ABSTRACT
The Americans, clearly, have decided that the country is the best runner among all middle Eastern horses, and have been backing it liberally, even recklessly. This confidence of the United States has been stimulated, not merely by Turkey's consistent - and indeed fanatical - dislike of Russia, which lines her up so definitely on the ‘western’ side in the cold war, but also by accumulating evidence that, at least in the short run. Even to the superficial student of international politics, the importance of Turkey's increasing self-assertiveness has become obvious during the course of the last few months, particularly since the conclusion of the Iraqui-Turkish Pact to which Britain has now adhered. ‘The great progress of Turkey's economy’, which provides the substance for so much contemporary political rhetoric, is real enough.
