Turkey has become a bigger and bigger pain in the ass recently, which is one of the reasons why my opposition to Congress officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide has dwindled to near non-existent. Jim Geraghty recently expressed a similar sentiment:

I haven’t quite changed my mind, but I think I feel less strongly about this now than I did in the past, for a few reasons. One, our mission in Iraq is gradually winding down. Staying on good terms with the Turks is still important, but it is not quite as supremely vital as it was in previous years. Two, the decisions of the current Turkish government, headed by Erdogan, are increasingly irksome, pushing the country in a more Islamist direction.

Indeed, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been known to deliver anti-Israeli speeches while defending Islamists. Ankara has been turning away from Europe and towards Syria and Russia, even down to the decreasing freedom of speech and press.

And then there’s this. Ankara has been staunchly defending Iran and seems to believe Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s intentions are pure in regards to the nuclear program. Turkey, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, has rejected proposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic and state-sponsor of terrorism:

ANKARA – NATO ally Turkey, a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has refused to support additional sanctions on Iran because of Tehran’s controversial nuclear program, angering the West.

“There is still an opportunity ahead of us and we believe that this opportunity should be used effectively. Not less, but more diplomacy [is needed],” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said March 24.

Of course additional sanctions don’t rule out the possibility of diplomacy, even though negotiations at this point will only accomplish the biding of time for Tehran to complete its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

He said Ankara thinks that Iran has “good intentions on this issue and wants a solution. Otherwise, we would not be making such efforts [to mediate between Iran and the West],” Ozugergin said.

He said Ankara thinks Iran has good intentions. Iran, the country that spent the past year rigging elections and gunning down protesters in the streets. Iran, recognized as a state-sponsor of terrorism across the globe. Iran, currently in violation of international law due to its pursuit of nuclear weapons even while threatening to wipe Israel off the map. Ankara believes that such a country has good intentions and wants a peaceful settlement.

In fact, Prime Minister Erdogan has been more specific. He has defended Iran against western criticism, insisting the Iranian nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. And he’s framed that defense within a context of, again, attacking Israel’s defense measures.

Turkey is moving from uncertain ally to outright foe at a disturbingly quick pace.