Friend Elias Muhanna of Qifa Nabki lists “Five Thoughts on Turkey and the Flotilla Crisis” that I recommend you read.

Here’s a sixth thought which was implied but perhaps Elias was a bit shy to make:

6- Many arabs are craving a strong SUNNI leader to emerge as a counter-part to the bombastic Ahmadinejad of Iran. Mr Erdogan’s Turkey is in a way the perfect antidote to Khomeini’s Iran because it provides a model of free-trade internationalism, strong backbone and an anti-Israel fire that is still very much alive in the bellies of most (Sunni) Arabs.