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Daily Sabah, Turkey
Nov 8 2014
LAME DUCK OBAMA AND A CONGRESS THAT PRESSES TURKEY ON ISRAEL
Ä°lnur Çevik 08 November 2014, Saturday
The recent midterm elections in the U.S. were a victory for the
Republicans and a downright defeat for President Barack Obama and
Democrats.
The Republicans captured the majority in the Senate and also further
strengthened their grip on the House of Representatives, thus pushing
Obama's presidency into a lame duck role.
Turkey will now have to watch out for congressional reflexes regarding
its regional policies as well as considering the reactions of the
White House.
Will Turkey have a rough ride in the U.S. Congress? Regarding the
Syrian civil war and the likely problems posed by the advent of the
100th year since the 1915 incidents regarding the Armenians during
Ottoman times, Turkey's fortunes are not so bad.
Republicans share similar views on Syria ` that Washington has to be
tougher on the Bashar Assad regime and that the opposition should be
strengthened.
On the Armenian issue, too, they are not as combative as Democrats who
are dying to appease the Armenian lobby in the U.S. and thus would be
more receptive to a tough worded motion regarding Armenians,
especially in 2015 when the 100th year of the events during World War
I when Armenians living under Ottoman rule were killed and the
Armenians called this controversially a genocide.
President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, while rejecting the term genocide, has
already acknowledged the suffering of Armenians in 1915 and has voiced
his condolences.
But the real problem for Turkey will be its downward relations with
Israel. Republicans definitely want warm relations between Ankara and
Israel and will not be as understanding on the issue as Obama and
Democrats.
Of course events like the closure of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque and
the push by the Israeli government to build more settlements on
Palestinian land is not helping to mend fences between Turkey and
Israel. The fact that Israel is being run by a government that is, at
times, obliged to pay lip service to Jewish zealots is complicating
matters.
However, Turkey has to find a balance in improving its relations with
Israel, and this will need good statesmanship and will be a hard test
of Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu.
http://www.dailysabah.com/columns/ilnur-cevik/2014/11/08/lame-duck-obama-and-a-congress-that-presses-turkey-on-israel
Nov 8 2014
LAME DUCK OBAMA AND A CONGRESS THAT PRESSES TURKEY ON ISRAEL
Ä°lnur Çevik 08 November 2014, Saturday
The recent midterm elections in the U.S. were a victory for the
Republicans and a downright defeat for President Barack Obama and
Democrats.
The Republicans captured the majority in the Senate and also further
strengthened their grip on the House of Representatives, thus pushing
Obama's presidency into a lame duck role.
Turkey will now have to watch out for congressional reflexes regarding
its regional policies as well as considering the reactions of the
White House.
Will Turkey have a rough ride in the U.S. Congress? Regarding the
Syrian civil war and the likely problems posed by the advent of the
100th year since the 1915 incidents regarding the Armenians during
Ottoman times, Turkey's fortunes are not so bad.
Republicans share similar views on Syria ` that Washington has to be
tougher on the Bashar Assad regime and that the opposition should be
strengthened.
On the Armenian issue, too, they are not as combative as Democrats who
are dying to appease the Armenian lobby in the U.S. and thus would be
more receptive to a tough worded motion regarding Armenians,
especially in 2015 when the 100th year of the events during World War
I when Armenians living under Ottoman rule were killed and the
Armenians called this controversially a genocide.
President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, while rejecting the term genocide, has
already acknowledged the suffering of Armenians in 1915 and has voiced
his condolences.
But the real problem for Turkey will be its downward relations with
Israel. Republicans definitely want warm relations between Ankara and
Israel and will not be as understanding on the issue as Obama and
Democrats.
Of course events like the closure of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque and
the push by the Israeli government to build more settlements on
Palestinian land is not helping to mend fences between Turkey and
Israel. The fact that Israel is being run by a government that is, at
times, obliged to pay lip service to Jewish zealots is complicating
matters.
However, Turkey has to find a balance in improving its relations with
Israel, and this will need good statesmanship and will be a hard test
of Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu.
http://www.dailysabah.com/columns/ilnur-cevik/2014/11/08/lame-duck-obama-and-a-congress-that-presses-turkey-on-israel