Turkey working to jumpstart peace talks between Israel, Syria

Dear Uri, islam was not reformed as christianity was, as a result there can't be an islamist party with strong religious roots and still believe in democracy, civilization etc..

Why do Arabs and the jews bttle each other when they are the same Biblical people blieving in the prtimony of ANBRAHAM?

Day after tedious day the entire world watches as the new ??? old ??? new ??? Israel Syria scenario continues in 1973 we had no pre scenario breathing space it was sudden abrupt time has given us 3 4 decades to reflect learn from this Syria wants to do what Egypt did try to liberate land but there is no Suez Canal involved for Syria so Egypt does not want to look second 2 nd to Syria thus Egypt Israel have become Allies what happens if Syria attacks Israel Egypt looks second 2 nd THEN ??? will the E I mutual deal cease another point in Syrias favor no Suez Canal but leverage just as GOOD ??? I enjoy giving insight commentarys to you who are brain washed college peasant jockey mute brutes who lack self developing because it is too hard on the brain body Israels one 1 short giving RIGHT ??? ha ha ha only joking sorry RIGHT ??? Turkey for Egypt or Syria thus this is not as it sounds there are under tones involved in all diplomacy... even biblicial... RIGHT ??? THANK YOU... M. Segal

I have to say this: If Syria claims Hatay, then Turkey claims Syria. Thank you very much.

That's true Joel, but the entire map of the middle east (Syrian borders) was drawn up by the French and English anyway-at this point slight adjustment (Hatay) is not going to make them any more-or-less legit. At least Turkey decided on its own national borders, instead of having foreign powers draw them up as it fit their interests. I'd argue that's more legitimate than borders imposed by foreign powers.(also hatay was a part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, its not like a bunch of people landed there all of a sudden and annexed.)I don?t think anybody can make the argument that Hatay should go to Syria-If the people of Hatay are not complaining-why are foreigners complaining on their behalf? Obviously this is only brought up to tarnish Turkey (recently a very popular pastime-especially in Europe.-Also ironic that Israelis are making this criticism.)There's no such thing as evil/good countries, lets stop the blame (Holier-than-thou)game and get on with solving problems.

"I believe the Turks are in for a surprise. The Armageddon idea is first described in the Book of Ezekiel (chs. 38-9) as the War of Gog and Magog. According to biblical scholars, the name Gog is based on King Gyges from Anatolia. The Turks may find only too late that they are destined to become the enemies of Western Civilization. Perhaps they will refuse to cooperate, but George Bush must know things they don`t." Tosefta You must be joking right?? I hope you are (for your own sake!). Please lets use our logic, and brains and not rely on fairytales to justfify war (which is essentially what Bush & Co are doing). Stop turning everything into battle of religions, this is dangerous and misleading. Turkish foreign policy is not guided by anykind of religious ideals, its guided by pragmatism- these kinds of fears expressed in the forum are irrational and paranoid. Israelis should stop seeing all muslims as their enemies, becuse its not true nor is it healthy.

I was the one who wrote #12 so I'll refer to myself as mehmet12 from now on. About the Hatay issue: Hatay Republic voted to be included within Turkey. Why would anyone want to join a French Mandate rather than a free rebuplic anyway? Cyprus: When was the last war fought in Cyprus? Thats right- 1974 when the "Cyprus Peace Operation" actually brought peace to Cyprus. It has also brought back democracy in Greece and Cyprus. There have always been crazy people claiming a chunck of land from Turkey, for imaginary places like "Northern Kurdistan", or "Western Armenia", or "Eastern Greece" or "Northwest Syria"... But nations who did not shed blood and were handed their freedom have no right to ask such questions. Turkey "should" not do anything to please you. Why don't you MAKE Turkey do something instead of begging? (You can easily apply this to the Golan Heights. Let them MAKE Israel leave it rather than beg for it.)

sorry david,not simple as that. more complicated. this was a part of "broader middle east" plan. dervis was a hi-ranking world bank guy. he comes, fixes the budget with IMF, hands the power to AKP, grabs his hat and lands a top UN job.all along the way he exploited (or cooperated with)ismail cem. cem was a small change. real circumstances of his rather short stay in turkey still not known. harun yahya is alias for adnan (oktar) hodja. resides in turkey. he was (is being?) tried for sex offences to young women in addition to other crimes.close ties with fundamentalist christians+creationists in US. very deep pockets.holocaust denier.

Turkey is not lying with out Turkey there would not be understanding and peace so a message to you Mark Greenbaum who ever you are you should mind own business and snap out of it. Who the hell are you to say Turkey should mind its own business.

Israel should end its occupation of Golan; once for all, and show to the world that it is not an OCCUPIER by force. One day that force will not work and Israel will loose the game. Israel cannot destroy the whole Islamic and Arab nations...it is a Zionist dream...come to reality now we live in 21st Century. LIVE AND LET LIVE, MY MESSAGE TO WHOLE ISRAELIS OF CONSCIOUS AND INTELLIGENCE. otherwise you are doomed to extention---playing in your enemy's hands.

"e.g. be a party of religious people who still believe in democratic, humanist etc values?" no way. in real islam state and religion is one. islam strictly controls all the aspects of the humanlife. thats why dr.daniel pipes invented "moderate islam" (otherwise great guy) with 3 main pillars no jihad (most important) elected governments (not necessarily democratic) more rights to women so far not many takers though. closest looks like AKP of turkey. but i think its just taqiyya/dissemble.

Stop your war mongering because US and Israel do not want another war in the middle east. Just go to the beach and have a beer and enjoy the summer.It will do good to your brain. For once think of peace and not war.Isn't that feeling good.

tosefta, i checked my new international version and its also "pale horse" irony by mark i reckon

Take it easy. This may be the fake indrajaya. I wouldn't want th real indy to have his reputation tarnished.

Hello Mark, Is there really a translation where Death rides on an ass? I checked some English translations and they all say "horse". I checked the Koine Greek, and it says "ippos" (horse). Are you making fun? If so, it may be misplaced. In today's case, Mr. Death the rider is the ass which is riding the pale horse.

"A Muslim, modern country to mediate between a racist State and a opressed one..." Indrajaya Speak about racist and being an oppressor, how about the Javanese of Indonesia oppressing the Hindus of Bali, Christians of the Moluccas, and tribal believers of West Papua not to mention what your mob did to the Catholics of East Timor. Your holier than thou attitude does not rate here. Israel gives rights to minorities that non Muslim minorities in Indonesia could only dream of.

First of all why do you have to inject that Ismail Cem was a Sabetayist? What difference does it make if he was serving his country in an outstanding way? Also there is no proof that he was or was not, just some allegations by so called Harun Yahya whoever he is nobody knows. A coward who hides his real identity. If today Turkey is enjoying a very low inflation it is thanks to the policies established by Kemal Dervis. AKP did not contribute to it at all and therefore today you are experiencing a very fragile market. Someone like Dervis could have taken additional measures during the past 4 years but AKP does not have the intellect to do it. I don?t know how old you are and therefore I don?t know if you remember the early Ecevit who had a radical left ideology when he was suggesting getting out of NATO and some other western alliances. During those years he did not receive much support from most Jews, However in his later years he changed into a Social democrat and asserted that Turkey would remain in NATO. After that many Turkish Jews voted for him. And bBTWdid you know that Ecevit was also a supporter of Fethullah Gulen?

"The Armageddon idea is first described in the Book of Ezekiel (chs. 38-9) as the War of Gog and Magog." - Tosefta While Christian fundamentalists favor the strict God of the 'old testament', they very much prefer the 'New Testament" version of apocalypse. I have searched the various versions of the bible in my concordance and have found the appropriate citation in the "God's Own Party" version (GOPV) of the Bible. "And I looked, and behold a pale ass: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." - Revelations 6:8

"Until you do, I suggest using "asses of evil" for Bush and Olmert, or perhaps "the lost asses", and this will have some biblical precedent. Not bad." - Tosefta Asses of Evil it is. I stand corrected.

Without the Golan which was illegally transferred by the British Palestine Mandate imperialists to the French Syrian Mandate imperialists in 1922. There should never have been a Syria presence on the Golan. The Golan is now where it rightfully belongs, historically and legally. What has Syria done with it except to use its heights to kill Jews? Want peace? OK. But no way Israel hands its head on a platter to the Alawite despots for their smile.

I propose "land for Peace'. Syria gives Israel the Haroun, Lebanon gives Israel up to and including the Litani river and Israel lets Syria have both peace AND Damascus and Lebanon gets peace AND Beirut.

Jacob,Jacob,these two theorists are on top of their game.The domino theory for them is to generate one action and that is Israel and America submitting and everything else will fall by relative reactions. They are big on this kind of science,as long as they personally dont have to give up anything. For me the Domino theory is like this. Order a Dominos Pizza,read what they say,the pizza arrives,eat the pizza,forget what they say. No need to make axis out of them,everyone can get a piece of the pie.

"Turkey is interested in regional peace and Bush is in favor of apocalyptic war. Bring on the Second Coming." - Mark L I believe the Turks are in for a surprise. The Armageddon idea is first described in the Book of Ezekiel (chs. 38-9) as the War of Gog and Magog. According to biblical scholars, the name Gog is based on King Gyges from Anatolia. The Turks may find only too late that they are destined to become the enemies of Western Civilization. Perhaps they will refuse to cooperate, but George Bush must know things they don't.

In WW2 there were 3 members of the "Axis", Gemany, Italy, Japan. In honor of this, Bush had 3 states in his "axis of evil" which, unfortunately for him, excluded Syria. If he tries to reconstitute the axis, Bush will put in it Iran and Syria, and perhaps throw in Hizballah or Gaza or both (assuming each non-state is worth half a state). You have to respect tradition, Mark. If you want to put Bush in an "axis" of some kind, find an additional state. Until you do, I suggest using "asses of evil" for Bush and Olmert, or perhaps "the lost asses", and this will have some biblical precedent. Not bad.

THAT PEACE EFFORTS ARE FIRST OF ALL REQUIRED IN CYPRUS AND KURDISTAN !! WHEN THEY HHASVAE SOLVED THESE AGE OLD PROBLEMS THEY CAN SUPPLY THEIR WELL EARNED TALENTS IN SYRIA

All your coments here are against America and Israel maybe you change your mentality and start to think positive for a change to peace and give it a chance we can also remind you that Turky took Alexsandriaq from Syria what is your coment on that!

Behind every disabled man, there are always able men. Never do anything standing that you can do sitting, or anything sitting that you can do lying down. Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still. Going too slow is losing a cow for the sake of a turtle. A job of a thousand posts begins with a single line.

axis of evil refers obliquely to the axis powers germany italy and japan from 1939 on !! therefore the present axis of evil are the muslim powers intent on world destruction

Second, on the border, Egypt has ignored its responsiblity to limit the flow of arms into Gaza. Third, even with the peace agreement, the Muslim Brotherhood holds sway with its strong anti-Israel stance. Now, over to Libya, where we see the so-called reformed regime of Khadaffi, now, after holding a half-dozen European medical workers for ransom, which included torturing them, has now received guarantees of arms shipments and economic development, including the construction of a nuclear energy plant. But yet, we should trust the second generation dictator Assad. Believe in the idea that Hizballah will collapse, and relations with Iran wil crumble. I'm sure that there are all those think-tanks in Damascus and Terhan that are touting the idea that Hizballah is a lode-stone on their diplomatic throats, and that alliances with Iran are better than the on again/off again ones with the US.

It's amazing the sophistry brought forth with the ideas of solving the conflict between Israel and Syria. It's Sooooo easy, we hear. All YOU have to do, is give the Golan back to Syria, then all will be well, because hey, Bashar Assad is this wonderful trustworthy guy. And he has EVERY REASON to be friends with Israel. Money and support from the United States, links to European markets, the works! And in return, Syria will dump Hizballah, run to hug Israel, and Iran will be stymied. Kumbaya, break out the flowers and confetti, all is well. Yet, amidst this potential political paridise, some small nagging concerns seem to rise. 1. Egypt has received all the above mentioned goodies, yet, diplomatic and social relations with Israel run from cold to downright hostile, with not a single diplomatic visit from its leader. The government supports a culture that pushes anti-Semetic canards, and closed down the only pro-peace with Israel NGO.

Oh Mighty Mark Lincoln, again imposing his sage wisdom on the peons. Please spare us your insights from deep down in good old boy land. Your "sources" are merely the garbage that filters down from both the Israeli and Syrian spin machines. Olmert is not part of a "regime" you hick!! He is Prime Minister of a sovereign nation, not some dictator propped up by the U.S. like Noriega, Marcos or the like. Syria has been trying to broker a deal?? Please!!! By harbouring Palestinian suicide bombers, planners, supplying money and weapons and building up its forces in the Golan?? Hardly acts of peace!! EVen someone with your lack of insight can see the writing on the wall. Syria is Iran's bitch and must pay the piper to play the game. Syria is the conduit for Hizballah, hardly another peaceful gesture. So where you seem to insanely believe that Syria is "stepping up" to the peace plate, you are delusional at best. Why don't you worry about the U.S. and leave Middle East politics alone!!!

Israel has shown reiterately that it does not want peace. Turkey, in this way, seems a convenient alibi to show the international community that " at least, we tried" ... A Muslim, modern country to mediate between a racist State and a opressed one... good...

Without doubt, Syria is the most interesting country in the middle east in terms of the separation of its ruling dynasty from the general population. The small quasi-shi'a Alawite sect that rules Syria with an iron fist through the Assad clan-based dynasty gives Syria a fascinating combination of temporary stability, while being an impossibility in the long term. Syria is a sunni majority country but it has more minority groups per square kilometer than any place other than Lebanon, (which itself could be described as more of a breakaway province of Syria than an independant nation). The assad dynasty needs to maintain a hostile state of cold war with Israel to justify its existence as a dynastic tyranny. On the other hand, another shooting war with Israel would likely be disastrous, since the aftermath of such a war would almost certainly be the restoration of a sunni based government of some type, much to the disadvantage of not only the Assad clan, but the entire Alawite sect.

"Turkey is interested in regional peace and Bush is in favor of apocalyptic war. Bring on the Second Coming." - Mark L I believe the Turks are in for a surprise. The Armageddon idea is first described in the Book of Ezekiel (chs. 38-9) as the War of Gog and Magog. According to biblical scholars, the name Gog is based on King Gyges from Anatolia. The Turks may find only too late that they are destined to become the enemies of Western Civilization. Perhaps they will refuse to cooperate, but George Bush must know things they don't.

Ismail Cem Ipekci I definitely agree with you (he was from the Sabatay circle mind you;)), Kemal Dervis, I do not agree at all. Kemal Dervis is a puppet guy who tries to instill globalist capitalist policies from within the CHP, a party which is supposed to be left wing. CHP today is not left or right wing, in my opinion it is wingless. Why is it always that the puppets of America that the Israelis like most in the Turkish political scene, why not Ecevit who was an uncorruptable man even though he had some meaningless obsessions ? Kemal Dervis is a boring guy, anyone with rich parents and who studied at LSE can produce his words, no originality, no creativity, I do not see what Ecevit found in him.

Usually you are defending the pal'n beasts in whatever matter is under discussion. In the lest post at least some resemblance of logic. Anyway in my view Turkey has planty of problems of its own making, such as painfull and never ending Kurdish problem, recognition of arminian genocide and dealing ownestly with all its repercotions. Remember a nice chunk of syrian land packeted recently by Turkey for good. So what is the point of trying to push Israel to give the Israeli Golan to Syria in light of Turkey's territorial behavior towards the moronic Syria. I'll tell you Mehmet, Syria needs to be desmembered and if anything Israel will take another piece of land if Syria will start another war. Golan is Israel's forever, that should be internalized in the whole world and particularly in the muslim part of it. Regards...

Axis is an alignment, and evil is destruction. These are the meanings of the words in English. "Keeping Syria allied with Iran and Hizballah just means trouble. Indeed, once you pull Syria out, Hizballah loses its arms pipeline and will have to become a political organization. As an extra benefit, it will kick out the Palestinian terror groups, making Hamas weaker and more ready for peace with Israel." - Tosefta This might lead to peace. The Axis of Evil - the Bush/Olmert Axis - has no interest in peace. Peace is for wimps, for liberals, and to them the only peace is the total submission of the world's untermench.

Bush believes that war is good. It builds national character. It is how the superior man rules the subhuman. War is wonderful and the answer to everything. Turkey is interested in regional peace and Bush is in favor of apocalyptic war. Bring on the Second Coming.

Turkey had an excellent foreign affairs record during the time Ismail Cem Ipekci was the minister. During his time the Turkish Greek relations became very warm. But unfortunately Turkey often does not appreciate its best talents such as him and Kemal Dervis.

I don?t believe that AKP is a real friend of Turkey. However pragmatism is forcing them to appear friendly for a while. However the Turkish armed forces have always been pro modernity and western secular democracy. As long as the military is not penetrated by the Islamists I believe that Turkey will have good relations with Israel. At this very moment Turkish, USA and Israeli armed forces are on a joint naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean Mermaid VIII.

Before the March 1 bill (Tezkere) to allow USA troops to pass through Turkey to Iraq was refused a series of street demonstrations were done against the bill. At that time while The Iraqi Kurds were trying hard to convince USA to intervene in Iraq, the demonstrators who were shouting slogans against USA in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara were also Kurds. Because if Turkey had passed that bill then USA would have allowed Turkey to control part of the Northern Iraq (some 40 kilometers I think). The Kurds played a smart game and the incompetent AKP government rejected the bill. As a result today Turkey is facing PKK terrorism and its hands are tied when it comes to intervene in Kandil mountain which is in Iraq.

Doesnt matter if the church worshops a dotted unicorn, church is a church is a church period. And I dont know what planet YOU are living on, the religious right is the BIGGEST lobbyist in the US, or you dont really bother reading the local papers? And we all know why reagan helped the afghans kick out the russians from afghanistan, it wasnt out of charity, it was national security.

At that time the US were not helping the Kurds. We were trying to stop a monster from killing humans among them Kurds. We were not going to help the Kurds attack Turkey. But the Turks back stabbed us.

Amir, Please check what kind of Churces are they? They must be of different types. As a country the USA helped proudly your fellow Muslims in Afghanistan (against the Soviets)Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait and many other countries. We do not put religious matters affect our policies but Turkey deceived us big time.

The reason they opposed the war was to protect their brothers the Iraqis. My point is that they are not our allies when it comes to the moment that we need them the most they will back their fellow Muslims even if their fellow Muslims are mass murderers like themselves. If they were secular would they take that decision??? At that time we attacked Iraq assuming they had WMDs. Even if you oppose the war now, at that time our government made us believe that we were going there to clean Iraq from WMDs. Being our allies thinking in a democratic secular way they aught to help us. But they didn?t.

Nothing was more appropriate for the British than the poodle "yo Blair". Twice the USA saved your hide and you still think in super power terms. Sixty million Britishers crammed in that little island and you still have the mendacity and audacity to speak about Arabs.Wait till Scotland with its oil scede from this union and comeback and talk.

And who do you suggest to do the crushing. Your IDF ? The USA and the UK gave you over one month to crush Hezballah and what did you do. The problem with you people is that you never learn from History. When imbeciles like you threaten to crush Syria what do you expect us to say. The day of reckoning is fast approaching when nothing but nothing will help Israel.

Anyone who reads the regional press understands that all nations are concerned with the tendency of two administrations to destabilize the region. One of those governments is the Olmert regime. While Olmert is guilty only of incompetence, particularly the Second Lebanon War, it represents the best chance for all concerned to do something to bring more stability to the region. Syria has been trying for some year (going back to Assad's father's time) to broker some sort of deal. Thus a number of nations - including some European nations - are working towards getting Syria and Israel to sit down and discuss a peace treaty. Turkey has good relations with Israel and Syria. It is in a position to help both.

indrajaya, can you tell which sites we can go to to verify your statement that "Every US allies (except Israel of course) in the regions are trying to make their relations with Iran closer and better".

Well..You should not exclude one possibility from another!

After a long time, you have again succeeded in single-handedly (literally?) overcoming the computer system which was rigged to automatically allow for new lines and empty lines. No more new paragraphs. Alas.

What you're referring to were the mechanics of the annexation. The actual fact are: - Hatay was part of the French mandate of Syria (based on San Remo Treaty of 1920). - When the above treaty expired in 1936, under Turkish pressure, the French separated Hatay from Syria and gave it autonomy pending a referandum. - Autonomous govt was dominated by Turkey and even though most of Hatay's population were Arabs, the referandum - accused of being heavily rigged - came in very slightly in Turkey's favor. Syria's position today is that (a) the French had no right to separate Hatay from Syria; (b) the referandum was heavily rigged; and (c) Hatay is Turkish-occupied Syrian territory (it appears in all Syrian maps as such). -

You must be a bit confused about Arabs. Arabs differ in everything(despite what they actually say to you). Even the definition of 'what they want' differ! For some effective(armed outlawed) parties(1 eg.Hezbollah) this means No Israel at all! Others 1976. Others 1948 Others eg Ahmadi najad =NUKE ISRAEL and the famous 'wipe off the map' ! Which one do you consider 'what they want'? I think most are not reasonable requests especially if the were ademanded without a price such as PEACE AND SECURITY. Shemo

Geopolitically it makes sense for Israel and Syria to make peace and Turkey is in a unique position to make a positive contribution. It seems certainly more achievable at this point than a Palestinian peace agreement. By evacuating the Golan however, Israel would have to have security guarantees from the USA and Turkey in the form of a NATO type alliance that an attack on one country was an attack upon all.

"The United States may ultimately realize that Turkey's stance was the right one, just as it reached the conclusion of engaging in dialogue with Iran over the situation in Iraq," - Turkey If the Turks can understand (the obvious), why not Bush? Can he be "that stupid"? It must be the stupid ideology that blinds him. He believes in "evil" being an innate part of a regime. No cleansing possible. Nebech. Here is what the Turks understand: 1. Syria actually is interested in peace. Not only to they say it repeatedly, but Papa Assad already demonstrated it in Clinton's days. 2. Syria is not in Iran's pocket, and prefers US friendship. Not only is the US stronger and richer, but can also deliver what Syria wants, the Golan. Iran is simply not a natural ally for Syria (Fundamentalist vs. Secular, Farsi vs. Arab, Sunni vs. Shiite). 3. The Syria-Israel conflict is easy to solve. Actually, most issues were discussed and the solution is within reach. The conflict is ripe for a final push. 4. Keeping Syria allied with Iran and Hizballah just means trouble. Indeed, once you pull Syria out, Hizballah loses its arms pipeline and will have to become a political organization. As an extra benefit, it will kick out the Palestinian terror groups, making Hamas weaker and more ready for peace with Israel.

...gain favor with the Europeans to join the EU, without having to admit genocide against the Armenians during WWI. I'll admit this sounds like a bit of a stretch, but what else does Turkey have to gain by getting involved in this issue?

Syria along with Iran supply terrorists with weapons, funding and logistical support. They must be crushed.

Turkey which is a country that can not put two stones together, that has such a dismal foreign affairs record that it could not even take advantage of the disintegration of Soviet Union in the context of Turkic republics is now opening a dialog between Syria and Israel, wowww!! Well, scenario is this: US and Israel want war with Syria, for this they need to set the scene, for their rethoric of "we did try all the diplomatic channels" they ordered Turkey to intervene and start a hopeless diplomatic campaign which is super-weak and with a very vaguely defined agenda. All these are parts of a war preparation. Poor Syria is doing nothing, is very afraid of Israel but americans and israelis will not let anybody know this.

I can only applaud Turkey for this analysis,it shows how westernised Turkey has become,despite the opiniom of the apologists who say that it is impossible for Muslim countries to become democracies.Unfortunately for that very reason the analysis is wrong.Turkey now looks at the rest of the Muslim world through westernised eyes and no longer recognises the mendacity and double dealing there. Iraq is a case in point.The US has been fooled into discussing Iraq with the Iranian government.The result is that the Iranian government is rewarded for terrorism,and things just get worse in Iraq.

Maybe because you haven't give them all they want. The withdrawels never satisfied Palestinians because you never recognised them neither let them control their own land

Thats the same thing. Most of the Turks didn't want to help US because US was making alliance with Kurds there. That was the decision of majority = democracy

Turkey didn't annex Hatay Hatay ruled himself for over a year, with his own president And then they voted, either to unite with Syria or Turkey After the election Hatay joined Turkey by the votes of majority

So will it be Thanksgiving in Israel with Turkey as a side dish or is it just more of the same old baseless and useless conversation. If war does erupt, it is Israel's obligation, now, more than ever before, to make sure this is the last war it fights. Translation: level Damascus, nuke Tehran, and find a good taxidermist for Assodd and Ahmadingdong.

Turkey annexed Syria's Hatay (Alexandretta) province in 1939, and this hasn't affected Syria's recent rapprochement with Turkey. Furthermore, Hatay is far from vital for Turkey's security, while Syrian contol of the Golan and Mt Hermon outsposts - despite all paper treaties! - could pose vital threats to Israel. In the Egypt-Israel deal, unlike the Golan, the Sinai buffer provides sufficient strategic depth for Israel's defense. In any Israeli-Syrian deal, the model applied should be the Hatay model, not the Sinai model!

I thought that Turks not allowing the US to invade Iraq through Turkey had more to do with Kurds living in South-East Turkey and its neighbouring North Iraq...

Little history: After the marvelous Yom Kippur we captured all: Sinai peninsula,Golan heights,East Jerusalem, south Lebanon(inc. shebaa farms) and then we added Gaza and the west bank later on.This had some devastating effect in favor of Israel both lacoaly with the Arabs and internationally (Esp. with US) Bad news:What happened then? 1.Sinai peninsula:Handed in 1974. 2.South Lebanon:Withdrawal in 2000. 3.Gaza and some of w.bank:??Withdrawal in 2000. 4.Golan heights and east j'm:In process. Land wise the Arabs are winning. Did all these withdrawals resulted in our security? NB:Think Qassam,Katyosha,suicide bombs,smuggling etc.... Shemo.

negotiations..

There is a mosque on every corner of Turkey, sure, come down to the Deep South, u'll find TWO churches on every corner, anything bad? certainly not. Admit it, you people are just a bunch of fascists and bigots. It's a shame. Secondly, being a "fundamentalist" isnt necessarily bad, it means you are close to your "fundamental" religious beliefs. Most people down south are "fundamentalists" by the way, God-fearing people.

Turkey talking about Syria and Hamas being 'driven' to Irans axis by a containment policy by the US is correct but what is also true is that Syrias loyalty is also up for grabs and that somehow if we can, we should pull it in and take them away from the radical axis.Its just that they are in a good position because of their location and if not pushed will not commit and if pushed may very well run quicker to Teheran. Turkey wants to add to the moderation of the area,and that is good for their hopes of joining Europe by offering Syria and Hamas viable options to Iran but while Syria is playing the game and looking for the best deal,Hamas is looking at enhancing their power and pushing their Islamicist agenda. So really even though Meshaal resides in Damascus both Hamas and Syria have different agendas and should be treated differently

...I see this as a bias in relation to my country... I would've never referred my opinion to my country's position upon anything in this world. Thanks Haaretz.

"Even their seculars are not democratic. When we (The USA) wanted to go to Iraq from the North, they did not allow us to either use our Turkish base or to use a small passage." How on earth is that not democratic? The majority of Turks are/were opposed to the Iraqi War, and the government's refusal to US passage reflected that popular will---democratically.

Instead of meddling in the Golan Heights, why doesn't Turkey start negotiating with Syria about the return of the Iskanderun (Alexandretta) area, located on the border next to the Mediterranean, which Turkey annexed from Syria in 1939?

Haaretz, please, this makes no sense. I see this as a bias in relation to my country

Indra who continue to worship his idol,Ahmedinejad is betting his money that they will be a war this summer either between Iran and US or Syria and Israel. But sad to disappoint you Indra ,this summer is time for us to head to the beach for some sun and beer.Relaxxxxxxxx..and stop the warmongering.

Uri, Turkey will never become a democratic country. Because they are adopting laws such as Article 301 (Turkish penal code). The majority of Cyprus is Greek, but they attacked them and handed over large chunks of land to its Turkish compatriots. They oppressed all the minorities in Turkey and they are still denying what they committed in the past such as genocides to keep their nation Muslim. They are worst than the Germans who at least accepted the fact that they committed the holocaust. They are not teaching their children that religious fanaticism is not good and it leads to atrocities such as genocides. All the Ataturk teachings are put on the side because Islam comes first for the majority of the Turks. They are voting to elect Muslim fundamentalists to rule their country. How can you trust them? They are so fanatic that one of them tried to kill the previous Pope. If you go to Istanbul, there is a mosque on almost every block. Are they going to help the Israelis or help their Muslim Syrian, Palestinian brothers to retake Jerusalem? Even their seculars are not democratic. When we (The USA) wanted to go to Iraq from the North, they did not allow us to either use our Turkish base or to use a small passage. They did not help us as their allies are they going to help Israel????

or maybe it is not a theft but a coincidence, anyway... Yilmaz Ozturk's analysis is wrong in the sense that the AKP, despite being islamist, can not move a centimeter from the American, thereof Israeli, standpoint. Turkey being populated by people who did not have a chance to fair education, they are mostly ignorants, therefore they can not see what AKP is doing abroad.

they would not say no to America in any matters. The fact that Turkey did not allow to give the US right to pass through Turkey to Iraq has to do with the CHP, not the AKP. AKP has radical islamic roots and they are against anything that we gained through our secular establishment, but at the same time AKP is in power using foreign money and investment. The only way they can remain there is to keep the money in Turkey, for this reason they have to obey anything America says, America has to obey anything Israel says, so Israel, from the point of view of Syria, has no reason to fear Turkey and it knows this very well.

Every US allies (except Israel of course) in the regions are trying to make their relations with Iran closer and better, while they know exactly Bush is trying to push Iran into the corner. Does this Bush realize that those countries are laughing at him and nobody is listening even a word from him?.

Every US allies (except Israel of course) in the regions are trying to make their relations with Iran closer and better, while they know exactly Bush is trying to push Iran into the corner. Does this Bush realize that those countries are laughing at him and nobody is listening even a word from him?.

Are you ruling out the possibility that AKP could be as Islamist than German Christian Democrats are Christian, e.g. be a party of religious people who still believe in democratic, humanist etc values?

Turkey is simply saying divide & conquer. Treat each problem in a seperate way and you will get safer. If you put Hamas together with Syria together with PLO together with Iran together with Hezbullah and Lebanon, then you will have created a unified front. If you take out 2 of the above through peaceful terms, then you are stronger and your enemies are weaker for it. It's simple divide & conquer. I think Turkey has enough Ottoman experience to be taken seriously on this issue. And what`s in it for Turkey? I have no idea, maybe self-satisfaction that our foreign policy department is doing something other than listening to European nagging...

as a citizen of israel I have a question do the Haaretz editorial team receive money from arabs to push for some thing we israeli do not want returning of golan is the end of israel do you relize that? stoppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp

Turkey is Turkey.... and Palestinians are ARABS. Why do they lie about their true Identity? Are they ashamed to be known as ARABS, or is it simply a way of gaining land in the region of Palestine, wherein lies the Jewish Homeland? Arabs belong to the Arab regions not in the Jewish Homeland, therefore there can never be peace. The World has to realise this and to stop trying to create a 23rd ARAB STATE INSIDE ISRAEL. Thank you Turkey for trying to help -IT WILL NEVER WORK.

Hamas as a terrorist group. Yitzhak Shamir and The Stern Gang. Ariel Sharon and the Haganah and Sabra and Shattila death camps Yitzhak Rabin and the Palmach The Gush Emunim Underground. The Terror Against Terror group. Egrof Magen. Menachim Begin and Irgun Zvai Leumi All recognised terrorist groups against the Palestinians with Israeli politicians attached. Now, were we talking about terrorism? Israel. Talk and negotiate with your neighbors or your hypocrisy becomes only too obvious.

Regretably, non of the first 7 comments had anything constructive to say! Neither of you know Turkey!! Truethe islamic party has its agenda but they can be bothered by Arab interest in the conflict - only Turkish interest!! hence regionalproblems are their interest as well. Adx for Syria: i am not great lover of them. have fought against in 3 wars but one thing i am sure of : they know to sum up their odds quite well. Iran is not their salvation and Syria is too proud and smart to let few ayatolaas loonies dictate their interst. Am certain they view Iran as minglers in issues which are far awy fromtheir doorstep aneasy matter to to provoke with little risk to the iranians. They are also not impressed for the way iran handles the nuclear issue - i bet!\Syria wants peace and needs Peace. The Golan i theirs but thely lost it through military adventures. they should get it back, in stages. a deal can be struck with most of the settlers staying in palce,at least for a long time. and....

maybe Turky knows that Syria thinks that U,S may invade from the east and that Israel would not attack from the south.

ly under Iran-Syria threats and conditions,

The Neo-morons, the Bushiz, the Olmerts, the idiots who have managed to do everything wrong for most of a decade are beyond redemption. They simply are insane individuals who cannot discern the difference between their delusions and reality. Which, is, pretty much the definition of insane. There is always one third of humanity willing to march over the cliff at the urge of a lunatic left or right wing drummer.

being an islamic country any "peace talks that turkey is suggesting would be as usual suggestions that israel has to withdraw more land. that is called PIECE. NOT PEACE.

Syria IS a branch of Iran. They see eye-to-eye regarding Israel (wish to destroy it); see eye-to-eye regarding Lebanon (wish to turn it into Hezballastan); see eye-toeye regarding Iraq (wish to turn it into an appendix of Iran, while Syria gets the Al-Anbar, western province). Both share tutoring Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezballah, and Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades, plus the PFLP, the PFLP-GC and the DFLP. Turkey should mind its own business.

That agreement was a blueprint for domination by Iran-sponsored Hamas.

Turkey's ruling AKP party has strong connections to the "gradualist" wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and is a Hamas sympathizer. Any initiative by Turkish Islamist gov't is bound to serve the Arab agenda against Israel and shouldn't be trusted.