As of 02/21/16:

Some key arguments-

Mead:

–‘President Obama was hoping, like many in Europe, that Erdogan’s AK party in Turkey, would be the Democratic Islamists… committed to a free society but with Islamic values.’

Well, if you’re looking at the world through the lens of Western, peace-activist ideological commitments, ‘the People’, generally guided by principles of ‘social justice’ must rise up on their own and demand democracy from their autocratic oppressors.

The Damascus-Tehran-Moscow alliance, motivated profoundly by a common enemy in the United States, will be incorporated into the ‘international community’ with carrots, sticks, and peace-deals.  American resources will be directed towards what are presumed to be universal, shared principles of peace, democracy and human-rights through international institutions.

There, in a state of semi-anarchic, anti-colonial collectivism, will the peace idealist make the world a better place.

Flash ’em the peace sign!

Of course, we might want to remember how well hoping for ‘Democratic Islamists’ worked out in Egypt:

‘The United States has done a very poor job managing perceptions in Egypt. The administration assumed if it wasn’t critical about Morsi’s behavior domestically, they’d win his cooperation on foreign policy. The problem is that Morsi was only willing to cooperate with us on foreign policy in the short run. The Muslim Brotherhood wants to consolidate power in Egypt and then create a global Islamic state. It’s a key part of their ideology and their rhetoric. They talk about it with me. They can’t be our partners.

Worse, by not speaking up and criticizing Morsi as he tried to create unchecked power for himself, it created the impression that the United States wanted to replace Mubarak with the Muslim Brotherhood. That’s extremely damaging in a place like Egypt with such tumultuous politics’

As for Turkey, Erdogan is cracking down on dissenting journalists and opposing political opinions, defensively dealing with Russian and Iranian movements, repressing the Kurds in southeastern Turkey, and responding to the Syrian war while riding deeper Islamic/Islamist currents.

As for Putin, he continues to place bombed-out and war-torn barricades between himself and the West, advancing his interests.

Mead, speaking to a European audience:

‘Ever since WWII, in the West, we have tried to tell ourselves that history really was over that we never would face crises like WWI and WWII…but in fact history doesn’t  stand still…’

‘…It was a mistake to separate the nuclear negotiations from Iran’s regional policy.  In some ways the chief destabilizing element in the Middle East is the rise of Iran and the fear this is causing among the Sunni Arab powers…especially now in alliance with Russia…’

…there needs to be a clear barrier to Russian and Iranian expansion in the Middle-East.’

Don’t hold your breath until the next American elections.

Nancy Okail At Freedom House: “‘Muslim Rage’ and the Politics of Distraction in Egypt’

Related On This Site:  From Al Jazeera English: ‘Morsi Wins Egypt’s Presidential Election’… Adam Garfinkle At The American Interest: ‘What Did The Arab Spring Really Change?’