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ISTANBUL: America's love for new Turkey?

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  • ISTANBUL: America's love for new Turkey?

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    Dec 9 2011

    America's love for new Turkey?

    ABDÃ`LHAMÄ°T BÄ°LÄ°CÄ°


    Washington -- Parameters in international relations that remained
    unchanged for many years during the Cold War have already been
    altered. Now, the mentalities that emerged in the post-Cold War era
    are also being quickly left behind.

    Today, we have to monitor international relations as if we were
    watching the daily weather report and determine our stance
    accordingly. But who can do this?

    Today we are on the brink of war with Syria, with which Turkey was as
    thick as thieves until very recently. When I flew to Washington a year
    ago, Turkish-US relations could have been described as a disaster. The
    title of an article I wrote for Today's Zaman published Nov. 20, 2010
    was `Six proposals for straightening out relations with the US,' which
    may give you an indication as to the political atmosphere in those
    days. Today, though, everyone is talking about the golden age of
    Turkish-US relations. So, what happened to effect a 180 degree change
    in relations in such a short time? There is still the same president
    in the White House. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK
    Party) is still at the wheel in Turkey. How can we now refer to the
    golden age of relations when a year ago everyone in Washington was
    questioning whether Turkey had been lost or why it had shifted its
    political axis? If everything changed so swiftly, what is to guarantee
    it all won't be reversed next year? Suppose Congress announces that
    Turkey committed genocide against Armenians in the past. Will we
    return to the dark ages once again? How can relations change so
    quickly? Isn't there any way to prevent these sudden ebbs and flows?

    I tried to find answers to these and similar questions while on a
    foreign policy panel organized during the second magnificent general
    assembly meeting of the Turkic American Alliance (TAA), which
    represents 220 Turkish and Turkic civil society organizations (CSOs)
    that are active in the fields of business, culture, education and
    dialogue across the US. The meeting offered a perfect opportunity for
    discussing these issues. Indeed, everyone was there. Participation in
    the meeting, organized jointly with the Turkish Confederation of
    Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), was so high that a Turkish
    journalist who has lived in Washington for many years preferred to
    call it `historic.' American guests compared the meeting -- which
    eight senators and 50 members of the House of Representatives attended
    -- to events held by well-organized Jewish, Armenian and Greek
    lobbies. Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Å?imÅ?ek and eight Turkish
    deputies were in Washington to participate. My panel included Turkey
    expert and former member of Congress Joshua Walker, the founder of the
    famous polling company Zogby and a Turkish expert. Mehmet Å?imÅ?ek,
    Kemal DerviÅ?, Robert Wexler and many other prestigious figures were
    among the panelists.

    In my opinion, there are two reasons for the poor state Turkish-US
    relations were in a year ago. The first was Turkey's saying `no' to
    the UN Security Council's resolution on sanctions against Iran. The
    other was the impact of the Mavi Marmara crisis. Given such facts as
    Turkey's political stability, its economic successes despite economic
    collapse in the West and the harmony between Prime Minister Recep
    Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and US President Barack Obama were in place last year
    as well, there remain two developments that could change relations in
    the course of a year. First, Turkey agreed to host a NATO radar
    system. Second, the Arab Spring upgraded Turkey's position in the eyes
    of the US, making it a very valuable player, and both countries are
    pursuing similar policies in this regard.

    Without discussing this matter with the players in Washington, it is
    hard to explain how these two issues have changed their perspective of
    Turkey. Moreover, this is a golden age experienced despite the bad
    state of Turkish-Israeli relations -- the improvement of which was
    often cited as a prerequisite for amiable Turkish-US ties. Incredibly,
    everyone is praising Turkey. This is a new and surprising development
    for us as we are accustomed to hearing criticisms from the West. There
    is high traffic in terms of talks at all levels between the two
    countries. President Abdullah Gül and Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an are at the
    top of a list of world leaders Obama most frequently consults.

    While there may be advantages for maintaining proximity with the US,
    which still has the status of a superpower, albeit a tripping one,
    questions such as `Who manipulates whom?' `Is Turkey being
    appropriately compensated for this proximity?' `Who will emerge as
    winners in the end?' and `What about increased hostility from the
    other side?' quickly come to mind. In this context, it should be noted
    that the world is moving toward the formation of a new axis, and it
    will be hard for Turkey to maintain the conveniences of its `ability
    to talk to everyone.'

    We may discuss these matters, but I must say that the most important
    method to stabilize our relations and save them from short-term ups
    and downs is to popularize bilateral relations that are being
    maintained at the level of lobbies and defense organizations, to
    reinforce our feeble economic ties and to boost our ties with states
    throughout the world. There is no other way to make our ties stronger
    and more permanent. In this context, the TAA should be congratulated
    for foreseeing this need and taking action to this end. Indeed, during
    the reception he hosted in honor of the TAA, Turkish Ambassador to
    Washington Namık Tan properly emphasized that the TAA is employing
    `the most accurate method for the most accurate target.'




    From: A. Papazian
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