Erdogan Auditions as Obama Mideast Broker With Iran, Syria Ties

Bloomberg, here

"...For his first visit to the Muslim world, Obama picked a country that angered the U.S. by refusing to be a staging ground for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, reaching an energy accord with Iran over American objections and straining relations with Israel by criticizing its December incursion into Gaza.

At the same time, Turkey is cultivating Syria and Iran just as Obama, who arrives in Ankara on April 5, pursues a thaw with those traditional U.S. adversaries. And displays of independence, such as promoting Iran’s involvement in a planned gas pipeline, have enhanced Erdogan’s status with countries suspicious of the U.S.

It may be precisely those ruptures with the U.S. that have focused Obama’s attention on Turkey and the role it can play in his Middle East policy, said Rashid Khalidi, head of the school of Arab studies at Columbia University in New York. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” Khalidi said. .."