The price of a single photograph...

The line between domestic and foreign policy has become increasingly blurred under the AKP.

For the government, foreign policy is merely a tool to be used to consolidate power at home, to secure hot money from various sources, and to lay the groundwork for an "Ikhwan-style Caliphate" in Turkey and its periphery.

Neither the supreme interests of the country and the nation nor global and regional balances matter. The only issue is to procure the necessary material for the political Islamist mentality to maintain its existence...

We have moved past rationality; this is not even "ideological"!

It is just "like..."

Suppose it is a "Doğan-looking Şahin" (a cheap car modified to look like a more expensive model)...

In reality, this is a shameless pragmatism that would make even Machiavelli blush.

Whatever it takes to stay in power... After all, the country is up for grabs!

Last week, I wrote that Tayyip Erdoğan pressed the button after his phone call with Trump, that Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma was first cancelled and then he was arrested, and we said, "Even though the official statement from this side might look like a weak excuse at first glance, it contains some important clues. At the very least, we can understand how the equation is being set up."

It was very clear that this was based on a compromise of, "I will not harm your interests, I will do whatever you want, but in return, you support me in protecting my seat and do not speak out against what I do at home."

In other words, a kind of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" situation...

Then, the content of the meeting began to leak out slowly.

Trump said that they would work with us on our regional policies.

It is not "let's work together in the Middle East" or anything like that. He stated directly that they would work with Tayyip Erdoğan on US policies.

If the AKP's tall spokesman hadn't announced it, we wouldn't have known.

Let's put diplomatic style and conventions aside; it is impossible for Trump not to know how hurtful and humiliating such an emphasis on "hierarchy," even in human relations, would be. Moreover, this is a conversation between the heads of two independent and sovereign states, one way or another. Every word needs to be weighed with the precision of a jeweler's scale.

The issue is not Tayyip Erdoğan; the issue is the Republic of Turkey...

There is no point in expecting him to know his place or to be careful with his speech. The man thinks he can hide behind his loose tongue and belittle or insult anyone who comes his way.

It would be naive to think that someone who did not react to the "don't be a fool" letter would react to this sentence, but the possibilities that lie ahead are, to put it in a phrase, a nightmare scenario for Turkey.

Let us try to explain as best we can.

Journalists asked Trump's Special Envoy for the Middle East what he talked about with Tayyip Erdoğan...

He described it as "magnificent" and then added "transformational."

It is clear as day what is being transformed. The issue, of course, is the Middle East...

Tayyip Erdoğan had long intended to shift the rudder from Russia and Iran toward the US. As soon as he found the opportunity, he changed the axis. The Astana Process, which was being tried to be carried out with a thousand efforts, has become a lie.

By supporting the jihadists' overthrow of Assad, by supporting the collapse of the Shiite Crescent, and by distancing himself from Tehran and Moscow, he had already taken the most critical "transformational" step. As far as it is understood, the matter does not end here. There is a question of using the government in Turkey as a pair of tongs to throw more fire into the boiling cauldron of the Middle East.

However, we need to wait a little longer for the details to become clear.

There will likely be a US visit in May.

Hakan Fidan held contacts in Washington to lay the groundwork for this visit. The files to be addressed, the messages to be delivered, the steps to be taken...

This is a visit of critical importance for the government.

Tayyip Erdoğan's only concern is to pose for cameras with Trump at the White House. Because this is magnificent material that he can exploit both at home and abroad.

Of course, it is also needed for the hot money he is currently in dire need of.

However, one does not need to be a prophet to predict that the price of this photo for Turkey will be very heavy.

For example, here is the photo you wanted, now give me Iran... Or take on the guardianship of the garrison Kurdish state in northern Syria, or open the Black Sea to me. Actually, the list is very long...

From the information leaked from deep circles, it is understood that the US will first give Turkey F-35 jets in exchange for the destruction of the S-400s.

It will prepare the ground for Tayyip Erdoğan to gain psychological superiority at home, and then it will take action for Iran.

Of course, with the support of the government...

In the meantime, Turkey's relations with Russia and Iran will have hit rock bottom, but who cares...

The US's issue is ensuring Israel's security. Even if the Shiite Crescent has disappeared, Iran is still a threat to Israel! It needs to be eliminated one way or another.

Of course, this will not be marketed to the public this way.

The government's calculations and plans are generally like this for now... Let us ask whether the people of our country taking to the streets and raising their voices could derail these calculations and plans; we leave the answer to the discernment of our readers and put a period to our article.