This is not reassuring for the nation in the region the Obama administration put some much hope into cultivating as an ally in the Moslem world:
With Crimea now occupied by Russian forces, the peninsula's Russian-majority parliament clamoring to join the Russian Federation, and a referendum on the issue scheduled for March 16, Crimean Tatars are fearful of what another chapter of life under Russian rule could mean.
But if the Crimean Tatar relationship with Russia is rife with tragedy, the Turkish reaction to any potential conflict with Moscow is one of trepidation.
It recalls a past marked by a series of demoralizing military defeats and recognizes a present in which the country enjoys deep trade ties with its Black Sea neighbor, on which it relies for half of its natural-gas supplies.
"Russia is the only neighbor that Turkey really fears for historic and contemporary reasons," says Soner Cagaptay, author of "The Rise Of Turkey: 21st Century's First Muslim Power" and director of the Turkish program at the Washington Institute, a U.S.-based think tank. "Historically, there's a deep-rooted fear among many Turks about not waking up the Russian bear."
Yeah, Turkey is a member of NATO. But so is Belgium. The Turks don't seem inclined to look for trouble with Russia over Crimea given their Russian-supported troubles on their southern border and Turkey's own internal political and economic problems.
