Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 09/2008

PolicyWatch #1322: Special Forum Report: A Middle East Study Tour: Perspectives from Turkey

Soner Cagaptay

December 2007

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Abstract

Upon returning from the latest Washington Institute Study Tour to the Middle East, senior fellow Soner Cagaptay discussed his findings and impressions at a special Institute Policy Forum. The following is his own summary of his remarks at the forum. Senior fellow David Makovsky addressed the forum as well, discussing his impressions from Amman, Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Tel Aviv; a summary of his remarks was published as PolicyWatch no. 1323.

A group of Institute trustees and fellows recently visited Turkey, meeting with policymakers, scholars, journalists, and community leaders. A key finding of the delegation was that Turkish foreign policy seems to be settling into a new pattern -- one friendly to the United States, Syria, and Iran.