The headline in June was “Trump Officially Hands Syria Over to Russia and Iran” and now America First means letting a Turkish dictatorship get a hand in a continuing human rights disaster.
Trump gets a courtesy call from his handler after several authoritarian governments met in Sochi to decide the Syrian restoration of Assad to power.
Vlad was never going to share that Nobel Peace Prize with Agent Orange. He has to have both hands free to handle it in Stockholm.
Turkish relations with Iran were nearly as antagonistic for some 150 years, but subsequently transformed into mutual caution and suspicion. After all, Shia Persia never came under the control of the Sunni Ottomans. That the three countries have begun to work closely together to contain the Syrian civil war is more a function of their perceived perception of American weakness than of any upsurge in mutual love.
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It is certainly possible that this three-way partnership will be short-lived. The national interests of the three are not congruent. Much will depend on the United States, however. Should Washington remain active in Syria, or increase its efforts there, Turkey will be far less likely to abandon the West for other partners. If, however, the United States washes its hands of Syria, the Turkish-Russian-Iranian connection may be the start of a beautiful friendship.