On January 5, while all eyes were focused on the fallout from Qassem Soleimani's death, Turkish president Recep ErdoÄŸan announced that he had moved Turkish troops into Libya.  The move sparked concerns that ErdoÄŸan is again trying to position Turkey as a regional empire. ErdoÄŸan's desire for imperial status looks back to a time at which Istanbul, Turkey's capital, was the center of the Muslim Ottoman Empire.  That empire, which reached its peak in the late 17th century, controlled vast swaths of the Middle East (including Jerusalem) and Central Europe.  In 1683, when the Ottoman military was making a push into Western Europe, it was turned back at the gates of Vienna (although the retreating troops were good enough to leave their coffee behind).  Turkish president Recep ErdoÄŸan has made it clear that he dreams of reinstating that Ottoman Empire. Currently, Libya is under the control of an internationally...(Read Full Post)