Davuto?lu vs. Davuto?lu

Turkey's Davuto?lu-led foreign policy flip-flops may have led to what Erdo?an described on July 24 as 'security weakness' at home. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has suddenly decided that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) turned into a threat big enough to be confronted by tank shellings, airstrikes, massive police raids and border walls.

Davuto?lu is like ?the most interesting man in the world.? He doesn?t always change his opinions and actions. But when he does, it is spectacular. 

The following round-up of evolving developments and Davuto?lu?s statements in the past years may help you understand me better.

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Aug. 7, 2014: Davuto?lu, then Turkey?s foreign minister, told journalists that ISIL was merely a result of the ?accumulation of anger among alienated Sunni Arabs.? He continued: ?ISIL can be seen as a radical, terrorized structure, but there are also Turks, Arabs and Kurds in it. Past grievances and angers created a wide reaction in a large area.?

July 24, 2015: Prime Minister Davuto?lu said: ?The attacks of Daesh [a word he now uses instead of ISIL], which we declared a terrorist organization and saw as an obvious threat due to the very negative perception it creates in the Islamic world as well as its destructive effect in Syria, are now on our agenda, clearly, following the Suruç suicide bombing and the killing of our non-commissioned military officer.?

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July 30, 2012: While chatting with journalists during an iftar (fast-breaking) dinner in Ankara, Foreign Minister Davuto?lu said the borders between Turkey, Syria and Iran were artificial. ?Let?s render these borders unimportant, like they did in Europe,? he suggested.

July 23, 2015: The Davuto?lu...