Stratfor has long discussed Turkey as an integral part of U.S. strategy in Eurasia. Straddling two continents, Turkey has influence spanning the Black Sea region and the Middle East, meaning it is a highly strategic ally in both counterbalancing Russia and managing the conflicts consuming the Islamic world. We view Turkey as the southern anchor of the Intermarium , a network of allies including Lithuania, Poland and Romania that occupy Russia's European rim and have a collective interest in working with a Western hegemon to keep Russia at bay. But the map only tells part of the story. The Turkey of today is not the Turkey of the 1950s . Back then, a vulnerable Turkey was ready to duck under a U.S. security umbrella stamped with the Truman Doctrine while embracing the Rousseauian mindset of keeping religion separate from statecraft.