by Daniel Pipes
December 22, 2011
Cross-posted from National Review Online
Erdogan staged a high-profile break with Shimon Peres as his victim in early 2009.
Military relations have been at the core of the Ankara-Jerusalem entente. These took off in February 1996when the two sides signed a military training agreement that had Israeli air force jets flying over Anatolia, making the Turks the first Muslim-majority people to establish a formal military link to Israel.
Similarly, the end of the entente has just taken place. The decision by the Israelis to cancel a $141 million military deal signed with Turkey in 2008, out of concern that the Turks might deliver the state-of-the-art aerial intelligence system based on electro-optic sensors to enemies of Israel.
Comment: It’s deeply unfortunate that the vagaries of Turkey’s electoral politics permitted an Islamist party to dominate the country in 2002 – but at least the Israelis (and French) recognize this development, unlike the Americans, who persist in thinking all is well. (December 22, 2011)
Source material can be found at this site.
