PREVIEW HEADLINE: The Islamist Strongman: Why Erdogan Cannot Be Trusted in Gaza Peacekeeping Efforts GUEST NAME: Jonathan Schanzer, Foundation for Defense of Democracies 100-WORD SUMMARY: John Batchelor and Jonathan Schanzer discuss the highly problematic
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
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🗓️ 15 October 2025
⏱️ 2 minutes
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Summary
HEADLINE: The Islamist Strongman: Why Erdogan Cannot Be Trusted in Gaza Peacekeeping Efforts
GUEST NAME: Jonathan Schanzer, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
100-WORD SUMMARY: John Batchelor and Jonathan Schanzer discuss the highly problematic role of Turkish President Erdogan, who is described as a strongman, autocrat, and dictator hostile to U.S. and Israeli interests. Schanzer expresses concern about the potential for Turkish troops on the ground in Gaza to enforce peace, noting that Turkey previously sponsored Hamas and called for a Muslim coalition to attack Israel. Erdogan provides sanctuary to the Muslim Brotherhood (the "mother ship of Hamas") and is an Islamist to his core. He has supported ISIS and Hamas and helped Iran evade sanctions. While Donald Trump has attempted to co-opt Erdogan to make Turkey a more constructive player, Schanzer is concerned this strategy will fail, believing it runs against Erdogan's fundamental nature.
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| 0:25.5 | This is John Batchel, speaking with colleague Jonathan Schenzor of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy about Erdogan, the strong man, the president of Turkey, attending the |
| 0:31.8 | signing in Shamal Sheikh of the world leaders. And yet, the Muslim brothers are given sanctuary refuge in |
| 0:39.9 | Ankara and Istanbul. The Muslim brothers are the mother's ship of Hamas. Erdogan is not a transparent, |
| 0:48.8 | good force in the region. He is generally understood to be hostile to Israel and to the interests of the United |
| 0:55.9 | States. Here's Jonathan Shanzer to introduce us to the intricacies ahead, not behind, |
| 1:01.9 | ahead after the Gaza deal is resolved. Much more of this tonight. Essentially, yes, John, |
| 1:10.2 | and it's highly problematic. |
| 1:12.4 | I'm concerned that there could be Turkish troops on the ground in Gaza to try to enforce |
| 1:17.5 | peace when the Turks were the sponsors of Hamas and they've actually called for an international |
| 1:22.4 | Muslim coalition to attack Israel in recent months. |
| 1:27.1 | I mean, this is not a recipe for stability. And I will |
| 1:31.3 | note parenthetically that Donald Trump has talked about Erdogan in the context of forging peace |
| 1:37.8 | between Russia and Ukraine. What it looks like Donald Trump is trying to do is to co-opt Erdogan |
| 1:43.7 | and to essentially steer him, |
| 1:45.9 | chicken wing him and push him in a new direction, one that would make Turkey more of a constructive |
| 1:52.5 | player. My problem, my concern here is that I just don't think that this is in Erdogan's DNA. |
| 1:59.2 | As you mentioned, he's a Muslim brother. He's a leader of that |
| 2:02.5 | movement. He is an Islamist to his core. He has been a supporter of ISIS. He's been a supporter of |
| 2:07.8 | Hamas. He has helped Iran evade sanctions. This is not a man to be trusted. This is a strong man, |
| 2:14.6 | an autocrat, a dictator now in Turkey. And I think that really every instinct of his |
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