Erdogan’s Courtship of Pakistan Stirs Fears of a Nuclear-Armed Turkey

Excerpt

One bull in the china shop of South Asian security — a nuclear-armed Pakistan — is bad enough, but Ankara’s recent steps toward an economic and military foothold at Islamabad suggests the region could soon need to deal with two. Since November, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has sought out various means to infiltrate Pakistan’s economy and security environment. 

Developments like a $300 million offshore oil and gas contract are but the tip of the iceberg. The pro-Erdogan Turkish press are gleefully depicting doorway deals like this as the start of a “strategic commitment” between two ambitious middle powers. Onlookers should not be fooled by Turkey’s NATO membership or Pakistan’s “major non-NATO ally” status. Given their uniquely poor records on counterterrorism and regional aggression, America and its allies ought to watch the Ankara-Islamabad courtship with worry.

Mr. Ciddi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where William Doran is an intern.