"An eastern triangle
While some charge that Egypt has conceded its regional role, indicators point to the opposite conclusion, writes Anouar Abdel-Malek
........Sonar Cagaptay, senior fellow and director of the Turkish research programme at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has been monitoring the change in US-Turkish relations. He says that the popularity of the US in Turkey has declined from 52 per cent in 2002 to between seven and 12 per cent today. The change, he adds, is a result of the policies of Prime Minister Erdogan's Justice and Development Party. The party has not only made Turkey a less secular society, but has also changed Turkish foreign policies accordingly. For example, the popularity of Iran in Turkey is now at 43 per cent. Not only that; the Turks are less enthusiastic about EU membership than they were. Support for EU membership in Turkey has dropped from 80-90 per cent to 30-40 per cent. The US war on Iraq, the increasing likelihood of an independent Kurdish state, and the revival of Islamic pride are among the reasons for this change of attitude."
More:Al-Ahram Weekly | Opinion | An eastern triangle
