Regional ambitions

There's a lot of talk about Turkey's recent (supposedly civilian) adventure in the Mediterranean especially since it had the blessing of the ruling junta.  What message were the Turks sending out to the whole world and the region, in particular?

Turkey is ideally placed between Europe & Asia.  One side of the Bosphorus wants to be close to Europe, the other side not.  Having tried all these years to appease the Europeans with reforms, nothing seems to work out in their favor due to the prominence of two groups (traditionalist versus modernists).  The former believes Turkey is swaying way off course with its liberalism while the latter wants even more liberalism.  For now, the former is the driver's seat with no intention of relinquishing its position.

However, there's a lot at stake here.  One of them being they are our strategic partner for security and other avenues of regional cooperation.  Considering these aspects, I seriously hope the Obama administration is reviewing the recent developments and have corrective measures planned in the short & long term.  From what I've heard from sources in DC, there's already a minor state of panic that we are on course of losing an ally that is strategically important for us in this region.

On the other hand, maybe the Turks with their moderate views would not be such a bad idea of a power broker in the region.

Having that said, a key element remains.  Will the traditionalist Arabs allow an outsider even though they share the same religion to flex its muscles in their backyard?

I hope for the sake of stability, we never have to pick a side.