70 years ago the post-Ottoman Middle East began to unite under a pan-Arabist identity (the brainchild of diaspora Greeks, funny enough). The progressive West s

70 years ago the post-Ottoman Middle East began to unite under a pan-Arabist identity (the brainchild of diaspora Greeks, funny enough). The progressive West spent the next 70 years ensuring that identity never took hold. Specifically on Turkey, the West more or less gave Erdogan the green light for expansion by 1) installing a neutered puppet government in Northern Iraq that is unable to control its borders and 2) supporting anti-Turkish militias against the Syrian government and as a direct consequence set the scene for Turkey to begin occupation. So it’s hardly surprising he begins to flirt a bit more with Cyprus as well.