Turkey’s autocratic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan again made headlines this week when he once again lambasted Israel, called upon fellow Muslims to unite and confront the West (Turkey is a prominent member of NATO), threatened Greece announced he would refuse a Nobel peace prize, received the top of Hamas in Ankara, and cut a deal with Libya that would effectively split the Mediterranean Sea.
Erdogan also changed his plans for Syria and announced that Turkey would not leave the country until foreign countries quit the war-torn state.
Initially, the Turkish dictator claimed he again invaded Rojava, the autonomous Kurdish region along the Syrian Turkish border, as part of his ongoing effort to fight “terrorists”. He now announced he would re-settle one million Syrian Sunni Arab refugees in the so-called safe-zone after his ‘Operation Peace Spring’ drove more than 300.000 Kurds from their homes.
Israel is Erdogan’s favorite punching bag as we know but this week the Turkish tyrant crossed all lines when he told a conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that Israel is “executing and merciless murdering innocent girls, fathers, mothers, elderly people, children and young people on the streets of Palestine.”
While portraying himself as the sole patron of the Palestinian Arabs Erdogan lambasted the West and certain Arab states for encouraging “this brutality of Israel while he called upon his Muslim brothers and sisters to unite and confront the West and conspiracies against Islamic countries.”
The Turkish leader also claimed that because of Turkey’s stance on the Palestinian Arab issue the country had witnessed terror attacks and “economic sabotage” in recent years.
He then tried to portray his government as a victim of loneliness because of “Turkey’s objections against the oppression in al-Quds (Jerusalem) and Palestine.”
The rant against Israel has not yet led to an official reaction by the government in Jerusalem or the Simon Wiesenthal Center in the US which earlier labeled another diatribe against the Jewish State the “most anti-Semitic one since Goebbels and Hitler.”
Erdogan’s call upon Muslims to confront the West says a lot about Turkey’s NATO membership and should lead the organization of Western armies to rethink this membership especially in light of Erdogan’s flirt with Russia where he purchased the S-300 anti-aircraft shield and in light of his close ties with Iran, some experts say.
Then there is the new treaty between the official Libyan government and the regime in Ankara about linking the two countries maritime’ zones in the Mediterranean Sea despite protests from Greece, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus and other European countries that consider the treaty illegal.
Greece is furious about the deal and expelled the Libyan ambassador because the agreement disregards Greek maritime zones and that of Crete.
On Tuesday the Erdogan regime threatened Israel, Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus claiming “establish natural gas transport lines in this region,” the newly formed maritime zone which effectively cut The Mediterranean Sea, which is full of hydrocarbon resources, in two parts.
The Erdogan regime made it clear that “international actors cannot conduct search and drilling activities in this region without our permission.”
Except for Greece, which already showed it is ready to confront Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea over illegal Turkish gas drilling near Cyprus, no European country is currently ready to use sanctions against Turkey about Erdogan’s belligerent moves in the sea.
EU minister met in Brussels on Monday but failed to take concrete steps against Turkey that has threatened to flood Europe with Syrian refugees and with returning ISIS members.
The memorandum between Libya and Turkey threatens to scuttle a European plan to construct a gas pipeline in the Mediterranean Sea while Erdogan has already made clear he will not allow it.
Erdogan, meanwhile, has set his sights on a new military intervention this time in Libya.
After delivering drones and armored vehicles to the Libyan government, Erdogan now offers to send troops to the devastated oil-rich country.
“Regarding sending troops to Libya, if they request assistance, we would respond (positively) to that demand," Erdogan said during a World Human Rights Day event in Ankara.
As usual, the Turkish leader uses his desire to bring “peace” and “to fight terrorists” as a fig leaf for his imperialistic moves and aggression.
“Erdogan’s behavior is rapidly spinning out of control,” political analyst Dr. Theodore Karasik wrote in an op-ed for Eurasia Review.
Leading Turkish physicians actually think it is worse and diagnosed Erdogan with a psychological disorder last year.
The doctors who are all members of the Turkish Medical Association (TMA) diagnosed Erdogan with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPS).
One of the symptoms of NPS is looking down on people the patient perceives as inferior while another is an exaggerated sense of self-importance and superiority.
Reacting with rage and contempt and being impatient or angry when they don't receive special treatment are other symptoms appearing in a person suffering from NPS.
Mustafa Altıoklar a doctor and the director of TMA has been arrested for this diagnose which he said had nothing to do with insult or humiliation.
Altioklar said the TMA diagnosis was meant to share concerns with the public.