ZAMAN- Columnist Nevval Sevindi writes on Turkey’s Iraq policy. A summary of her column is as follows:
Parliament is due to begin its new legislative year next month and will debate then whether or not to send Turkish troops to Iraq. In an attempt to avoid another disappointment with the US, this time the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will probably manage to pass a bill authorizing deployment troop there. As a matter of fact, the General Staff Office has already sped up its preparations to deploy approximately 10,000 soldiers.
Here I’d like to run down a number of points concerning the Iraq policy which I believe should be pursued by our government:
We should launch new initiatives in the region: Our governments have avoided taking responsibilities in pursuing our Middle East policies. We cannot remain mere onlookers to what is happening at our neighbor’s. However, the AKP government has failed to develop a comprehensive Iraq policy. This situation should be corrected immediately.
Turkey should develop global projects: Our government should develop global policies and projects while disdaining such movements as political Islam and ultra-nationalist or leftist circles opposed to globalization. If we can’t keep up with recent global developments, our country will always lag behind the West. In fact, Turkey is experienced enough to develop projects in coordination with both the US and the European Union although it has yet to join the Union’s ranks. If we can overcome our fears and inferiority complex, our country will then attain the global prestige it deserves.
Domestic squabbles should end: Our famous secular-Islamist conflict should be brought to an immediate halt, as it precludes us from promoting our humanist and moderate Islamic culture to the rest of the world.
Isolationist nationalism is harming our country: The anti-American ideas which gained strength and currency during the recent crises are harmful to our national interests. An anti-US attitude will only present obstacles to our developing sound and reasonable policies.
It’s high time for us to develop visionary projects and policies. Even well-known German philosopher Jurgen Habermas told the recent World Philosophy Congress in Istanbul that countries needed such projects. ‘The US should participate in such an extensive global project,’ he urged. ‘If a new global system tries to exclude the US, this will only feed the American aggression.’
Now that it enjoys an unassailable sway in Parliament, let’s see what the AKP government will do in such challenging circumstances.