Who's better? Saudis or Turks?

The Sunday Telegraph has a great editorial called "Serious Consequences" coming in tomorrow's paper. It's a wonderful read, but I want to raise a minor issue with one point.

They mention that in this conflict the coalition has been better served by Saudi Arabia than it has been by NATO ally Turkey. Which is true - in this case. For this conflict, Saudi Arabia has done more for us than the Turks.

But when we step back and look at the bigger picture. Neither nation has been overly helpful over the long term. But Saudi Arabia has been actively spreading Wahhabi Islam, which is violently anti-American. Turkey, on the other hand, is a real Islamic democracy that works.

We need to be careful here. Saudi Arabia is an ally of convenience. Turkey is an ally of principle. In this case, our interest aligned with those of Saudi Arabia, while we had a difference of opinion with Turkey. Both situations are acceptable.

Turkey is a natural ally for us. We need to make sure that we don't allow a difference of opinion to permanently harm our relationship. That's not to say that we shouldn't be a little more cautious with them in the future, but this isn't relationship threatening. We need to remember who the real ally is and who the ally for now is.