BY SOLI OZEL
SABAH- Columnist Soli Ozel writes on Turkish-US relations in the wake of the Sulaimaniya incident. A summary of his column is as follows:
The July 4 detention of Turkish soldiers by US forces in Sulaimaniya is unacceptable since in doing this, Washington showed a lack of respect its relations with Turkey, a country which it has called a close ‘strategic partner.’ Most media reports evaluated the incident as a clear signal that the Bush administration wants Turkey to withdraw its special forces from northern Iraq. However, other reports claimed that the State Department was completely unaware of the detention. As a matter of fact, the way the incident took place showed that it was a reaction of the American soldiers involved – rather than a planned strategic move – who took action out of anger. They were irate because they tend to see Turkey as a betrayer for its refusal to back them during the Iraq war. It seems that the relations between Turkish and US armies will no longer be good as they have been in the past.
We’ll wait and see whether or not both countries’ civilian leaderships can overcome this problem. Until the end of this month, Turkey will discuss whether Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s planned visit to Washington should go ahead as scheduled. Our politicians will decide on the issue probably after the joint commission set up to investigate the Sulaimaniya incident announces the results of its investigation. The US’ attitude towards Turkey during this period will also influence Ankara’s future decisions about bilateral relations. However, no matter what happens, we should all accept that the period of ‘strategic partnership’ has come to a close.
First of all, we need to consider whether the presence of our military in northern Iraq is really so essential. In light of the fact that the US has recently set up camp as one of our neighbors, we need to review our overall security policy. It seems that Turkey should withdraw its forces from the region for its own good. Most other columnists have recently agreed with this idea.
Sources told me that officials in Ankara are not well informed about the activities of our special forces in northern Iraq. Furthermore, NATO sources claim that besides these special forces, certain ultranationalist militants are providing ethnic Turkmen groups with armed military training in the region. Both the latest crisis and the presence of Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq are connected to another political hot potato: How will Turkey resolve the Kurdish issue? The timing of the Sulaimaniya incident is quite interesting. Some unknown official within the Bush administration approved the carrying out of such an operation in northern Iraq during a very critical period for Turkey when Ankara is taking significant steps for EU membership. In the wake of the incident, Turkey’s own anti-EU circles will get an automatic boost in profile, which is why the US policy has very important effects upon our domestic politics. It seems to me that it’s high time for Turkey to be calm and rethink both its identity and national interests. We need to think about our position in the region as well.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION