogan had paved the way for his appearance by downgrading relations with the Hebrew state, and condemned its continued disrespect for international resolutions. It is not without significance here that Erdogan was speaking from Egypt, the country that lost – through the Camp David agreement – its claim to champion Palestinian rights, passing on the baton instead to the Iranian revolution that day, which has taken advantage of it to this day, and to the fullest. In truth, the fact that Turkey has embraced this issue today is a message in more than one direction. Erdogan also used his Egyptian stop to announce a kind of a divorce in his country's relations with the Syrian authorities, after a years-long honeymoon and relations that were described as special and strategic. Those who have followed the relations between the two countries know that the criticisms made by Erdogan against President Bashar al-Assad's credibility mean that Turkey is gearing up to play a bigger role in applying pressure on the Syrian regime. With regard to this particular point, one could talk about a double message addressed to Damascus and Tehran simultaneously, while noting that Ankara continues to engage the latter regarding the future of the Syrian situation, despite Iran's uneasiness vis-à-vis Turkey's decision to host the NATO radar system. Amid the great turmoil in the regional landscape, Turkey is presenting its credentials as a major local country. It has a model that the countries of the Arab Spring can benefit from, even if reproducing it is not possible because of different parameters. Turkey also has a realistic policy that is in line with the times and international standards, and has a strong army and is a member of NATO. Thus, Turkey is presenting itself as a regionally needed player, and as a power capable of serving the cause of stability and Western interests in the region. And whenever Iran has tried to circumvent Israel with its missile siege policy, Turkey circumvents it by allying with the Arabs and adopting Palestinian statehood. The Turkish player seems to be skillful in addressing the people of the region and beyond, but we are still in the beginning.
