Speaking in Kastamonu on Friday, July 19, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “Strong Turkey is making its influence felt more in this region every day. Our agenda was determined by others in the past, but there is no longer a Turkey whose agenda is determined by others. There is now a Turkey that determines the agenda. That is to say, there are so many developments taking place in Iraq and Syria. It will be all good at the end. Don’t forget: Whatever happens, happens for some good. What’s important is that Turkey continues its path with its strong economy.”
This was a quite interesting statement. First, there is nothing wrong with being optimistic and in believing that the world will be better tomorrow. But this general trend toward positivism is not free of downfalls, both sharp and soft, and the traditionally troubled Middle East region is without a doubt experiencing some changing and challenging times. It may be comforting to believe that the Iraqis who died since the 2003 US invasion and the Syrians who have perished since the 2011 beginning of the civil war did not die for nothing. The question is, however, how Erdogan thinks Turkey has determined the agenda in this conflict zone, and why the prime minister claims that others — mainly the Western powers — had determined Turkey’s agenda in the past.
While inaugurating the airport in Kastamonu, Erdogan was filled with pride. The late Adnan Menderes, Turkey’s prime minister between 1950 and 1960, who was executed by hanging and an idol for Islamist camp in the country, had also attempted to build an airport in Kastamonu — to no avail.
“54 years ago in 1959, during the time of late Menderes, he expressed a desire to build an airport in Kastamonu. But it was not possible to make it functional then and therefore, it was forgotten. In 1990, there was another attempt to open the airport here. After a few test flights and no passengers, it was closed in 1994,” Erdogan said, asserting that this time this airport has become fully functional, fulfilling Menderes’ dream.
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