Obama to Turkey: "Upgrade," Not "Reset" (TURKEY)

US President Barack Obama's first visit to a Muslim-majority nation will take place Sunday in Turkey. This is a wise choice, and if relations with Russia are to receive a "reset," US-Turkish relations are in need of a serious "upgrade."

Obama's visit comes at a critical juncture in US-Turkish relations and represents a golden opportunity for both allies to take the relationship to a higher level.

The Turkey that Obama will visit is a very different place from the "moderate Islamic model" that President George W. Bush touted five years ago. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has been riding a wave of popular sentiment that blends a previously irreconcilable mix of religious and secular nationalism. In this context, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's dramatic walkout at the World Economic Forum in Davos, his call for Israel to be removed from the UN and his posturing against an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement to help Turkey weather the economic crisis illustrate the potential repercussions if Turkey were to detach completely from its Western anchors.

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