BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on tomorrow’s National Security Council meeting. A summary of his column is as follows:
Everybody is expectantly awaiting tomorrow’s National Security Council (NSC) meeting. As our nation is suffering under many problems, in particular the high cost of living, it cannot bear confusion at the summit of the state.
We don’t know the exact agenda of the meeting, we just know that domestic issues will be discussed, although Turkey has many challenges in the foreign policy arena as well. The final responsibility belongs to the government and elected officials. However, our bureaucracy and many institutions have failed because our relations with the US have broken down, to Turkey’s great disadvantage. I had no idea that our bureaucrats and diplomats, with years of experience in the world’s top capitals under their belts, stood opposed to the US! They argued at every forum that a war could be pursued only in compliance with international law but that nine-tenths of wars flouted this rule. A foreign policy formulated under the shadow of ideological obsessions and ignorance can only spell disaster. Foreign policy ultimately rests on nothing but national interests.
We expect tomorrow’s NSC meeting to take decisions which will brighten our nation and fill it with hope. We know that both the European Union and the world at large are closely following our NSC meetings, so we expect our government and parties to proceed wisely.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION