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Radikal, Turkey
Dec 8 2009
Turkey's Increased Importance for United States
by Ceyda Karan
Washington -Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's trip to Washington as US
President Barack Obama's guest comes at a time when Turkey is setting
its foreign policy on a new foundation, when the active diplomacy it
pursues in its region is no longer limited to improving relations with
its neighbours, and when with a short space of time Turkey has become
the centre of the world's attention. The axis of Turkish-American
bilateral relations, the agenda for Erdogan and Obama, is replete with
fat files ranging from the Kurdish overture and combating the PKK to
Iran, Afghanistan, Cyprus and Armenia. The oddest thing about the
perception of US-Turkish relations is this: Some people in Turkey are
continually advocating the notion that the AKP's [Justice and
Development Party] foreign policy leanings are "along American lines
and under American tutelage." They maintain that Turkey cannot take
the steps it is taking in the region without getting the go-ahead from
America.
It is ironic then that before Prime Minister Erdogan entered the
meeting at the White House, where he was going to be hosted by Obama,
the most widely discussed topic in the Washington lobbies was how the
seeds of distrust regarding Turkey within the US administration were
flourishing more and more. This notion has been constantly repeated
dressed up as "Neo-Ottomanism" and "Axis-changing." Can you imagine a
country that "cannot move without America's approval" yet is steadily
becoming an annoyance to the very country whose "tutelage" it is
under! Some madmen are constantly causing problems while others are
constantly trying to fix them. Be that as it may, these formulations
do not alter the facts. Chief among these facts is Turkey's importance
for the United States. This was why Obama made Turkey one of his first
stops after coming to power. Turkey is steadily increasing its
importance in every area of interest to the United States. In my
opinion, the independent policies that are being pursued have a
significant place here. Perhaps in one part we are seeing a Turkey
that is trying to act like a global actor in a way that extends its
reach. However, what other way is there to make oneself heard? Even
more so when what wants to be said is so important...
Harmony of rhetoric
In short, with the foreign policy it has been following over the past
few months Turkey has not reduced its importance for the United
States; on the contrary it has increased it. And this fact does not
require both countries to adopt the same attitude in every matter. One
should not make the mistake of looking at this in the form, "The
United States asks Turkey for more soldiers in Afghanistan and Turkey
does not comply." This is because if you look at the core of the
matter you can easily see that in a burning problem like Afghanistan
Turkey's diplomacy is overall working for "Washington's good." Turkey
has been maintaining right from the start that the military option
alone is not the solution in Afghanistan. Today, Obama is using those
same arguments when announcing his new and much riskier Afghanistan
strategy. Naturally, he is not bringing the occupation to an end but
it is interesting how the rhetoric he uses matches Turkey's line.
The Iran issue is naturally far more complex in that it is not easy to
predict the Obama administration's approach to Iran from one day to
the next. However, there is no cause for exaggerating the concerns
that the international community is ultimately going to "attempt to
punish Turkey," which appears to be complying with the attitude of
forcing Iran into a corner. The Iran issue is clear enough from
Turkey's point of view. Prime Minister Erdogan made this abundantly
clear yesterday. Iran is Turkey's most important neighbour, and Turkey
does not want to see a new nuclear armed power in the region or any
new state of conflict. It is Turkey's responsibility to do everything
it can here and to make all sides see sense. In this matter, Turkey is
a "natural mediator" even though neither the United States nor Iran
acknowledges this today.
Indeed, it was understood from yesterday's critical meeting that both
sides maintained their own positions, even though they do not entirely
overlap.
[translated from Turkish]
Dec 8 2009
Turkey's Increased Importance for United States
by Ceyda Karan
Washington -Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's trip to Washington as US
President Barack Obama's guest comes at a time when Turkey is setting
its foreign policy on a new foundation, when the active diplomacy it
pursues in its region is no longer limited to improving relations with
its neighbours, and when with a short space of time Turkey has become
the centre of the world's attention. The axis of Turkish-American
bilateral relations, the agenda for Erdogan and Obama, is replete with
fat files ranging from the Kurdish overture and combating the PKK to
Iran, Afghanistan, Cyprus and Armenia. The oddest thing about the
perception of US-Turkish relations is this: Some people in Turkey are
continually advocating the notion that the AKP's [Justice and
Development Party] foreign policy leanings are "along American lines
and under American tutelage." They maintain that Turkey cannot take
the steps it is taking in the region without getting the go-ahead from
America.
It is ironic then that before Prime Minister Erdogan entered the
meeting at the White House, where he was going to be hosted by Obama,
the most widely discussed topic in the Washington lobbies was how the
seeds of distrust regarding Turkey within the US administration were
flourishing more and more. This notion has been constantly repeated
dressed up as "Neo-Ottomanism" and "Axis-changing." Can you imagine a
country that "cannot move without America's approval" yet is steadily
becoming an annoyance to the very country whose "tutelage" it is
under! Some madmen are constantly causing problems while others are
constantly trying to fix them. Be that as it may, these formulations
do not alter the facts. Chief among these facts is Turkey's importance
for the United States. This was why Obama made Turkey one of his first
stops after coming to power. Turkey is steadily increasing its
importance in every area of interest to the United States. In my
opinion, the independent policies that are being pursued have a
significant place here. Perhaps in one part we are seeing a Turkey
that is trying to act like a global actor in a way that extends its
reach. However, what other way is there to make oneself heard? Even
more so when what wants to be said is so important...
Harmony of rhetoric
In short, with the foreign policy it has been following over the past
few months Turkey has not reduced its importance for the United
States; on the contrary it has increased it. And this fact does not
require both countries to adopt the same attitude in every matter. One
should not make the mistake of looking at this in the form, "The
United States asks Turkey for more soldiers in Afghanistan and Turkey
does not comply." This is because if you look at the core of the
matter you can easily see that in a burning problem like Afghanistan
Turkey's diplomacy is overall working for "Washington's good." Turkey
has been maintaining right from the start that the military option
alone is not the solution in Afghanistan. Today, Obama is using those
same arguments when announcing his new and much riskier Afghanistan
strategy. Naturally, he is not bringing the occupation to an end but
it is interesting how the rhetoric he uses matches Turkey's line.
The Iran issue is naturally far more complex in that it is not easy to
predict the Obama administration's approach to Iran from one day to
the next. However, there is no cause for exaggerating the concerns
that the international community is ultimately going to "attempt to
punish Turkey," which appears to be complying with the attitude of
forcing Iran into a corner. The Iran issue is clear enough from
Turkey's point of view. Prime Minister Erdogan made this abundantly
clear yesterday. Iran is Turkey's most important neighbour, and Turkey
does not want to see a new nuclear armed power in the region or any
new state of conflict. It is Turkey's responsibility to do everything
it can here and to make all sides see sense. In this matter, Turkey is
a "natural mediator" even though neither the United States nor Iran
acknowledges this today.
Indeed, it was understood from yesterday's critical meeting that both
sides maintained their own positions, even though they do not entirely
overlap.
[translated from Turkish]