September 16, 2010
POSSIBLE? IT'S INEVITABLE, BUT IT'S A QUINTET:
An Unlikely Trio: Can Iran, Turkey, and the United States Become Allies?: In Reset, Stephen Kinzer argues that the United States should partner with Iran and Turkey to promote democracy and combat extremism in the Middle East. Although it is hard to imagine Iran as a friend of Washington, Turkey is ready to play that role. (Mustafa Akyol, September/October 2010, Foreign Affairs)
[K]inzer's U.S.-Iranian-Turkish alliance is a long-term project, and the idea has ample grounding in the modern history of the region. Unlike other Muslim countries there, Kinzer shows, Iran and Turkey have at least a century's worth of experience struggling for political freedom, during which they "developed an understanding of democracy, and a longing for it." This means that they share some fundamental values with the United States. Moreover, Iran and Turkey have educated middle classes -- bases for strong civil societies. The two countries even share strategic goals with the United States: a desire to see Iraq and Afghanistan stabilized and radical Sunni movements such as al Qaeda suppressed.
There are, of course, two other democratic allies of the US in the region who are already allied with one or the other of the Islamic democracies. And Iran tried coming in out of the Cold after 9-11, though W mistakenly refused their overtures.
