Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ANKARA: Turkey Losing Neutrality In 'Clash Of Civilizations'

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ANKARA: Turkey Losing Neutrality In 'Clash Of Civilizations'

    TURKEY LOSING NEUTRALITY IN 'CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS'

    Hurriyet Daily News
    Nov 12 2009
    Turkey

    One of the things that the Erdogan government likes to pride itself
    on is the role that Turkey is playing in the efforts to overcome the
    "clash of civilizations." Turkeys' Islamic nature and yet secular and
    democratic system is the key factor that places it in a position to
    play this bridging role. Its geographic location, on the other hand,
    appears to symbolize this role in concrete terms.

    But it is obvious that Turkey can only succeed in this role by
    maintaining a degree of neutrality between the two worlds. Increasing
    speculation in the West, however - and particularly in the United
    States - about whether Turkey is changing direction under its present
    "pro-Islamic" government, and moving more towards the Islamic East,
    is leading to questions about whether Ankara is still eligible to
    play this grandiose role.

    The blame for this must rest on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
    to a large extent, due to his position on sensitive issues for the
    West. His latest visit to Iran, and the strong messages of support
    he gave to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad there, is a case in point.

    By continuing to maintain - as he did while in Tehran - that "war
    crimes suspect" Israel's nuclear arsenal should be concentrated on
    by those who say - without proof - that Iran is chasing after such
    weapons, he was consciously going against the grain as far as the
    West is concerned.

    His strong support for "crimes against humanity" suspect Sudanese
    President Omar al-Bashir last week, on the other hand, is another case
    in point. Maintaining, as Erdogan did, that he has been to Darfur and
    seen nothing amiss, and suggesting that Bashir could not have committed
    the crimes he is accused of, because Muslims do not do such things,
    he again stoked arguments concerning Turkey's real identity.

    Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu insists, of course, that Turkish
    foreign policy is not changing direction but merely expanding to new
    areas. This is basically his "surrounding Turkey with friends and
    reaching further a field for new friends" argument.

    Erdogan's general approach appears to suggest, however, that while this
    may be the case in terms of Ankara's new foreign policy orientation,
    at least as far as he is concerned he likes some "friends" more than
    others. The fact that "Erdogan's friends" are fundamentalist Muslims
    and ruthless Islamic dictators, on the other hand, merely bolsters
    the perception that his heart really lies in the Islamic world.

    Neither does he appear too concerned with the contradictory situations
    that he lands himself in when maintaining this line. For example,
    he has declared strong support for the "Goldstone Report," which says
    that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza.

    Erdogan also continues to harp on about these accusations against
    Israel. But when it comes to Darfur, he is comfortable in suggesting
    in so many words that international reports on this topic do not
    reflect the truth, and contain fabrications.

    When it comes to Iran's nuclear pretensions, instead of emphasizing
    that Turkey would not like anyone in the region to have such weapons -
    as President Gul and Foreign Minister Davutoglu are saying - Erdogan
    prefers the one-sided "what about Israel's weapons?" argument, thus
    appearing to legitimize any nuclear weapons program by Tehran.

    When forced to, he of course admits that he wants the whole region
    emptied of weapons of mass destruction. But this is usually said with
    no emphasis added, and almost as an after-thought, as if said out of
    necessity, and not for any other reason.

    Put briefly, Erdogan's unqualified support for the likes of
    Ahmadinejad and Bashir does not present the picture of impartiality
    that is required if Turkey is to play the role of a mediator between
    civilizations. Neither do his remarks on such topics on Iran's
    nuclear program contribute much to efforts to convince Turkey's
    Western partners that Ankara is not moving away from them.

    The damage Erdogan is doing to Turkey's image in the West is, however,
    beginning to show. Take for example the commentary by David Schenker
    in the Wall Street Journal last week (Nov. 5).

    Arguing that "Ankara is moving closer to the mullocracy in Tehran, even
    though the Islamic Republic is undermining stability in Afghanistan
    and Iraq," Schenker declares that such behavior is also in violation
    of Turkey's NATO commitments.

    Schenker, who heads the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington
    Institute for Near East Policy, goes on to declare that 2014 could
    turn out to be the year of decision for the alliance on Turkey.

    "It's time that NATO start thinking about a worst case scenario in
    Turkey. For even if the increasingly Islamist state remains a NATO
    partner, at best, it seems Turkey will be an unreliable partner,"
    he says.

    Schenker's exaggerated remarks are not interesting for what they say.

    They are interesting because they reflect the kind of perception that
    is beginning to spread in the West concerning Turkey. They are also
    interesting because they reflect the kinds of questions that Erdogan
    will be faced with in Washington, which he will be visiting in a few
    weeks time.

    The U.S. administration continues to give Erdogan the benefit of the
    doubt because of such things as the Kurdish and Armenian openings.

    Both of these are crucial to Washington's interests in the Caucusus and
    Iraq. But if Erdogan can't deliver on these issues, and yet continue
    as he is with his overtly pro-Islamic sympathies in foreign policy
    when it comes to sensitive issues for the West such as Israel, Iran
    and Sudan, then the tide in Washington could turn.

    The messages Erdogan will give in Washington - where he will also
    meet President Obama - will therefore be very important given the
    doubts that are arising in the West over Turkey's orientation. These
    messages will either help dissipate these doubts or fuel them further.

    Given his responses to questions relating to Israel, Iran and Sudan
    of late, it looks more likely that he will fuel these doubts further,
    unless he does an about-turn and changes tack seriously on these
    topics. But how he can do so, given his recent remarks, and still
    hope to be credible, is an open question.
Working...
X