While Greece sinks, Syria splits and the Mideast is in turmoil, Turkey quietly rises

While everyone worries about the Arab spring, the Syrian
turmoil, the
Iraq mess, and the Greek economy, Turkey seems to be quietly collecting its
winnings. Economy
doing well, economic and political influence spreading northeast, southeast
and south. Seems pretty stable politically. My guess: It is reassuming the role
it played for thirty or more centuries, before the Cold War temporarily cut it
off, of a great nexus of trade both east-west and north-south. I remember
reading that a lot of the wheat for ancient Greece and then Rome came on ships
out of the Black Sea. (If I recall correctly, Rome's three great breadbaskets
were Sicily, Egypt and Ukraine.)     

But there are some rumblings of concern out there. One smart
guy I know writes, "Turkey probably sees the removal of the Al-Assad
regime and the Baa'th Party with that its downside of civil war as inevitable,
and is putting is putting its weight behind the Muslim
Brotherhood. . .the crux being which is better: a secular Syria in
orbit with Iran under the Ba'ath Party, or Syria dominated by the Muslim
Brotherhood .  .  . it is now about what Turkey finds best
in its interests." Hmm-I wonder how that plays out.

(HT to DLM)