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Turkish military expansions, amid strained regional relations and a deteriorating economy, led American writer Michael Rubin to compare Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
In his article posted on the National Interest website, Rubin said: “Turkey has become like Iraq in the early 1990s. Erdogan has become like Saddam Hussein, seeing his economy collapse and at the same time realizing that he will not be able to deflect the blame for his mismanagement and choices. ” This means that the problems are getting bigger. “
Turkey has been involved in many regional conflicts, the most recent of which was the ongoing war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the disputed Karabakh region, and before that escalation against Greece in the eastern Mediterranean with provocative policies in addition to its military presence in Libya and Syria, and its dispatch of Syrian mercenaries to battles similar to the Revolutionary Guard. Iranian.
The article added that, in addition to Ankara’s military positions, it has become more aggressive towards dissidents abroad. Earlier this year, a Turkish intelligence agent entered an Austrian police station and reported that the Turkish intelligence service had ordered him to assassinate a former member of the Austrian parliament of Kurdish origin.
In addition to this, unknown elements in the Swedish capital Stockholm attacked one of the most famous Turkish opposition journalists, Abdullah Bozkurt. And this was at a time when the Turkish parties incited the assault on dissidents abroad, according to the “National Interest” article.
Rubin continued in his article, “Wars are rarely the result of mere desire for battles, but rather due to overconfidence. Turkey has become largely like Iraq in the early 1990s.”
Rubin noted that Erdogan and Saddam Hussein are similar in that they see the collapse of their country’s economy and also realize that they will not be able to deflect the blame for their mismanagement and decisions.
The Turkish currency fell to its lowest ever level on Thursday, as the lira registered 7.89 against the dollar at 05:06 GMT. The lira was hit by concerns about possible US sanctions, conflict in the Caucasus region and turmoil in relations with the European Union.
This drop is the latest in more than two years of continued devaluation of the Turkish currency, after Washington on Wednesday issued a strict reprimand in response to a report that Turkey may intend to conduct a comprehensive test of the currency system. Russian S-400 anti-aircraft defense that it bought despite explicit opposition from the United States and Ankara’s other NATO allies.
The Turkish currency has lost 25 percent of its value this year, mainly due to concerns about the dissipation of the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves and costly interventions in the foreign exchange market. But geopolitical concerns are now a major factor.
The American writer added that Erdogan is like Saddam Hussein, since the former sees that his neighbors possess valuable natural resources, while the international community sees paper tigers. In 1990, Saddam Hussein sidestepped American diplomacy, April Glaspie, and made him turn a blind eye to his ambitions. And in 2020, Erdogan tries to repeat the same.
Rubin believes that the recent Turkish escalation in the region shows that Erdogan’s ambitions are out of control, while the question remains directed at world powers: “Will they resist this ambition before putting Erdogan on the trigger, or will they wait until will the decision become more expensive for the Turks and for everyone in the eastern Mediterranean? ” “.
