Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

How does the fact that Abdullah Gul is now president, and there seems to be an upswing toward an Islamic Turkey away from the secular one, affect Armenia?

Turkish Daily News
Sept 8 2007


Xenophobia on the rise among Turks, say experts
Saturday, September 8, 2007


A recent survey says Turks are going cold toward Europe, the United
States, NATO and Israel but the feelings have worsened toward Iran
too, a finding which beefs up the old Turkish saying `Turks have no
friends other than Turks'

FULYA ÖZERKAN
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


A day after a major survey showed Turkey was cooling toward both
the West and the East, local experts argued this is a clear indicator
of growing xenophobia among Turks.

`Turks are growing suspicious of outsiders,' said İlter Turan, a
political scientist at Istanbul's Bilgi University. `They do not
trust foreigners and rather believe aliens have hidden intentions.'

The annual Transatlantic Trends study by the German Marshall Fund
of the United States and four European foundations revealed Thursday
that feelings of Turkish people toward the United States, European
Union and NATO cooled significantly in the past year.

This sentiment, however, is not restricted to the West. The survey
found that the Turkish mood toward Iran had also cooled. Israel
inspired the coldest feelings.

The survey results can hardly be explained in rational terms but
with emotions, said Turan.

Ersin Kalaycıoğlu of Işık University described the outcome as
nothing new and said past surveys disclosed similar findings
illustrating Turkish sentiments of isolation from the East and the
West.

He further added that Turks began to look at all its neighbors with
suspicion since the 1990s when the Soviet Union dissolved, amid fears
that its borders would change.

`The belief that the EU and the United States support Armenians and
Greeks against Turkey is widely accepted among Turks at a time when
the Lausanne Treaty, the founding document of the republic, is opened
to discussion and the Sevres syndrome has re-emerged,' said
Kalaycıoğlu.

He added Turks have tended to believe that foreigners want to
divide Turkey amid rising attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq.



Religion an indicator

Kalaycıoğlu said religion also played a significant role in the
survey as it showed Turks were more benevolent toward Muslim
countries than other countries with different religions.

`Both Saudi Arabia and Israel are extensions of the United States
in the Middle East but Turks are warmer toward Saudi Arabia. Religion
seems to be a reason for this,' he said. But Iran, a Muslim Shiite
country, stands as an exception in this case.

Sabri Sayarı of Sabancı University said the attitude of Turks
toward Europe and the United States was understandable.

`But the results about Iran are quite surprising because Iranians
pursue non-contradictory policies to Turkey on terrorism,' he added.




Role of globalization

The survey findings opened up to debate Turkey's approach toward
globalization.

`Turks' distance from the East and the West is actually a product
of globalization,' said Turan. `Turkey is under pressure from a rapid
transformation process and the Turks are cooling toward outsiders as
they are unable to control this ongoing change.'

`Turks are becoming introverted,' said Sayarı. `But this does not
mean they are shutting all their windows and doors to the outside
world. Turkey is doing business with foreigners and there are foreign
companies operating at home.'



Methodology

The methodology of the annual Transatlantic Trends study created
controversy over the reliability of the results. The respondents were
interviewed during face-to-face interviews or by telephone.

Turan said there might be a reflection of different representation
in the survey due to the fact that some of the selected respondents
refused to reply to questions on the phone, a development that
prompted conductors to resort to other alternative interviewees.

But the interviews in Turkey were conducted face-to-face and
involved random samples of about 1,000 Turkish men and women aged 18
and over from June 4-23.

There is a margin of error in every survey, said Sayarı, adding
that he did not believe the margin of error in the recent poll was
high because similar questions are posed in that regular survey,
which gives an opportunity to compare the results with those of the
previous years.

-----------
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-----------

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg201688.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

PanARMENIAN.Net

German Marshall Fund: Turks attitude towards NATO,
Russia, Iran and China grew cooler
07.09.2007 19:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The giant research conducted by
German Marshall Fund revealed that Turkish people who
started to look at the external world with suspicion
in recent years isolated themselves from the world
even more in 2007.

The annual survey of the Fund of the U.S. also showed
that 58 per cent of Europeans, including 74% of
Turkish people regarded U.S. leadership in world
affairs as "undesirable" and only 36% thought it
"desirable".

The Transatlantic Tendencies 2007 survey applied by
German Marshall Fund to a thousand people in 12
countries including Turkey has revealed that Turks get
more and more isolated from the world day by day.
Although Turkish public has a status of candidate for
EU membership, Turks' hopes for accession to EU fell
from 54% to 40% in 2006. Turks' feeling of warmth
towards EU is measured as 26 degrees this year against
52 degrees of 2004.

Turks' attitude towards NATO, Russia, Iran and China
grew cooler. Attitude towards Palestinians warmed from
7% to 42%.

German Marshall Fund authorities stated that Turks
have moved away from the international political
issues and became introvert; and linked the opposition
to the U.S. in Turkey to the issues of `continuation
of PKK problem, Bush administration and Iraqi war.'

According to the authorities, the reasons for the
cooler attitude towards Europe are the difficulty of
EU negotiations and the existence of anti-Turkey
leaders, APA reports.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg201751.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

ANALYSIS: 'TALKING TURKISH' WITH THE SYRIANS
By Herb Keinon

Jerusalem Post, Israel
Sep 11, 2007 0:56 | Updated Sep 11, 2007 0:56

There is something ironic in Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's
protest Monday over Israel's alleged flyover of Syrian territory
last week.

"This is an unacceptable development," he said during a joint news
conference with his Syrian counterpart, Walid Moallem.

"All countries in the region must show respect to all countries'
sovereignty and carefully avoid acts that lead to tensions," Babacan
said. "Otherwise, tensions would be fueled, and peace and stability
in the region might be harmed."

Interesting words from the foreign minister of a country that
just nine years ago amassed thousands of troops on its border with
Syria and rattled its sabers to get Syria to end its support for the
separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and to cough up its leader,
Abdullah Ocalan.

Indeed, there are those who believe that Israel's alleged foray into
Syrian airspace was an attempt to "talk Turkish" with the Syrians
and use Turkish methods - saber rattling - to get Damascus to end
support for Hamas and to disgorge Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.

If Syria ended its support for the PKK and eventually got rid of
Ocalan, then - this logic goes - maybe similar methods can be used
to get it to end its support for Hamas.

According to this reasoning, Thursday's alleged overflight had to do
with Hamas.

Consider the following timeline. Last Monday a Kassam rocket slammed
into the courtyard of a day care center in Sderot, sending a dozen
kids to the hospital to be treated for trauma. Two days later,
the security cabinet met pledged to "continue intensive military
operations against all those involved in launching rockets and in
perpetrating other terrorist actions.

Nobody among those responsible for terrorism will be immune."

And then on Thursday, the IAF allegedly, in what seems to be an
obvious attempt to draw attention to itself, broke the sound barrier
over Syria.

If, indeed, Israel was doing little more than "talking Turkish" with
the Syrians, then why the Turkish Foreign Minister's sharp tone,
and why demarches registered with Israeli diplomats in Ankara and
demands for clarification of what happened?

While some are suggesting that Turkey's tone is a manifestation of its
anger at the Anti-Defamation League's decision to reverse its stand
on the massacres of Armenians during World War I and refer to them
as genocide, the more plausible explanation has more to do with Iran.

According to this reasoning, Turkey needs to protest loudly and clearly
the possible violation of its airspace now because it is thinking
that at some point Israel might attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

In that eventuality, Turkey does not want to be blamed for letting
Israeli planes use its airspace. And therefore, it may now just be
building deniability.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg201892.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

TURKEY LINES UP ALONGSIDE SYRIA TO CONDEMN ISRAELI INCURSIONS
By Gareth Jenkins

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's blunt condemnation of an
alleged violation of the Turkey's airspace by Israeli warplanes has
dealt another blow to already deteriorating relations between the
two countries.

In 1996 a military training agreement between Israel and Turkey was
hailed by many as heralding a new strategic alignment in the eastern
Mediterranean. Over the years that followed Israeli jets regularly used
the Turkish air force base in Konya for training missions while Turkish
pilots underwent specialized training in facilities belonging to the
Israeli Air Force (IAF) in the Negev Desert. There was also extensive
cooperation in the defense industry, with Israeli firms receiving a
string of lucrative defense contracts. American xxxish lobby groups
became Turkey's strongest supporters in Washington. However, plans to
underpin the relationship by transporting Turkish water to Israel came
to nothing. While a number of disagreements over defense contracts,
and allegation of corruption involving Israeli defense suppliers,
soured relations between the two countries' militaries.

Relations began to cool rapidly following the victory of the moderate
Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Turkish general
election of November 2002. Although the AKP's leaders publicly
reaffirmed Turkey's commitment to friendship with Israel, much
of the party's grassroots support remained simply and viscerally
anti-Semitic. After taking power, the AKP downplayed ties with Israel,
while trying to form a closer relationship with other Muslim states
in the Middle East, particularly its neighbors Syria and Iran. The
last five years have seen an unprecedented increase in bilateral
contacts and AKP leaders have become frequent visitors to both Damascus
and Tehran.

On September 6, after the Syrian government claimed that Israeli
warplanes had overflown its territory and dropped munitions onto
deserted areas, fuel tanks belonging to IAF warplanes were found on
the Turkish side of the country's border with Syria. The assumption
is that they were jettisoned in order to increase the IAF planes'
maneuverability as they sought to avoid Syrian ground fire.

On September 6, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement
supporting the Syrian protests and informing the Israeli government
that Ankara took "a harsh view of the invasion of Syrian airspace by
the IAF" (Hurriyet, Milliyet, September 7).

On September 9, Syrian Foreign Minister Wallid Moallem flew to Ankara
to seek Turkish support and met with Babacan, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul (Sabah, September 11). On
September 10, Moallem and Babacan held a joint conference to condemn
the IAF's incursions on September 6.

The exact circumstances in which the IAF fuel tanks were deposited
on Turkish territory remain unclear: not least whether the warplanes
themselves entered Turkish airspace while flying close to the border
or whether the tanks were carried across the border by their own
momentum after being jettisoned. However, standing alongside Moallem,
Babacan strongly condemned the incident.

"This is an unacceptable development for us," he said.

"We would like all the countries in the region to respect the sovereign
rights of other countries and be meticulous in avoiding taking any
steps that might create tensions. A wide-ranging investigation is being
conducted into this matter. The country in question has been asked
to provide an explanation in the very near future and the necessary
contacts with Israel have been initiated. Turkey is a country which
strives for peace and stability. It expects the other countries in
the region to show mutual respect and conduct their relations on the
basis of trust" (Hurriyet, September 11).

The tensions over the Israeli over flights come less than a month
after the U.S.-based xxxish lobby group the Anti-Defamation League
(ADL) caused outrage in Turkey by announcing that it now accepted
that the massacres and deportations of the Armenians by the Ottoman
authorities in 1915-16 constituted a genocide.

The accusation has always been strongly denied by Ankara, which,
in the face of considerable evidence to the contrary, has preferred
to characterize the events of 1915-16 as the product of an Armenian
uprising.

Israeli diplomats in Ankara have been circumspect in their reaction
to Babacan's denouncement. "When it comes to Syria, we can remain
silent. But we owe the Turks an explanation," said Alon Liel, Israel's
ambassador to Turkey (Sabah, September 11).

However, inside Israel, reactions have been less restrained. Several
commentators have noted that Turkey repeatedly staged incursions
into northern Iraq in 1990s in pursuit of members of the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) and still has a brigade permanently deployed
inside northern Iraq. In addition, Turkish F-16s frequently violate
Iraqi airspace during bombing and reconnaissance missions against
PKK militants (Jerusalem Post, September 11).

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg201993.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

TURKEY HELPED ISRAEL TO ATTACK SYRIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.09.2007 18:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish intelligence provided Israel with information
on the Syrian targets allegedly attacked by the Air Force last week
without the Turkish government's authorization, Kuwaiti newspaper
Al-Jareeda reported Thursday.

Al-Jareeda quoted several sources as saying that Israel and senior
Turkish military personnel coordinated Israel's invasion of Turkish
airspace during the operation to send a message to the ruling Justice
and Development party, or AKP. Senior military officials in Turkey,
most of whom are secular, oppose the Islamist party's platform.

Turkey has asked Israel for clarification after finding two fuel
tanks on its territory near the Syrian border.

The tanks allegedly belong to IAF warplanes, a diplomatic source said
Saturday. Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper Saturday published photographs
of what it said were fuel tanks jettisoned by Israeli F-15s sent to
gather intelligence on Syrian installations near the Turkish border.

The London-based Arabic newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi refused to take a call from his
Turkish counterpart, who asked for clarifications on the attack.

Sources told Al-Jareeda that Turkish intelligence did not coordinate
the move with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Coordination of the
[release of information] occurred far away from the political echelon,"
it said.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg202440.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

WHY TURKS FEEL THREATENED BY THE US

The Seoul Times, South Korea
Saturday, September 15, 2007

Which Middle Eastern public has the largest percentage of people naming
the United States as the country that poses the greatest threat? The
answer, according to the most recent Pew Global Attitudes Project
survey, is Turkey, a NATO ally and a country that is generally touted
as the type of secular, multi-party democracy the United States should
foster in the Middle East.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Turkish respondents name the United
States-which guarantees Turkish security as a NATO ally and has urged
the EU to accept Turkish membership-as the country that poses the
"greatest threat" to Turkey in the future, Pew found. Among the Middle
Eastern publics asked the open-ended question by Pew, only in Turkey
did a majority name the United States.

Turkey is also the Middle Eastern country where public opinion toward
the United States has slipped furthest in recent years. Fewer than one
in 10 Turks (9%) have a positive view of the United States, a drop of
21 points from the already low level in Pew's 2002 survey. More than
four out of five (83%) say their attitude is unfavorable, including
75 percent who feel very unfavorably.

That's one of the highest negative percentages among the eight
Middle Eastern countries surveyed by Pew in 2007, second only to the
Palestinian public with 86 percent unfavorable.

But unlike the Palestinians (whose attitudes toward the United States
worsened after the 2003 invasion but have improved slightly since
then), Turks have remained as negative as they were in March 2003
(84%).

Moreover, not only do most Turks view the United States unfavorably,
more than three out of four (77%) also look on Americans that way.

The deterioration of the United States' image in Turkey has coincided
with the increasing power of the Islamist-leaning Justice and
Development Party (AKP).

With the parliamentary election of Abdullah Gul as president, the
AKP has won control of a post that wields important veto powers and
considerable prestige, as the position once held by Kemal Ataturk,
the secular Turkish republic's founding father.

But Dr. Emre Erdogan, a political scientist and partner of Infakto
Research Workshop, a major polling firm based in Istanbul, says
Turkish views of the United States have deteriorated largely because
of security concerns, not religious ones.

"This sudden and rapid decrease in positive attitudes towards the US
is an outcome of the invasion [of Iraq]," Erdogan said, adding that
polls in Turkey show that the public thinks that the invasion has
"led to increasing terrorist threats toward Turkey."

"Turkish public opinion perceives the US as the worst enemy of Turkey
as a result of the intensifying terrorist activities of the PKK,"
he said, using the acronym for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which
has been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984.

According to Erdogan, Turks believe that separatist guerrillas
operating out of bases in Iraq's northern mountains have grown stronger
since the fall of Saddam Hussein and Turkish media frequently air
evidence of alleged US collaboration with the PKK.

Some 80 Turkish soldiers have been killed in rebel attacks so far
this year and the Turkish government has threatened to launch cross
border raids into Iraq to root them out if the US and Iraqi armies
fail to do so.

"Consequently, this intolerance and antipathy towards the PKK become
converted to the perception of the US as the major enemy of the
country," Erdogan said.

"Before the invasion of Iraq, the worst enemy of the country was
stated as Greece or Armenia, which are eternal enemies of Turkey,
rather than the US."

A June 2007 poll by the International Republican Institute found
that a third of Turks (30%) blame "foreign governments trying to
divide our country" for the problems in the Southeast, up from 24
percent in 2006. Foreign interference is the most widely chosen of
the seven "reasons for the problems in the Southeast" offered. Though
economic explanations are also widely cited-26 percent choose economic
underdevelopment and 11 percent lack of government investment-these
responses have together declined by 13 points over the past year.

A 2005 poll by Infakto found that 71 percent of Turkish respondents
agreed with the argument that "the West has helped separatist groups
in Turkey"-such as the Kurdish PKK-"gain strength." Sixty-six percent
think that "Western countries want to divide and break Turkey like
they divided and broke the Ottoman Empire in the past."

The declining support among Turks for the EU and NATO is consistent
with such convictions. The ratio of Turks who see membership in the EU
as a "good thing" fell from 73 percent in 2004 to 54 percent in 2006,
according to the German Marshall Fund. And the numbers saying NATO
is essential for Turkey's security fell from a bare majority in 2004
(53%) to 44 percent in 2006, though this remains the largest percentage
of respondents.

These attitudes seem to be reflected in Turkey's growing opposition
to American counter-terrorism policies. A majority of Turks (58%)
already said that they opposed "the US-led efforts to fight terrorism,"
in Pew's 2002 survey. That jumped to 79 percent in 2007.

Not only do Turks express more negative opinion about Western political
entities, they also express such feelings about Western values. The
Pew survey found that Turkish respondents register more unfavorable
attitudes toward American democracy, business, and culture-even about
its science and technology:

~U 81 percent of Turks say they "dislike American ideas about
democracy," up 31 points since 2002.

~U 83 percent dislike "American ways of doing business," up 24 points.

~U 68 percent dislike "American music, movies and television," up
22 points.

~U 51 percent say they do not admire the United States for its
"technological and scientific advances," up 27 points since 2002 when
a majority of 67 percent did admire such achievements.

Erdogan says that until recently even Turks who disliked the US
government tended to appreciate Americans and their culture. Now
he sees an "emerging antipathy towards the Americans and the US
life style."

"Our previous research [indicated] that the climate of Turkish
public opinion was 'anti-Bushism' rather than 'anti-Americanism,"
he said. "Nevertheless, recent findings indicate a change of the
climate towards anti-Americanism."

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg202457.html

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

THE ARMENIAN ISSUE ON TURKEY’S DOMESTIC POLICY AGENDA

The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Mehmet Uphouk Uras, a Turkish Parliamentarian elected from Istanbul, may become turning point in the Armenian-Turkish relations. If, of course, it doesn’t follow the fate of Orhan Pamouk, who has actually become a political emigrant and Hrant Dink, who was assassinated after being involved in a long drawn-out court proceeding, as well as other intellectuals and advocates.

Regardless the motives by which the Turkish Parliamentarian was guided, he has definitely breached the well-known article of the Turkish Criminal Code by recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The greatest taboo existing throughout the Turkish history has been called into question by an individual representing the state. And the tactical starting point saying that, “it is impossible to achieve anything by conducting a denunciation policy” served as basis for such an attitude.

Proposing the Resolution on the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide in an interview with Raffi Arax, an Armenian journalist living in Turkey, Mehmet Uphouk Uras introduces the “limited recognition” program broadly circulating in the West, instead of expressing the viewpoints of the Armenian side.

It envisages admitting the fact of the crime committed at the beginning of the 20th century, ameliorating the relations with Armenia and, what’s more, providing some material compensation to the descendants of the victims. The Turkish Parliamentarian finds that “It doesn’t matter how we will call the tragedy – genocide, ethnic cleansing or otherwise. It is much more important to admit that the heinous crime was committed, and it is impossible to deny it.”

The latter idea certainly derives from a belief striking deeper and deeper roots in Turkey, i.e. the only result of their fruitless struggle against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is the facilitation of the factor of the Armenian side. Whether the world does not realize why the Turks are trying to conceal the crime committed by their ancestors? The considerable number of the US Congressmen supporting the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the recent steps taken by the xxxish organizations, in addition to other preliminary signs, prompt Turkey that the West is no longer going to wait for the amelioration of the Armenian-Turkish relations and has an intention to speed up the course of the developments.

Of course, the Western experts also manage to calculate the aftermaths of the deterioration of the American-Turkish relations - something that becomes inevitable as a result of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. However, the discussions lead to the conclusion that it is even possible to take serious chances in order to push Turkey to serious steps.

Realizing such prospects awaiting them in the near future, the Islamic authorities of Turkey are also taking steps that create an illusion of an Armenian-Turkish dialogue. In the meantime, the “cultural dialogue”, which often involves intellectuals and artists unaware of the nuances of political developments, has also livened up.

However, it is necessary to bear in mind that the aspirations that some part of the Turkish elite has with regard to making tactical maneuvers stand in radical contradiction to the dispositions prevalent in the Army and among the majority of the people, as it will be difficult to explain to them why the Resolution on the “limited recognition” of the Armenian Genocide is being imposed on their country. For the majority of the Turks, especially for those living in the eastern and central provinces of the country, the ethnic name “Ermeni” continues to remain as an enemy’s symbol and even - a specific form of blasphemy containing a political pretext. The last proof is the recent clash that took place in Malatia, Hrant Dink’s hometown, where the policemen and inhabitants were indignant at being called “Ermeni”Therefore, in view of the intensification of the external pressures and the instability of the internal situation, the statement made by MP Mehmet Uphouk Uras will become a litmus paper testing the current dispositions in Turkey. It is clear that the political forces will be obliged to demonstrate a certain attitude, considering that the proposal on recognizing the Armenian Genocide was made by a Turkish Parliamentarian, and not an ordinary citizen or an

Stating the preliminary signs of re-opening the Armenian Issue inside Turkey and considering their direct relationship with the political agenda imposed on our neighbor from the West, it is also necessary to realize that the program aimed at the “limited recognition” of the Armenia Genocide purely pursues a task of speeding up the process of Turkey’s European integration and contributing to the amelioration of the Armenian-Turkish relations, rather than resolving the Armenian Issue.

VARDAN GRIGORYAN

http://www.armtown.com/news/en/has/20070911/186562069/

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Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

1 of 2


The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship
R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Remarks at the Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS)
Washington, DC
September 13, 2007


As Prepared

Under Secretary Burns delivered remarks at the Atlantic Council of the United States. Photo courtesy of the ACUS I am pleased to be back at the Atlantic Council to discuss what is one of the most critical relationships for America in the world today -- the relationship between the United States and Turkey. Fred, thank you for hosting me tonight. I appreciate the invitation by Fred Kempe and the Atlantic Council Board to be here. Thank you to Henry Catto, Chairman emeritus of the Atlantic Council. Thanks to Ambassador Marc Grossman for his warm introduction. It is a pleasure to see the Ambassador of Turkey, Nabi Sensoy, the Ambassador of Armenia, Tatoul Markarian, Ambassador Mark Parris and Jim Holmes here tonight.

This is an important moment for the relationship between the United States and Turkey. Turkey has just elected a new government. Our countries now need to enter into a new era of our relationship and to commit to a revival of our very close friendship and alliance.

I will visit Ankara and Istanbul soon to bring a strong and clear message from our leadership -- the United States is committed to revitalize this critical partnership. Restoring a sense of strategic partnership in the broad range of U.S.-Turkish relations -- extending beyond government-to-government cooperation to a flowering of private sector ties between our people -- will be a major priority for the United States in the coming months. It is indeed time to rejuvenate and restore America's relationship with Turkey.

The Turkish people have just concluded important, even historic elections. These elections demonstrated the strong health of Turkey's democracy, the most impressive in the Moslem world. The result was a decisive and Turkey can now expect a period of renewal and growth at home and responsibility and challenge in its foreign policy. The United States government looks forward to a very close relationship with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan. President Bush and Secretary Rice respect both of these men. We have worked very well and productively with them in years past and know that will continue in the years to come. We would like to agree with the newly-elected Turkish leadership on a period in the coming months of high-level visits, discussions and joint commitment to face together the challenges of stability and peace in the Middle East.

Turkey, after all, has been one of our closest friends for over 50 years, dating back to the Truman Doctrine and the Korean War, and anchored by our Alliance in NATO. Throughout this long period, Turkey has always been among the United States' most dependable and important allies in an otherwise turbulent region. We look to Turkey, with its 160-year legacy of modernizing reform, as the most successful example in the world today of a secular democracy within a Muslim society that can inspire reformers in the greater Middle East and beyond.

Turkey's importance to the United States is even more pronounced at a time when the Middle East in the 21st century has replaced Europe in the 20th century as the most critical region for America's core national security interests. Turkey is the only country in the region that can work effectively with all of the others in the Middle East. Turkey's influence is substantial and unique. In this very important sense, Turkey is an indispensable partner to the United States in the Middle East.

Our history of close relations, shared interests, and common values makes Turkey one of the most important Allies of the United States anywhere in the world. That is not to say that our relationship has been perfect: we have certainly endured our share of difficulties, misunderstandings, and miscommunications in recent years. From our perspective, 2002-2005 were particularly difficult, but we believe we have turned the corner together with the Turkish leadership. We now have a moment of opportunity to build stronger ties at all levels between our governments. For the past two years, especially, our leaders have worked with considerable energy to revive the relationship and to address more effectively the common challenges and opportunities before us.

One glance at the map demonstrates why it is so important to strengthen the ties between our two countries. Turkey is influential in the Balkans, in the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and in the greater Middle East. In this vitally important arc of countries where so much of our foreign policy attention now lies, Turkey is the vital link for the United States and our European allies in addressing common economic, security, and political challenges and opportunities in these critical regions.

On perhaps the most dynamic international issue of 2007 -- energy -- we share a common interest with the Turks. Turkey is the gateway for exports of oil and natural gas from the Caspian region and Iraq to Europe. Building on our successful cooperation in the 1990's to develop the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus gas pipeline, we now seek to expand this critical energy infrastructure into a Southern Corridor to help our European allies -- Greece, Italy and into Western Europe -- create a free market for energy supplies in Europe. These efforts can also help Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan bolster their own independence by providing them access to European energy markets.

We hope it will be possible for Turkey to arrive at a swift agreement with Azerbaijan on transit terms. Turkey should also strive to find a pricing formula for future exports to Turkey from the Caspian Sea natural gas field of Shah Deniz, a necessary step to complete the inter-governmental agreement for the Turkey-Greece-Italy gas pipeline. Over the longer term, Turkey should continue to cooperate with the United States and our friends in Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan to expand gas production and exports to Turkey and onward into Europe.

In South Asia, Turkey is helping NATO to bolster regional security in Afghanistan, having twice commanded the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and now leading a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Wardak Province. Turkey has been an important arbiter between Afghanistan and Pakistan, providing a welcoming, neutral venue for Presidents Karzai and Musharraf to discuss issues of mutual significance.

It is in this area that we feel Turkey could make even more of an impact. Turkey could offer assistance to repatriated Afghan refugees from Pakistan, help both sides improve border management and customs collection, or support the emergence of Afghan-Pakistani Reconstruction Opportunity Zones, as the U.S. plans to do.

Turkey has also played a key role in Kosovo, where it has 660 personnel in KFOR and took over command of Multinational Task Force-South in May. The Turkish government is playing a similarly constructive role in the extended Black Sea region, where Turkey's Operation Black Sea Harmony cooperates with NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean Sea to deter terrorism and bolster maritime security along NATO's southern and eastern flanks. Turkey should encourage its neighbors to undertake democratic reform, fight corruption and organized crime, as well as look for ways to improve market economies in the region. The U.S. would like to work with Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria to take greater advantage of opportunities to expand NATO's activities in the Black Sea region.

And, Turkey is playing a regional leadership role in the Middle East. Turkey's common borders with Iraq, Iran, and Syria provide an opportunity to advance peace and stability, fight proliferation of nuclear weapons, and defeat terrorists in a region that is now the epicenter of U.S. foreign policy. Turkey can help deepen our understanding of strategic trends in the Middle East, while reinforcing our efforts to advance political and economic freedom and fight terror to advance peace and prosperity.

It is not only geography and common interests that make Turkey a key U.S. partner; it is our shared values of democracy, diversity, and tolerant faith that make us friends and allies. The United States and Turkey share a deep appreciation for the importance of separating civic and religious life. In Turkey, reform movements during the late Ottoman period aimed to balance the claims that religion makes on personal lives with the exigencies of a modern state. One of the most famous waves of reforms, the so-called "Tanzimat" movement of the mid-19th Century was an attempt to give all residents of the empire the same rights, whether they were Muslim, Christian or xxxish. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk rejuvenated Turkey's modernizing reforms, as he granted political rights to women, laid the foundation for Turkey's industrial rise, and established the Turkish Republic as a secular democracy. Turkey's commitment to secular democracy makes it a natural ally for the United States.

Turkey may now be at a new historical turning point, with a real opportunity to invigorate political and economic reforms that will anchor it in the European Union and bolster its ability to inspire reformers in the greater Middle East region. Parliamentary elections on July 22 and the election of Abdullah Gul as president on August 28 demonstrated once again that Turkey is a robust and ever-maturing democracy, one that is defined by respect for constitutional processes, with the country's political future determined by elections. We welcome Mr. Gul's election as President. President Bush and Secretary Rice have good relationships with President Gul, and Prime Minister Erdogan, and look forward to developing these relationships.

The Justice and Development Party, or AKP, now controls the government, parliament, and presidency. At the same time, Turkish voters sent a message of moderation during the recent elections. While the AKP won a resounding victory, opposition parties received over 50 percent of the vote, and with more parties crossing the 10 percent electoral threshold the new parliament is more representative of Turkey's diverse voter sentiment. Turkey's voters thus appear to have signaled their desire for Prime Minister Erdogan and President Gul to deepen Turkey's secular democracy by rejuvenating political and economic reforms, but in the context of Turkey's Muslim society.

As Turkey's democratic institutions strengthen and as its reforms proceed, Turkey grows in importance to the U.S. as a strategic partner. Realizing the full potential of this partnership poses several immediate challenges to both of our countries. In the Middle East, Turkey can play a regional leadership role that could help the U.S. achieve some of its most pressing foreign policy goals, but which will require careful coordination to prevent our two countries from operating at cross-purposes.

At the top of the list is Iraq. Our decision to liberate Iraq from Saddam Hussein's brutality triggered an unprecedented wave of anti-Americanism in Turkey. Our official relations have recovered from the low-point of the Turkish Parliament's vote on March 1, 2003 to reject our request to move U.S. forces into Iraq via Turkey. Since then, Ankara has been a strong supporter of our efforts to stabilize Iraq, and has asked us not to abandon our goals, particularly safeguarding Iraq's territorial integrity. Turkey represents a critical logistical lifeline for our troops in Iraq and has made important contributions to Coalition operations there.

Turkey is similarly helpful in diplomatic efforts to bolster support for Iraq among its neighbors. The United States appreciates Turkey's willingness to host the next Extended neighbors ministerial in October, an important follow-up to the work begun at Sharm el-Sheikh last May. Secretary Rice announced this week that she plans to attend this meeting in Istanbul.

Turkey's willingness to help the international community address Iraq is all the more appreciated given the difficulties it is suffering as a result of attacks from PKK terrorists in Iraq. Let me assure you, the United States condemns the PKK as a vicious terrorist group. We mourn the loss of innocent Turkish lives in these attacks.

We remain fully committed to working with the Governments of Turkey and Iraq to counter PKK terrorists, who are headquartered in northern Iraq. We are making progress in putting in place the mechanisms required to produce such concrete results against the PKK. We will also follow up our success in working with Turkey and our other European partners to interdict PKK terror financiers in Europe and bring them to justice.

......

http://www.state.gov/p/us/rm/2007/92066.htm

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

2 of 2


The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship
R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Remarks at the Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS)
Washington, DC
September 13, 2007

......

Turkey and the United States also face a challenge in Iran. We have worked well together to support of the clear international consensus demanding that Iran cease its nuclear weapons development programs. Turkey has also proven to be strong partner in countering Iran's support for terrorists in the Middle East.

But the United States and Turkey still need to work out some tactical differences in handling Iran. We understand that Iran is a neighbor of Turkey and key trading partner, which sends over a million tourists to Turkey each year. Turkey's recent conclusion of a memorandum on energy cooperation with Iran, however, is troubling. Now is not the time for business as usual with Iran. We urge all of our friends and allies, including Turkey, to not reward Iran by investing in its oil and gas sector, while Iran continues to defy the United Nations Security Council by continuing its nuclear research for a weapons capability

The United States and Turkey share a common interest in working toward a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. President Bush's vision is of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security. The Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is the most capable Palestinian government since Oslo and is committed to being a partner for peace. As we work to develop the economy and institutions of governance that will form the foundation of a Palestinian state, Turkey understandably can see opportunities to draw on its historical experience from the Ottoman era and its modern economic might to help restore prosperity to the Palestinian people, while drawing on its more recent experience in forging a close security partnership with Israel.

Turkey is unique in its dual identity as both a Middle Eastern and European country. We thus face important challenges in U.S.-Turkish relations with regard to deepening Turkey's integration in Euroatlantic institutions.

We are among the strongest supporters of Turkey's EU aspirations. We call on Europe's leaders to signal clearly and unambiguously that Turkey will have a voice in the European Union in the future. We believe both Turkey and the Euroatlantic community will benefit as Turkey advances toward EU membership. We wish to see an even more democratic and prosperous Turkey, which will make Turkey a stronger partner for the United States in Europe. The prospect of full membership in the EU is the right goal for Turkey and the future of the European Union.

Moreover, Europe's full embrace of a reformed Turkey will send a powerful signal to Europe's other Muslim populations that Islam and democracy are compatible, and that integration into mainstream European society is possible without surrendering one's Islamic identity. This could be a crucial factor in defeating Europe's extremist recruiters, who prey on alienated Europe's Muslim populations. Those Europeans who oppose Turkish membership in the EU should keep in mind that it is not the Turkey of today, but an even more democratic Turkey of tomorrow that would that would join the EU after several more years of reform.

To reach this transcendent strategic objective, we hope Turkey will repeal Article 301 of the Penal Code, which restricts freedom of expression and has led to outlandish legal cases against private citizens and global figures such as Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk. We also hope Turkey will help make its own case with the EU by allowing the Ecumenical Patriarch's religious school at Halki in Istanbul to reopen decades after it closed.

We must also work with Turkey to strengthen NATO. Turkey has been a cornerstone of the Alliance since the 1952, serving as a barrier to Soviet expansion throughout the Cold War. Several generations of Turkish military officers enjoyed formative professional experiences while serving in NATO commands. Today, Turkey is a key NATO partner in Afghanistan and Kosovo, and is emerging as a critical potential partner in the vast majority of NATO's future contingencies, which lie to the southeast of Europe.

An important focus of Euroatlantic security cooperation is developing ways for the EU and NATO to work together in bringing their respective capacities to bear in strengthening stability and security in Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and elsewhere. We appreciate the difficulties that such cooperation poses for Turkey given the still-evolving Turkey-EU relationship, the circumstances of Turkey's participation in activities within the European Security and Defense Policy, as well as the complications resulting from the lack of a Cyprus settlement.
Yet it is vital for all of us, including Turkey, that NATO and the EU are indeed able to work together in crisis areas around the world. For this and many other reasons, we call on all relevant parties to reinvigorate UN-brokered efforts to reach a comprehensive Cyprus settlement that reunifies the island into a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. We welcome last week's meeting of President Papadopoulos and Mehmet Ali Talat, and look forward to future such meetings to implement last year's July 8 agreement.

I intend to travel to Cyprus this autumn and will communicate to the Cypriot government leadership and the Turkish leadership, as well, the strong wish of the United States that we might all contribute to a breakthrough for peace after decades of crisis. The time has come for the United Nations and all of us to achieve a just solution to the long-festering problem of Cyprus.

Finally, the U.S. and Turkey face a serious challenge with regard to Armenia. Each year on April 24, Armenian Remembrance Day, President Bush has issued a public statement lamenting the mass killings and forced deportations of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman authorities at the end of World War I. The United States condemnation of this tragedy is not at issue; the question is how best to facilitate reconciliation of all concerned parties with each other and with their painful and shared past. We believe passage of the U.S. House of Representative's Resolution 106, which would make a political determination that the tragedy of 1915 constituted genocide, would undercut voices emerging in Turkey for dialogue and reconciliations concerning these horrific events. We therefore have recommended to Congress that it not pass such a resolution.

We strongly encourage Turkey to normalize its relations and reopen its border with Armenia, steps that will help bring peace, prosperity and cooperation to the Caucasus. Now, in the wake of the AKP's resounding electoral victories, is the time for Ankara to make a bold opening toward Armenia. And we hope that Armenia will respond in kind.

In conclusion, the United States and Turkey have enjoyed a relationship of Allied friendship for over half a century of enormous complexity, success, and promise. We have weathered a difficult period over the past four years. We now stand at the edge of a potentially new era in Turkish politics that offers a chance to restore a sense of strategic partnership in U.S.-Turkish relations.

I will be traveling to Ankara soon to bring this message to the new government personally. The United States is determined to seize this opportunity to renew and strengthen our strategic partnership with Turkey. We look forward to working together with Turkish leaders who share this vision and determination to build this strong, vital and irreplaceable Turkish-American alliance for the 21st century.

Thank you.

http://www.state.gov/p/us/rm/2007/92066.htm

[Siamanto]

Re: Temporarily So Called Turkey and the World: Perceptions, Relations...

BURNS: US TO REVITALIZE ITS CRITICAL PARTNERSHIP WITH TURKEY

Journal of Turkish Weekly
The New Anatolian
Monday, 17 September 2007
Turkey

The United States, now convinced that the Erdogan administration is
here to stay after its resounding elections victory, feels it has to
revitalize its relationship with Ankara.

The Americans are dispatching Nicholas Burns, the Under Secretary for
Political Affairs who is regarded the no.3 man in the State Department
to Ankara consultations with the Turkish leaders. This comes on the eve
of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's trip to New York to attend
the United Nations General Assembly. There are rumors that Erdogan
may proceed to Washington for talks with the Bush Administration and
the U.S. Congress.

Burns told a gathering of the Atlantic Council if the United States
in Washington that it is time to "rejuvenate and restore America's
relationship with Turkey."

The U.S. official his government looks forward to a very close
relationship with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister
Erdogan. "President Bush and Secretary Rice respect both of these
men. We have worked very well and productively with them in years
past and know that will continue in the years to come."

He said Turkey-US relations have reached a 'critical juncture'. Burns,
who said 'we should work together' on the issues of Iran and energy,
made several challenging remarks to Ankara during his speech.

U.S. is clearly annoyed by a recent major deal signed between Turkey
and Iran for developing Iranian gas fields and carrying Iranian gas to
Europe. The development comes at a time when there are speculations
that the U.S. wants new action against Iran as it claims dialogue
has failed to stop the Iranian nuclear program.

Burns said as Turkey "is the only country in the region that can
work effectively with all of the others in the Middle East" and
"its influence is substantial and unique. In this very important
sense, Turkey is an indispensable partner to the United States in
the Middle East."

"On perhaps the most dynamic international issue of 2007 -- energy --
we share a common interest with the Turks," he said.

On religion Burns said Turkey's commitment to secular democracy makes
it a natural ally for the U.S.

Burns said Turkey may now be at a new historical turning point,
with a real opportunity to invigorate political and economic reforms
that will anchor it in the European Union and bolster its ability to
inspire reformers in the greater Middle East region.

"As Turkey's democratic institutions strengthen and as its reforms
proceed, Turkey grows in importance to the U.S. as a strategic
partner. Realizing the full potential of this partnership poses
several immediate challenges to both of our countries. In the Middle
East, Turkey can play a regional leadership role that could help the
U.S. achieve some of its most pressing foreign policy goals, but which
will require careful coordination to prevent our two countries from
operating at cross-purposes," Burns said.

The Americans have been angered as Turkey hosted a Hamas leader last
year to push the extremist Palestinians to tine down their radical
approach.

Burns said Iraq is a priority. He admitted U.S. decision to liberate
Iraq from Saddam Hussein's brutality triggered an unprecedented wave
of anti-Americanism in Turkey. "Our official relations have recovered
from the low-point of the Turkish Parliament's vote on March 1,
2003 to reject our request to move U.S. forces into Iraq via Turkey.

Since then, Ankara has been a strong supporter of our efforts to
stabilize Iraq, and has asked us not to abandon our goals, particularly
safeguarding Iraq's territorial integrity."

On the PKK Burns categorically denied the U.S. helps the terrorist
organization."Turkey's willingness to help the international community
address Iraq is all the more appreciated given the difficulties it is
suffering as a result of attacks from PKK terrorists in Iraq. Let me
assure you, the United States condemns the PKK as a vicious terrorist
group. We mourn the loss of innocent Turkish lives in these attacks.

We remain fully committed to working with the Governments of
Turkey and Iraq to counter PKK terrorists, who are headquartered
in northern Iraq. We are making progress in putting in place the
mechanisms required to produce such concrete results against the
PKK. We will also follow up our success in working with Turkey and
our other European partners to interdict PKK terror financiers in
Europe and bring them to justice."

He said Turkey and the United States "also face a challenge in
Iran." While he praised Turkish cooperation against the Iranian nuclear
program he said the two countries still need to work out some tactical
differences in handling Iran."

"We understand that Iran is a neighbor of Turkey and key trading
partner, which sends over a million tourists to Turkey each
year. Turkey's recent conclusion of a memorandum on energy cooperation
with Iran, however, is troubling. Now is not the time for business
as usual with Iran. We urge all of our friends and allies, including
Turkey, to not reward Iran by investing in its oil and gas sector,
while Iran continues to defy the United Nations Security Council by
continuing its nuclear research for a weapons capability."

On the European Union he said the U.S. calls on Europe's leaders to
signal clearly and unambiguously that Turkey will have a voice in
Union in the future.

"Europe's full embrace of a reformed Turkey will send a powerful
signal to Europe's other Muslim populations that Islam and democracy
are compatible, and that integration into mainstream European society
is possible without surrendering one's Islamic identity.

This could be a crucial factor in defeating Europe's extremist
recruiters, who prey on alienated Europe's Muslim populations."

On legal reforms he said the U.S. hopes Turkey will repeal Article 301
of the Penal Code, which restricts freedom of expression and has led to
outlandish legal cases against private citizens and global figures such
as Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk. "We also hope Turkey will help make its
own case with the EU by allowing the Ecumenical Patriarch's religious
school at Halki in Istanbul to reopen decades after it closed."

He said the U.S. appreciates the difficulties that security
cooperation with EU poses for Turkey given the still-evolving
Turkey-EU relationship, the circumstances of Turkey's participation
in activities within the European Security and Defense Policy, as well
as the complications resulting from the lack of a Cyprus settlement.

"Yet it is vital for all of us, including Turkey, that NATO and
the EU are indeed able to work together in crisis areas around the
world. For this and many other reasons, we call on all relevant parties
to reinvigorate UN-brokered efforts to reach a comprehensive Cyprus
settlement that reunifies the island into a bi-zonal, bi-communal
federation."

He said the U.S. welcomes last week's meeting of Greek Cypriot
President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali
Talat, and look forward to future such meetings to implement last
year's July 8 agreement.

He said he intends to travel to Cyprus this autumn and will communicate
to the Greek Cypriot government leadership and the Turkish leadership
the strong wish of the United States that "we might all contribute to
a breakthrough for peace after decades of crisis. The time has come
for the United Nations and all of us to achieve a just solution to
the long-festering problem of Cyprus."

On Armenia he said U.S. and Turkey face a serious challenges "Each year
on April 24, Armenian Remembrance Day, President Bush has issued a
public statement lamenting the mass killings and forced deportations
of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman authorities at the end
of World War I. The United States condemnation of this tragedy is
not at issue; the question is how best to facilitate reconciliation
of all concerned parties with each other and with their painful and
shared past. We believe passage of the U.S. House of Representative's
Resolution 106, which would make a political determination that the
tragedy of 1915 constituted genocide, would undercut voices emerging
in Turkey for dialogue and reconciliation concerning these horrific
events. We therefore have recommended to Congress that it not pass
such a resolution. "

He said the U.S. strongly encourages Turkey to normalize its relations
and reopen its border with Armenia.

"Now, in the wake of the AKP's resounding electoral victories, is
the time for Ankara to make a bold opening toward Armenia. And we
hope that Armenia will respond in kind."

Burns said Turkey and the U.S. now stand at the edge of a potentially
new era in Turkish politics that offers a chance to restore a sense of
strategic partnership in U.S.-Turkish relations. "The United States
is determined to seize this opportunity to renew and strengthen our
strategic partnership with Turkey."

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg202595.html