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KEY TURKISH ISSUES AT PLAY IN US ELECTIONS
Hurriyet
Nov 2 2010
Turkey
People arrive for the 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear' in
Washington, DC. The midterm elections are expected to see the
Democratic Party cede power to the Republicans. AFP photo
As millions of Americans go to the polls Tuesday for a midterm election
seen as a referendum on Barack Obama's two years as president,
U.S. relations with Turkey also hang in the balance.
The midterm polls will see 37 seats in the 100-member Senate up for
election, as well as all 435 seats in the House, the lower chamber of
the U.S. Congress. Though Obama's administration has expressed
confidence about its continued relationship with Turkey's newly
energized ruling party, many lawmakers in the restless Congress seek
retaliation against Turkey for Ankara's improved ties with Iran
and worsened relations with Israel.
The first major test in the post-election period will come at a NATO
leaders' summit in Lisbon on Nov. 19 and 20, when the alliance will
seek to endorse a common position on a U.S.-proposed missile shield
to protect NATO members from ballistic threats from rogue states.
Washington seeks to deploy the system's special X-band detection
radars on Turkish soil, an issue that has added further tension to
the already stressed relationship between the two allies.
While the United States has designed the missile-defense system
specifically as protection against Iran, Turkey has said it perceives
no such threat from its eastern neighbor. Ankara has conditioned
its support for the project - crucial given NATO's process
of making decisions by consensus - on unanimous NATO backing, a
guarantee that its entire territory will be protected and no specific
countries being singled out as potential threats.
Whether or not Turkey endorses the missile-defense project will be
of key importance for its relations with Washington and the rest of
the West. One danger for Turkey is a vote on a resolution recognizing
Armenian claims of genocide that the House Foreign Affairs Committee
narrowly approved in March. The Obama administration has thus far
stood firm in its opposition to the bill, but U.S. Armenians seek
a full House vote on the resolution during the "lame-duck"
session that will follow Tuesday's election.
If the legislation is not voted on this year, it will expire,
and pro-Armenian lawmakers will have to reintroduce it in the new
Congress to be elected Tuesday, which will take office Jan. 3,
2011. Any congressional sessions held between the election and that
date are called "lame duck" sessions: ones that take place
after the election for the next Congress has been held, but before the
current Congress has reached the end of its constitutional term. The
significant characteristic of such a session is that its participants
are the sitting members of the existing Congress, not those who have
just been elected to the new Congress.
Referendum on Obama
The midterm elections are expected to see Obama's Democratic
Party cede power to the opposition Republicans in the House of
Representatives, while both parties will try hard to obtain the
majority in the Senate. The upper chamber of Congress is currently
controlled by the Democrats.
The results from Gallup's Oct. 28-31 survey of 1,539 likely
voters found that 52 percent to 55 percent of likely voters prefer the
Republican candidate and 40 percent to 42 percent favor the Democratic
candidate on the national ballot.
Obama campaigned in Ohio on Sunday in an effort to prevent what would
be one of the biggest setbacks for a U.S. president in recent times,
while Republicans seemed confident of their expected success.
The Republican Party needs to pick up only 40 Democratic seats to
regain a majority in the 435-seat House. The Senate is up for grabs,
but even if the Democrats retain their control there, their majority
will definitely shrink.
If the Republicans win the House, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
will have to cede her post to John Boehner, the present Republican
minority leader. Analysts suggest that Obama's disappointing
performance in handling the aftermath of the global financial crisis
and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, coupled with a general public
dissatisfaction over the present Congress, are key factors diminishing
the Democrats' strength.
In the last general elections in 2008, the Democratic Party won a
landslide victory, capturing the presidency and comfortable majorities
in both chambers of Congress.
Still no US ambassador in Turkey
The pending lame-duck session of Congress may also affect the position
of U.S. ambassador in Ankara, a post that has remained empty for more
than three months.
The last ambassador to Ankara, James Jeffrey, now is ambassador to
Baghdad, and his presumed successor, Frank Ricciardone, has thus far
failed to win Senate confirmation, with prominent Republican Senator
Sam Brownback effectively blocking his appointment.
If Brownback lifts his veto - and there has been no sign of that so
far - Ricciardone could be confirmed in the Senate's lame-duck
sessions, which are scheduled to begin Nov. 15. If Brownback refuses
to change his stance, however, or if the lame-duck Senate fails
to vote on the appointment, the post of ambassador to Ankara would
remain vacant at least until the new Congress convenes in January.
Alternatively, Obama might withdraw Ricciardone's nomination and
propose someone else to this post.
Obama's ambassadorial picks for Syria and Azerbaijan, Robert
Ford and Matt Bryza, respectively, also are facing vetoes in the
Senate. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has said the
Senate's failure to approve Obama's ambassadorial nominees
has hampered U.S. policy.
"It does have an impact," Crowley said Oct. 11. "These
are vitally important countries to the future of the region. They are
countries that we need that kind of day-to-day interaction with."
The spokesman said the State Department was "hopeful that when
the Senate reconvenes after the election that their nominations will
go forward. We continue [to be] in consultation with the Senate on
those nominations."
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet
Nov 2 2010
Turkey
People arrive for the 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear' in
Washington, DC. The midterm elections are expected to see the
Democratic Party cede power to the Republicans. AFP photo
As millions of Americans go to the polls Tuesday for a midterm election
seen as a referendum on Barack Obama's two years as president,
U.S. relations with Turkey also hang in the balance.
The midterm polls will see 37 seats in the 100-member Senate up for
election, as well as all 435 seats in the House, the lower chamber of
the U.S. Congress. Though Obama's administration has expressed
confidence about its continued relationship with Turkey's newly
energized ruling party, many lawmakers in the restless Congress seek
retaliation against Turkey for Ankara's improved ties with Iran
and worsened relations with Israel.
The first major test in the post-election period will come at a NATO
leaders' summit in Lisbon on Nov. 19 and 20, when the alliance will
seek to endorse a common position on a U.S.-proposed missile shield
to protect NATO members from ballistic threats from rogue states.
Washington seeks to deploy the system's special X-band detection
radars on Turkish soil, an issue that has added further tension to
the already stressed relationship between the two allies.
While the United States has designed the missile-defense system
specifically as protection against Iran, Turkey has said it perceives
no such threat from its eastern neighbor. Ankara has conditioned
its support for the project - crucial given NATO's process
of making decisions by consensus - on unanimous NATO backing, a
guarantee that its entire territory will be protected and no specific
countries being singled out as potential threats.
Whether or not Turkey endorses the missile-defense project will be
of key importance for its relations with Washington and the rest of
the West. One danger for Turkey is a vote on a resolution recognizing
Armenian claims of genocide that the House Foreign Affairs Committee
narrowly approved in March. The Obama administration has thus far
stood firm in its opposition to the bill, but U.S. Armenians seek
a full House vote on the resolution during the "lame-duck"
session that will follow Tuesday's election.
If the legislation is not voted on this year, it will expire,
and pro-Armenian lawmakers will have to reintroduce it in the new
Congress to be elected Tuesday, which will take office Jan. 3,
2011. Any congressional sessions held between the election and that
date are called "lame duck" sessions: ones that take place
after the election for the next Congress has been held, but before the
current Congress has reached the end of its constitutional term. The
significant characteristic of such a session is that its participants
are the sitting members of the existing Congress, not those who have
just been elected to the new Congress.
Referendum on Obama
The midterm elections are expected to see Obama's Democratic
Party cede power to the opposition Republicans in the House of
Representatives, while both parties will try hard to obtain the
majority in the Senate. The upper chamber of Congress is currently
controlled by the Democrats.
The results from Gallup's Oct. 28-31 survey of 1,539 likely
voters found that 52 percent to 55 percent of likely voters prefer the
Republican candidate and 40 percent to 42 percent favor the Democratic
candidate on the national ballot.
Obama campaigned in Ohio on Sunday in an effort to prevent what would
be one of the biggest setbacks for a U.S. president in recent times,
while Republicans seemed confident of their expected success.
The Republican Party needs to pick up only 40 Democratic seats to
regain a majority in the 435-seat House. The Senate is up for grabs,
but even if the Democrats retain their control there, their majority
will definitely shrink.
If the Republicans win the House, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
will have to cede her post to John Boehner, the present Republican
minority leader. Analysts suggest that Obama's disappointing
performance in handling the aftermath of the global financial crisis
and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, coupled with a general public
dissatisfaction over the present Congress, are key factors diminishing
the Democrats' strength.
In the last general elections in 2008, the Democratic Party won a
landslide victory, capturing the presidency and comfortable majorities
in both chambers of Congress.
Still no US ambassador in Turkey
The pending lame-duck session of Congress may also affect the position
of U.S. ambassador in Ankara, a post that has remained empty for more
than three months.
The last ambassador to Ankara, James Jeffrey, now is ambassador to
Baghdad, and his presumed successor, Frank Ricciardone, has thus far
failed to win Senate confirmation, with prominent Republican Senator
Sam Brownback effectively blocking his appointment.
If Brownback lifts his veto - and there has been no sign of that so
far - Ricciardone could be confirmed in the Senate's lame-duck
sessions, which are scheduled to begin Nov. 15. If Brownback refuses
to change his stance, however, or if the lame-duck Senate fails
to vote on the appointment, the post of ambassador to Ankara would
remain vacant at least until the new Congress convenes in January.
Alternatively, Obama might withdraw Ricciardone's nomination and
propose someone else to this post.
Obama's ambassadorial picks for Syria and Azerbaijan, Robert
Ford and Matt Bryza, respectively, also are facing vetoes in the
Senate. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has said the
Senate's failure to approve Obama's ambassadorial nominees
has hampered U.S. policy.
"It does have an impact," Crowley said Oct. 11. "These
are vitally important countries to the future of the region. They are
countries that we need that kind of day-to-day interaction with."
The spokesman said the State Department was "hopeful that when
the Senate reconvenes after the election that their nominations will
go forward. We continue [to be] in consultation with the Senate on
those nominations."
From: A. Papazian