I was still onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited Turkey. According to the Armed Forces Network, Panetta was full of praise for Turkey and its role in the region.

Unfortunately, the more the Obama administration puffs up Turkey, the more Turkish officials see a green light to encourage radicalism and bash Israel. On the same day as Panetta’s visit, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu bragged, “It is our policies which made Israel kneel down in the region in front of us. We have always sided with people who demand democracy, not with authoritarian and oppressive regimes.”

In Turkey, up is down and right is wrong. Turkey may be a model, but rather than be one for democracy, its anti-Israel and anti-Semitic leadership is instead transforming it into a model for incitement and Israel-bashing which makes that in Egypt and Saudi Arabia look mild.