Turkey wants to become the dominant power in the Middle East.  Its current regime, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), is both an Islamist political movement and a movement that seeks to reconstitute the Ottoman Empire – the last, real Islamic caliphate – that collapsed at the end of the First World War.  In order to accomplish this herculean task, President Erdoğan has had to make decisive moves that have pushed Turkey out of the West's orbit (Turkey has long been a key member of the NATO alliance) and has moved Turkey closer to Russia, China, and Iran. While not entirely divorced from the West, Turkey can no longer be counted on to retain its previous pro-Western outlook.  That is why the recent U.S.-Saudi row over the potential murder of Washington Post contributor Saudi-born Jamal Khashoggi, by a Saudi intelligence "hit team" operating in Istanbul, Turkey is so beneficial for...(Read Full Article)