Turkey turns away from the West - by Harry Sterling

Although Turkey and Israel have been allies since the Cold War with the two countries carrying out joint naval and air manoeuvres, sharing intelligence over developments in the Middle East and increasing their bilateral trade and economic relations, there has been growing opposition among ordinary Turks to such close co-operation.

That opposition gained momentum following the 2002 electoral victory of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Emboldened by his AK Party winning yet another impressive majority in Turkey's 2007 election, coupled with a diminishment of power by Turkey's pro-secular military, Prime Minister Erdogan adopted a much more independent domestic and foreign policy than was normal for previous Turkish governments when the military often called the shots, overthrowing three governments since 1960, even executing prime minister Adnan Menderes in 1961.

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