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UNTRUSTWORTHY CONDUCT OF OUR 'TRUSTED' ALLY
Mirror Spectator
Editorial 9-27
By Edmond Y. Azadian
How long can the United States tolerate the shameful conduct of its
"trusted" ally, Turkey? The answer may be complex, since Turkey
is involved in many roles in the Middle East, Caucasus and Europe,
and Ankara pretends to advance NATO policies in all those complex --
and sometimes contradictory -- issues while pursuing its own narrow
interests to the detriment of the policies of its partners and patrons.
Since the beginning of the Cold War, the US and Europe have helped
build Turkey's armed forces and economy, only to realize that all
that build-up would end up in the self-serving goals of the Turkish
government.
A case in point is the meteoric rise of ISIS, which Turkey nurtured
and developed, only for it to direct its wrath against the West and
neighboring countries.
Turkey's rise as a regional power has also emboldened its leaders to
challenge its patrons in Washington by defying America's closest ally,
Israel. And amazingly, Washington's policy with regards to Ankara
has been to kowtow to its leaders and beg them to behave, a policy
which has fueled Turkey's arrogance and undermined US objectives in
the region.
Secretary of State John Kerry has engaged in shuttle diplomacy to
build a coalition to fight ISIS, the scourge of human civilization.
While President Obama proudly announced that 40 nations have joined
the coalition against this group, Turkey has publicly refused to be
part of that coalition. Ankara has even had the temerity to signal
to the butchers of ISIS that US airstrikes do not originate from the
US airbase in Incirlik, on Turkish territory.
The US airstrikes strategy is a contradiction in itself. While
understandably President Obama reassures the war-weary public that
there will be no US boots on the ground and he has to find a substitute
to complement the airstrikes. The Iraqi ground forces were devastated
by ISIS hordes, which took possession of large quantities of armaments
left behind. That defeat was blamed on former Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki's non-inclusive government. After the nomination of
the new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, the situation does not seem
any more promising.
While the US forces can rout the ISIS army regardless of how ferocious
it may be, in a very short period, President Obama has allowed the
US and its allies three years to achieve that goal, because horse
trading is going on in the region.
All of a sudden, Hezbollah, which has long been considered a terrorist
organization by the US, and Iran, have found out that they are on the
same side of the political equation. They both have an interest in
the destruction of the ISIS forces which have occupied large swaths
of territories in Syria and Iraq. Any cooperation or even contacts
between the US and those forces is anathema to Israel, which has the
proprietary position in formulating and shaping the US's Middle East
policy. Strategically, they could provide the boots on the ground to
complement US airstrikes to wipe out the Islamist forces.
The US State Department and Israel have encouraged Tehran to engage
single-handedly the ISIS forces, to be drained and weakened while
performing a necessary task for them. But Iran's diplomacy is not as
naive as some in the West may assume. Therefore, Iran has refrained
from full-fledged engagement in the war against ISIS forces, which
are expanding the territories under their control.
Turkey and Qatar have been benefiting from the stalemate to supply
and encourage ISIS.
Another thorny issue in this organized chaos is the airstrikes on
targets in Syria. Although the US Congress has authorized funding and
arming the "moderate" forces in the Syrian opposition, no one has yet
been able to determine who the "moderates" are and to distinguish
them from their "extremist" brethren. Ironically, the thugs which
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hugged for a photo op in Syria, turned up
amongst the more deadly enemies of the US.
Incidentally, those "moderates" are supposed to assume dual roles:
to fight the ISIS forces and to topple President Bashar al-Assad's
government. These goals are well beyond the capacity of those forces
and also are opposed by Russia, which considers air strikes in Syria
as a ruse to use the US forces against the Syrian regime while Turkey
is continuing its strategy in Syria unabated. Turkey is solving
several issues at a time. It is continuing to arm and train ISIS
forces on its territory and allowing them to cross freely into Syria
and Iraq. Although ISIS's declared goal is to establish a caliphate,
most of its actions are benefitting Turkey.
Turkey is pursuing the following goals:
A) To demonstrate its independence from the US and its NATO partners
B) To keep war raging in Syria, even if the Assad regime does not
collapse, because it will be discounted as a force influencing the
Middle East for a long time. One of the indirect results is the
weakening of Russia's foothold on the Mediterranean.
C) As a main policy goal, to destroy the emergence of a Kurdish enclave
on Syrian territory, which eventually may become an autonomous or
independent state to fan the aspirations of the Kurds in Turkey.
Thus far, the Kurds in Syria have found an accommodation with the
rebel forces as well as the government forces. ISIS's recent onslaught
has dislocated 100,000 Kurds who have found refuge in Turkey, which
conveniently will disarm them and keep them under tight control. On the
other hand, there are reports now that Ankara has banned the support
of Kurds in Turkey to rescue their kin from Islamic forces in Syria`.
D) Another objective is to teach a lesson the Armenians. Although
Ankara received a black eye as a result of the Kessab campaign and its
destruction by the Islamist forces, it still pursues the same goal,
this time sending the barbarians to Deir Zor to destroy the Martyrs'
Memorial. By destroying the Martyrs Memorial, they have massacred
the martyrs yet another time.
The monument is an eyesore for Turkey and it could have been used as
a powerful symbol during the Genocide centennial commemorations.
One may discount it as a coincidence that the destruction of the Deir
Zor church and memorial coincided with Aram Catholicos' announcement
at the fifth Armenia-Diaspora Conference on September 19 that the
Catholicosate of Cilicia will sue the government of Turkey at the
Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, but it
cannot be denied that if one of Turkey's initiatives to blunt the
centennial thrust, this is a good way to attain it.
The attack was deplored by Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
as "barbaric." Also, President Serge Sargisian's Chief of Staff Vigen
Sargisian wrote, "If Turkey has nothing to do with the terrorist
attack at St. Mary's Church, it should come up with a corresponding
statement of condemnation."
Further down, he continued, "This is yet another proof that the
crime of Genocide continues as long as it is not fully recognized
and punished."
While Turkey is taking concrete steps to deny the Genocide and
strangulate Armenia through its blockade, on the other hand, it is
undertaking superficial public gestures to dupe the quarters ready
to look for excuses to see good intentions.
Turkologist Rouben Melkonyan, deputy dean of the Oriental Studies
Faculty at Yerevan State University, said he thinks that Turkey will
not revise its policy on Genocide denial. He thinks that President
Recep Erdogan's expressed intention to meet with Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
should be considered in this context.
Melkonyan believes that Turkey may return some buildings and land plots
in Sis to the Armenian Church. "However, Sis lacks both an Armenian
community and Armenian churches, i.e., the cost-effectiveness of that
decision may be too low for us while diplomatic effect for Turkey
may be much more significant," he said.
This brings us to the long-term prospects of Turkish-Armenian
relations. Knee-jerk reaction to the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement
is also unhealthy, because that rapprochement is a political necessity.
While Turkey continues its adversarial policy, cosmetic gestures
must not substitute for genuine rapprochement. During his election
campaign, Mr. Erdogan insulted the Armenians a few days after he
had offered his condolences to the descendants of the "relocated"
Armenians in 1915. Former foreign minister and current prime minister,
Ahmet Davutoglu, has vowed to eclipse the centennial commemoration, on
the other hand inviting Armenians to "build" on Erdogan's condolence.
The duo was in Baku recently, where it offered military assistance
to Azerbaijan and in a joint press conference with President Aliyev,
they stated that together they will set the agenda in the Caucasus and
establish peace on their own terms. Mr. Davutoglu added that before
the last inch of Karabagh territory is returned to Azerbaijan, there
would be no improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations. And he means it.
This statement behooves us not to jump on the symbolic gestures,
which will provide Turkey disproportionate political dividends at the
expense of our naivete. Had our Primate refused to meet Erdogan as a
protest against the destruction of Deir Zor monument, it would have
greater impact in the media for Armenians, denting in the meantime
Erdogan's ploy.
Recently, Republic Sen. Ted Cruz was trying to lecture the heads
of Christian Churches in the Middle East that their salvation can
only come from Israel and he was booed. The church leaders knew the
terrain better than a senator with his eye on the White House. It
was a courageous stance by the religious leaders.
As we can see, Armenian history, genocide recognition, Armenia's
future are all intricately associated with world politics, over which
we have no control but vigilance can help us avoid some traps.
At this point, Armenian interests coincide with those of the West,
in its drive to destroy the growing "evil empire" of ISIS.
The battle against that scourge can be won if the US can tame Turkey,
the supplier and the mentor of that terror group. The term "trusted
ally" has long outlived its usefulness. It is time to call Turkey the
"self-serving ally," and treat it accordingly.
Mirror Spectator
Editorial 9-27
By Edmond Y. Azadian
How long can the United States tolerate the shameful conduct of its
"trusted" ally, Turkey? The answer may be complex, since Turkey
is involved in many roles in the Middle East, Caucasus and Europe,
and Ankara pretends to advance NATO policies in all those complex --
and sometimes contradictory -- issues while pursuing its own narrow
interests to the detriment of the policies of its partners and patrons.
Since the beginning of the Cold War, the US and Europe have helped
build Turkey's armed forces and economy, only to realize that all
that build-up would end up in the self-serving goals of the Turkish
government.
A case in point is the meteoric rise of ISIS, which Turkey nurtured
and developed, only for it to direct its wrath against the West and
neighboring countries.
Turkey's rise as a regional power has also emboldened its leaders to
challenge its patrons in Washington by defying America's closest ally,
Israel. And amazingly, Washington's policy with regards to Ankara
has been to kowtow to its leaders and beg them to behave, a policy
which has fueled Turkey's arrogance and undermined US objectives in
the region.
Secretary of State John Kerry has engaged in shuttle diplomacy to
build a coalition to fight ISIS, the scourge of human civilization.
While President Obama proudly announced that 40 nations have joined
the coalition against this group, Turkey has publicly refused to be
part of that coalition. Ankara has even had the temerity to signal
to the butchers of ISIS that US airstrikes do not originate from the
US airbase in Incirlik, on Turkish territory.
The US airstrikes strategy is a contradiction in itself. While
understandably President Obama reassures the war-weary public that
there will be no US boots on the ground and he has to find a substitute
to complement the airstrikes. The Iraqi ground forces were devastated
by ISIS hordes, which took possession of large quantities of armaments
left behind. That defeat was blamed on former Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki's non-inclusive government. After the nomination of
the new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, the situation does not seem
any more promising.
While the US forces can rout the ISIS army regardless of how ferocious
it may be, in a very short period, President Obama has allowed the
US and its allies three years to achieve that goal, because horse
trading is going on in the region.
All of a sudden, Hezbollah, which has long been considered a terrorist
organization by the US, and Iran, have found out that they are on the
same side of the political equation. They both have an interest in
the destruction of the ISIS forces which have occupied large swaths
of territories in Syria and Iraq. Any cooperation or even contacts
between the US and those forces is anathema to Israel, which has the
proprietary position in formulating and shaping the US's Middle East
policy. Strategically, they could provide the boots on the ground to
complement US airstrikes to wipe out the Islamist forces.
The US State Department and Israel have encouraged Tehran to engage
single-handedly the ISIS forces, to be drained and weakened while
performing a necessary task for them. But Iran's diplomacy is not as
naive as some in the West may assume. Therefore, Iran has refrained
from full-fledged engagement in the war against ISIS forces, which
are expanding the territories under their control.
Turkey and Qatar have been benefiting from the stalemate to supply
and encourage ISIS.
Another thorny issue in this organized chaos is the airstrikes on
targets in Syria. Although the US Congress has authorized funding and
arming the "moderate" forces in the Syrian opposition, no one has yet
been able to determine who the "moderates" are and to distinguish
them from their "extremist" brethren. Ironically, the thugs which
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hugged for a photo op in Syria, turned up
amongst the more deadly enemies of the US.
Incidentally, those "moderates" are supposed to assume dual roles:
to fight the ISIS forces and to topple President Bashar al-Assad's
government. These goals are well beyond the capacity of those forces
and also are opposed by Russia, which considers air strikes in Syria
as a ruse to use the US forces against the Syrian regime while Turkey
is continuing its strategy in Syria unabated. Turkey is solving
several issues at a time. It is continuing to arm and train ISIS
forces on its territory and allowing them to cross freely into Syria
and Iraq. Although ISIS's declared goal is to establish a caliphate,
most of its actions are benefitting Turkey.
Turkey is pursuing the following goals:
A) To demonstrate its independence from the US and its NATO partners
B) To keep war raging in Syria, even if the Assad regime does not
collapse, because it will be discounted as a force influencing the
Middle East for a long time. One of the indirect results is the
weakening of Russia's foothold on the Mediterranean.
C) As a main policy goal, to destroy the emergence of a Kurdish enclave
on Syrian territory, which eventually may become an autonomous or
independent state to fan the aspirations of the Kurds in Turkey.
Thus far, the Kurds in Syria have found an accommodation with the
rebel forces as well as the government forces. ISIS's recent onslaught
has dislocated 100,000 Kurds who have found refuge in Turkey, which
conveniently will disarm them and keep them under tight control. On the
other hand, there are reports now that Ankara has banned the support
of Kurds in Turkey to rescue their kin from Islamic forces in Syria`.
D) Another objective is to teach a lesson the Armenians. Although
Ankara received a black eye as a result of the Kessab campaign and its
destruction by the Islamist forces, it still pursues the same goal,
this time sending the barbarians to Deir Zor to destroy the Martyrs'
Memorial. By destroying the Martyrs Memorial, they have massacred
the martyrs yet another time.
The monument is an eyesore for Turkey and it could have been used as
a powerful symbol during the Genocide centennial commemorations.
One may discount it as a coincidence that the destruction of the Deir
Zor church and memorial coincided with Aram Catholicos' announcement
at the fifth Armenia-Diaspora Conference on September 19 that the
Catholicosate of Cilicia will sue the government of Turkey at the
Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, but it
cannot be denied that if one of Turkey's initiatives to blunt the
centennial thrust, this is a good way to attain it.
The attack was deplored by Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
as "barbaric." Also, President Serge Sargisian's Chief of Staff Vigen
Sargisian wrote, "If Turkey has nothing to do with the terrorist
attack at St. Mary's Church, it should come up with a corresponding
statement of condemnation."
Further down, he continued, "This is yet another proof that the
crime of Genocide continues as long as it is not fully recognized
and punished."
While Turkey is taking concrete steps to deny the Genocide and
strangulate Armenia through its blockade, on the other hand, it is
undertaking superficial public gestures to dupe the quarters ready
to look for excuses to see good intentions.
Turkologist Rouben Melkonyan, deputy dean of the Oriental Studies
Faculty at Yerevan State University, said he thinks that Turkey will
not revise its policy on Genocide denial. He thinks that President
Recep Erdogan's expressed intention to meet with Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
should be considered in this context.
Melkonyan believes that Turkey may return some buildings and land plots
in Sis to the Armenian Church. "However, Sis lacks both an Armenian
community and Armenian churches, i.e., the cost-effectiveness of that
decision may be too low for us while diplomatic effect for Turkey
may be much more significant," he said.
This brings us to the long-term prospects of Turkish-Armenian
relations. Knee-jerk reaction to the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement
is also unhealthy, because that rapprochement is a political necessity.
While Turkey continues its adversarial policy, cosmetic gestures
must not substitute for genuine rapprochement. During his election
campaign, Mr. Erdogan insulted the Armenians a few days after he
had offered his condolences to the descendants of the "relocated"
Armenians in 1915. Former foreign minister and current prime minister,
Ahmet Davutoglu, has vowed to eclipse the centennial commemoration, on
the other hand inviting Armenians to "build" on Erdogan's condolence.
The duo was in Baku recently, where it offered military assistance
to Azerbaijan and in a joint press conference with President Aliyev,
they stated that together they will set the agenda in the Caucasus and
establish peace on their own terms. Mr. Davutoglu added that before
the last inch of Karabagh territory is returned to Azerbaijan, there
would be no improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations. And he means it.
This statement behooves us not to jump on the symbolic gestures,
which will provide Turkey disproportionate political dividends at the
expense of our naivete. Had our Primate refused to meet Erdogan as a
protest against the destruction of Deir Zor monument, it would have
greater impact in the media for Armenians, denting in the meantime
Erdogan's ploy.
Recently, Republic Sen. Ted Cruz was trying to lecture the heads
of Christian Churches in the Middle East that their salvation can
only come from Israel and he was booed. The church leaders knew the
terrain better than a senator with his eye on the White House. It
was a courageous stance by the religious leaders.
As we can see, Armenian history, genocide recognition, Armenia's
future are all intricately associated with world politics, over which
we have no control but vigilance can help us avoid some traps.
At this point, Armenian interests coincide with those of the West,
in its drive to destroy the growing "evil empire" of ISIS.
The battle against that scourge can be won if the US can tame Turkey,
the supplier and the mentor of that terror group. The term "trusted
ally" has long outlived its usefulness. It is time to call Turkey the
"self-serving ally," and treat it accordingly.