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THE US ROAD THROUGH TURKEY
The Monitor
December 8, 2008
The two countries share strategic concerns. They should work more
closely together.
E-mail a friend Print this Letter to the Editor Republish
ShareThisE-mail newsletters RSS To celebrate Barack Obama's election
as the 44th US president, villagers in a remote province of Turkey
sacrificed 44 sheep. It was a small gesture in a faraway land, but
one with a big message: hope for a revived relationship.
Polls show this NATO ally and Middle East powerhouse holds opinions
of America that are among the lowest in the world. That's mostly due
to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and related issues. The incoming Obama
administration would do well to repair ties with this secular Muslim
democracy, and take greater advantage of Turkey's role in a tense
region where the countries' interests overlap.
To Turkey's north lie authoritarian Russia and the Caucasus states,
site of frozen and hot conflicts. To the east sit the energy-rich
Caspian Sea basin, Iran and its nuclear program, and, beyond that,
Afghanistan. Directly south are Iraq and Syria, two troubled states
in the region.
Ankara, the capital, has taken on the ambitious goal of "zero
problems" on its borders and is trying to become a neighborhood
troubleshooter. After Moscow rolled over Georgia in August, for
instance, Ankara proposed a regional dialogue, but Georgia wasn't int
erested in talking to the Russian bear that nearly swallowed it whole.
Turkey has brought Syria and Israel together to negotiate over the
Golan Heights. Last week, it hosted the leaders of Pakistan and
Afghanistan for antiterrorism talks. It is at long last reaching out
to Armenia - despite a controversial history over the 1915 massacres
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Now it's offering to mediate
between the US and Iran, and has been elected to a temporary seat on
the UN Security Council - center stage for the Iran stalemate.
Turkey has offered its land for an alternative gas pipeline network
for Europe and the Middle East, has greatly increased trade with its
neighbors, and is opening about a dozen embassies in Africa.
Call this diplomatic and economic expansion "Ottoman Lite."
The US has much to gain from Turkey's emerging role, including
a region-altering breakthrough in talks between Israel and Syria
that need a big push from a President Obama. And Turkey will be an
important player as the US pulls out of Iraq. Ankara has faulted
the US for not doing enough to halt attacks on Turkey from Kurdish
terrorists in northern Iraq.
Even if the two countries smooth over tensions, though, the road
ahead will be as hilly as the Turkish capital.
At US election time, Turkish television obsessed over the prospect
of the new US Congress passing a resolution - with Mr. Obama's b
lessing - that recognizes the Armenian massacres as genocide. Turkey
staunchly denies the claim. Yet in focusing on this, Turkey makes the
genocide controversy America's problem, when it's really Turkey's to
resolve. The obsession hints at other issues to work out, including
human rights abuses.
The US, on the other hand, must not expect Turkey to be the automatic
ally of cold-war days. Russia has become its largest trading partner,
and the Muslim party now in power feels a greater kinship with its
Muslim brothers in the region.
Turkey is attempting to balance its allegiance with the West with a
new attentiveness to its neighbors. It is a tricky balance indeed,
but one that can also benefit Washington.
The Monitor
December 8, 2008
The two countries share strategic concerns. They should work more
closely together.
E-mail a friend Print this Letter to the Editor Republish
ShareThisE-mail newsletters RSS To celebrate Barack Obama's election
as the 44th US president, villagers in a remote province of Turkey
sacrificed 44 sheep. It was a small gesture in a faraway land, but
one with a big message: hope for a revived relationship.
Polls show this NATO ally and Middle East powerhouse holds opinions
of America that are among the lowest in the world. That's mostly due
to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and related issues. The incoming Obama
administration would do well to repair ties with this secular Muslim
democracy, and take greater advantage of Turkey's role in a tense
region where the countries' interests overlap.
To Turkey's north lie authoritarian Russia and the Caucasus states,
site of frozen and hot conflicts. To the east sit the energy-rich
Caspian Sea basin, Iran and its nuclear program, and, beyond that,
Afghanistan. Directly south are Iraq and Syria, two troubled states
in the region.
Ankara, the capital, has taken on the ambitious goal of "zero
problems" on its borders and is trying to become a neighborhood
troubleshooter. After Moscow rolled over Georgia in August, for
instance, Ankara proposed a regional dialogue, but Georgia wasn't int
erested in talking to the Russian bear that nearly swallowed it whole.
Turkey has brought Syria and Israel together to negotiate over the
Golan Heights. Last week, it hosted the leaders of Pakistan and
Afghanistan for antiterrorism talks. It is at long last reaching out
to Armenia - despite a controversial history over the 1915 massacres
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Now it's offering to mediate
between the US and Iran, and has been elected to a temporary seat on
the UN Security Council - center stage for the Iran stalemate.
Turkey has offered its land for an alternative gas pipeline network
for Europe and the Middle East, has greatly increased trade with its
neighbors, and is opening about a dozen embassies in Africa.
Call this diplomatic and economic expansion "Ottoman Lite."
The US has much to gain from Turkey's emerging role, including
a region-altering breakthrough in talks between Israel and Syria
that need a big push from a President Obama. And Turkey will be an
important player as the US pulls out of Iraq. Ankara has faulted
the US for not doing enough to halt attacks on Turkey from Kurdish
terrorists in northern Iraq.
Even if the two countries smooth over tensions, though, the road
ahead will be as hilly as the Turkish capital.
At US election time, Turkish television obsessed over the prospect
of the new US Congress passing a resolution - with Mr. Obama's b
lessing - that recognizes the Armenian massacres as genocide. Turkey
staunchly denies the claim. Yet in focusing on this, Turkey makes the
genocide controversy America's problem, when it's really Turkey's to
resolve. The obsession hints at other issues to work out, including
human rights abuses.
The US, on the other hand, must not expect Turkey to be the automatic
ally of cold-war days. Russia has become its largest trading partner,
and the Muslim party now in power feels a greater kinship with its
Muslim brothers in the region.
Turkey is attempting to balance its allegiance with the West with a
new attentiveness to its neighbors. It is a tricky balance indeed,
but one that can also benefit Washington.