BY M. ALI KISLALI
RADIKAL- Columnist M. Ali Kislali comments on the new US ambassador to Turkey, Eric S. Edelman. A summary of his column is as follows:
In the United States, the president’s nominees for ambassadorships are only confirmed after they get the approval of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In their nomination hearings, the prospective ambassadors speak to this committee, telling about their lives, background, families, and their views of the country where they are due to serve. Afterwards, they take questions from the senators. Thus the committee and all related circles learn about the nominees’ character and personal views of their mission. However, the questions and answers posed to Eric S. Edelman, the new US Ambassador to Turkey due in Ankara today, were subjected to censorship. Neither Turkey’s Embassy in Washington nor the US government have made Edelman’s responses public, which is why we have yet to learn what he was asked at or told the committee, beyond his opening statement. Therefore, we lack clear information on his true thoughts about our country.
For example, back in 2000, we learned about just-departed Ambassador Robert Pearson’s thoughts on Turkey and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) after his Senate hearings and so had the opportunity to evaluate his ideas before his arrival. Now I look at Edelman’s opening statement to the committee, and see nothing but a collection of bland generalizations. He seemed to be trying to sit on the fence with clichéd statements about our country. He stated that Turkey was a ‘pivotal state’ for the region, adding that this meant a country able to influence both regional and international stability. Stressing that the US must fully grasp Ankara’s importance, Edelman also underlined that Turkey is a key actor in establishing stability in the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Europe. In addition, he said he believed Turkey might play a significant role in Iraq’s reconstruction despite the recent crises and strained bilateral relations. These are all garden-variety generalizations incapable of satisfying our curiosity about his real thoughts.
Edelman is set to arrive in Ankara today. Now we have to wait and see. In time we will learn his real ideas. I hope he manages to evaluate the realities of our country without prejudice.