Tweet
WORLD POLITICS ENTERING A NEW ERA!
Yeni Safak (in Turkish) , Turkey
Dec 15 2013
by Cem Kucuk
In 1953 the United States ousted the then Iranian Prime Minister
Mohammad Mosaddegh in Operation Ajax and brought Reza Shah Pahlavi
to power. Iran, an oil giant, became the new ally, alongside Turkey,
of the United States. The Soviets were under a complete siege. Once
the Iranian oil resources became available again to the West, the
British share of the oil dropped and the United States managed to get
40 percent of the oil revenues. Companies such as Standard Oil Company,
Mobilgas, Chevron Supreme, Texaco, and Gulf set up businesses in Iran.
Following a change of fortunes in 1979, the United States lost its
grip on Iranian oil. In the eyes of Iran, the United States became the
"great Satan." The United States declared Iran a "rogue state."
Reconciliation between the two sides seemed difficult; yet politics
is capable of turning everything upside down, and recently it did. The
United States turned a new page and began to normalize relations with
Iran. This heralded a new era for world politics.
As far as the United States is concerned there is only one problem:
China. Asia Pacific is the new playing field. The United States is
highly critical of countries, especially of its allies, which go into
military collaboration with China. The United States is troubled by
China's growing military spending and technological progress.
It caused the United States great concern when the bid for the
missile defense system for the TSK [Turkish Armed Forces] went to the
Chinese contractor CPCMIEC [China Precision Machinery Import-Export
Corporation]. The United States tried everything it could to stop this
from going ahead and [when this failed] the first reaction came from
the US financial institutions. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML),
the US investment and brokerage institution, announced that it would
not broker the secondary public sale of ASELSAN [Turkish Military
Electronics Industry]. For its reason for refusal, BoAML argued it
was likely that ASELSAN could be taking part in the long range missile
system project that was to be bought from the Chinese CPCMIEC company.
Right after this, the US Congress added an article to the 2014 Budget
to say that "the US funds cannot be utilized for the integration
into NATO of the missile system Turkey was planning to buy from
China." The New York Times wrote that the deal would cost Turkey more
if it was to cover the total cost of the integration by itself and
that Ankara would not choose to do that. Foreign Policy magazine too
opined that it became impossible for Turkey to use the new Chinese
defense system in an integrated way with its allies if it was to go
ahead with the purchase.
There cannot be a better case that demonstrates so clearly the
relationship among the political, energy, financial, military, and
intelligence sectors of the US establishment. We will find out soon
what the Turkish policy will be in response to the stance taken by
the United States.
In the meantime, the United States seems to have reached a partial
deal with Russia; however, the game can obviously take a different
turn. The United States struck a power-sharing deal with Russia
regarding Syria and Egypt, and set a strategy aiming to sort out the
issues that northern Iraq and Iraqi central administration have with
the neighboring countries. The dialog process initiated with Iran
somewhat relaxed Iraq, too.
Russia has been maneuvering in this current state of world politics.
The issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, in a deadlock for years
due to the approach of "no solution is a solution," and the relations
between Turkey and Armenia are being reshaped anew. The great powers
that do not wish to see too many problems in the region are applying
all the tools of diplomacy to resolve any troublesome development
that crops up.
As we approach 2015, rapprochement in the Turkish-Armenian issue
seems inevitable. However, one should not ignore the current Ukrainian
issue. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has to get on well with
Russia, albeit reluctantly, because the country's regional interests
call for it. On the other hand, the EU is trying to bring Ukraine
into the economic alliance.
In the words of Sevil Nuriyeva of the daily Star, "everyone is
waiting for Russia's impact, whether they want it or not. Therefore
the attitude and the stance of the Ukrainian people will be a decisive
model for others as well; just as in the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Ukraine had played a crucial role in the disintegration of the Soviet
Union. It appears that Russia will not give up Ukraine; however,
it would be naive to expect the majority of the Ukrainians to take
sides with Russia."
During this process and in the energy corridors, Turkey is one of the
decisive countries. With its great need for energy the EU is planning
once again to pull Turkey to its own side for this reason. The fact
that there is a timetable for lifting the EU visas for Turks is one
such step.
Aside from the arithmetic calculations mentioned above, there are two
issues left. One is the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the other is
the case of Cyprus. If the United States can sort out these issues,
then it will shift its presence even more toward Asia Pacific even
if it does not completely leave the Middle East.
[Translated from Turkish]
Yeni Safak (in Turkish) , Turkey
Dec 15 2013
by Cem Kucuk
In 1953 the United States ousted the then Iranian Prime Minister
Mohammad Mosaddegh in Operation Ajax and brought Reza Shah Pahlavi
to power. Iran, an oil giant, became the new ally, alongside Turkey,
of the United States. The Soviets were under a complete siege. Once
the Iranian oil resources became available again to the West, the
British share of the oil dropped and the United States managed to get
40 percent of the oil revenues. Companies such as Standard Oil Company,
Mobilgas, Chevron Supreme, Texaco, and Gulf set up businesses in Iran.
Following a change of fortunes in 1979, the United States lost its
grip on Iranian oil. In the eyes of Iran, the United States became the
"great Satan." The United States declared Iran a "rogue state."
Reconciliation between the two sides seemed difficult; yet politics
is capable of turning everything upside down, and recently it did. The
United States turned a new page and began to normalize relations with
Iran. This heralded a new era for world politics.
As far as the United States is concerned there is only one problem:
China. Asia Pacific is the new playing field. The United States is
highly critical of countries, especially of its allies, which go into
military collaboration with China. The United States is troubled by
China's growing military spending and technological progress.
It caused the United States great concern when the bid for the
missile defense system for the TSK [Turkish Armed Forces] went to the
Chinese contractor CPCMIEC [China Precision Machinery Import-Export
Corporation]. The United States tried everything it could to stop this
from going ahead and [when this failed] the first reaction came from
the US financial institutions. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML),
the US investment and brokerage institution, announced that it would
not broker the secondary public sale of ASELSAN [Turkish Military
Electronics Industry]. For its reason for refusal, BoAML argued it
was likely that ASELSAN could be taking part in the long range missile
system project that was to be bought from the Chinese CPCMIEC company.
Right after this, the US Congress added an article to the 2014 Budget
to say that "the US funds cannot be utilized for the integration
into NATO of the missile system Turkey was planning to buy from
China." The New York Times wrote that the deal would cost Turkey more
if it was to cover the total cost of the integration by itself and
that Ankara would not choose to do that. Foreign Policy magazine too
opined that it became impossible for Turkey to use the new Chinese
defense system in an integrated way with its allies if it was to go
ahead with the purchase.
There cannot be a better case that demonstrates so clearly the
relationship among the political, energy, financial, military, and
intelligence sectors of the US establishment. We will find out soon
what the Turkish policy will be in response to the stance taken by
the United States.
In the meantime, the United States seems to have reached a partial
deal with Russia; however, the game can obviously take a different
turn. The United States struck a power-sharing deal with Russia
regarding Syria and Egypt, and set a strategy aiming to sort out the
issues that northern Iraq and Iraqi central administration have with
the neighboring countries. The dialog process initiated with Iran
somewhat relaxed Iraq, too.
Russia has been maneuvering in this current state of world politics.
The issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, in a deadlock for years
due to the approach of "no solution is a solution," and the relations
between Turkey and Armenia are being reshaped anew. The great powers
that do not wish to see too many problems in the region are applying
all the tools of diplomacy to resolve any troublesome development
that crops up.
As we approach 2015, rapprochement in the Turkish-Armenian issue
seems inevitable. However, one should not ignore the current Ukrainian
issue. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has to get on well with
Russia, albeit reluctantly, because the country's regional interests
call for it. On the other hand, the EU is trying to bring Ukraine
into the economic alliance.
In the words of Sevil Nuriyeva of the daily Star, "everyone is
waiting for Russia's impact, whether they want it or not. Therefore
the attitude and the stance of the Ukrainian people will be a decisive
model for others as well; just as in the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Ukraine had played a crucial role in the disintegration of the Soviet
Union. It appears that Russia will not give up Ukraine; however,
it would be naive to expect the majority of the Ukrainians to take
sides with Russia."
During this process and in the energy corridors, Turkey is one of the
decisive countries. With its great need for energy the EU is planning
once again to pull Turkey to its own side for this reason. The fact
that there is a timetable for lifting the EU visas for Turks is one
such step.
Aside from the arithmetic calculations mentioned above, there are two
issues left. One is the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the other is
the case of Cyprus. If the United States can sort out these issues,
then it will shift its presence even more toward Asia Pacific even
if it does not completely leave the Middle East.
[Translated from Turkish]