Americans who explore the wonders of Istanbul rarely visit Turkey's capital, deep in the plains of Anatolia. Ankara is known mainly for two things: a stunning museum that highlights Turkey's ancient Anatolian past, and the vast hilltop mausoleum of Ataturk, Turkey's founder, whose stern face is visible on huge banners throughout the city.
But Ankara is becoming known for something else that's of great strategic interest to Americans: an active foreign policy that may help resolve conflicts in critical regions where the United States has faltered. That includes the troubled Caucasus region, where Russia just warred with Georgia, and the Middle East.
"If you list the key issues which Turkey and the United States pursue, you'd be amazed by how many parallels there are," Turkey's president, Abdullah Gul, told a small group of visiting U.S. journalists and think-tank experts in an interview in his office.
At the crossroads
Indeed, almost every foreign crisis on the U.S. agenda is also a concern for Gul. Turkey sits at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, bordering not only the European Union, but also Georgia, Iraq, Iran and Syria. It has been adversely affected by growing Mideast chaos since the Iraq war.
Turkey also sits at an energy crossroads. Efforts to build new oil and gas pipelines from Central Asia and the Caucasus
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