Turkey criticized by the U.S. and al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda's not happy:
An audio tape purportedly from Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri, has been posted on Islamist websites....The speaker chastises Turkish authorities who "appear to sympathize with the Palestinians through statements and by sending some relief aid, but it actually recognizes Israel, engages in trade, carries out military training and shares information with it."
U.S. President Barack Obama has warned the Turkish prime minister that his country's strained ties with Israel and increasing support of Iran could hinder an arms deal between Ankara and Washington, the Financial Times reported on Monday.â??The president has said to [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan that some of the actions that Turkey has taken have caused questions to be raised on the Hill [Congress] .â??.â??.â??about whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally," one senior administration official told the Financial Times.
You can't please all of the people, all of the time but I suspect that the later message will have far more resonance than the former. But I wonder, as far as the Middle East is concerned, if being slammed by both the U.S. and al-Qaeda isn't something of a regional sweet spot.
(AP Photo)
