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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
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