Why Turkey Wants Obama to Win
Waiting for Obama: Ankara’s Expectations
Fewer than 50 days before the American presidential election, Middle Eastern politics has fallen perfectly silent, like some kind of waiting room.
Or there is a sort of interregnum in the region, as between the death of a pope and the election of a new one. All actors are waiting for the results of the US presidential election. The Syrian crisis looms large. Many believe that following the election the US will come up with a new, more active strategy.
Turkey is no exception. Though not publicized, Ankara’s main wish is the re-election of Barack Obama for a second term. No one is even talking about the possibility of Mitt Romney’s presidency. Ankara’s expectations for Obama are quite high.
The first issue is indeed Syria. Ankara believes that Obama will develop a more effective Syria strategy. More than wish, Ankara of course demands this from the US. In a recent interview, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly criticized the American position on Syria. But what is meant by the “high level of intervention” he mentioned? That is not clear. Some believe that President Obama, after an election victory, will go as far as unilateral action for regime change in Syria. Some in Ankara believe the US will at least help Turkey create some sort of security zone in northern Syria. Expectations vary, but there is one clear point: Ankara’s first demand from Obama in his second term is to revisit the American position on Syria.
The second expectation concerns Turkish-Israeli relations.