Whom Fortune wishes to destroy, she first makes mad.

Erdogan seems to be heading for self-destruction. The question is how this will happen without causing much damage to the Eastern Mediterranean region.

And yet, let no one have illusions that one can prevent him from going down the slippery road that follows.

It is a huge mistake of the West to continue to give in to his outrageous demands without reacting.

It is a scandal, for example, that Turkey is still a member of NATO. This does nothing – other than justify the critics of the Atlantic Alliance, while at the same time, revealing its decline.

I will refer to two recent examples – I leave the issues of the S-400 missile purchase from Russia and Turkey's gangster invasion of the Aegean on the side – which clearly show Erdogan’s arrogant behavior based on the contempt with which Turkey faces the main NATO country, the United States.

Example 1: The U.S. relations with Maduro are well known.

On March 26, Justice Minister William Barr announced indictments against Maduro and 14 others for drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption and other crimes.

The sanctions were a near-fatal blow to Venezuela's economy and oil sector.

It also imposed sanctions on Russian companies doing business with Venezuela.

So the question is how does this regime survive?

According to a report written by a Turkish diplomat in Caracas, it survives in part thanks to Maduro's relationship with Erdogan.

These relations are based on the fact that Venezuela has sold a significant amount of gold to Turkey in exchange for basic foodstuffs.

A few days ago, on August 18, the Turkish Foreign Minister visited Caracas, where he met with Maduro and other government officials.

Example 2: The State Department issued an angry statement against Erdogan yesterday because he met with two Hamas leaders on August 22.

Hamas is considered by the U.S. – and Israel – as a terrorist organization and its members are wanted with a reward offered by the U.S. in exchange for information leading to their capture.

The State Department’s statement said: "President Erdogan's continuing relationship with this terrorist organization contributes to the isolation of Turkey from the international community … This is the second time that President Erdogan has welcomed the Hamas leadership to Turkey this year, the first meeting took place on February 21."

By what logic, then, can Turkey be considered an ally of the United States and a member of NATO?