BY BILAL CETIN
VATAN- Turkish-US relations now face a very difficult and dangerous crossroads. Here, either our problems will be resolved and the partnership and cooperation between two allies will be strengthened, or the term `strategic partnership' will be history. Both parties are positioning themselves and treading carefully in order not to suffer a mishap during this critical period. The US in particular is making intensive efforts to defuse the atmosphere, head off a land operation by Turkey against northern Iraq, and stop Turkey through an intermediate solution. It's also urging Turkey not to go beyond limited operations and saying that Iraq and Massoud Barzani's northern Iraqi administration can be convinced to engage in genuine, practical cooperation and that it needs time for this. But it's unlikely to be able to convince Ankara without taking concrete steps as soon as possible, starting with an operation to drive the terrorist PKK out of northern Iraq and deliver its leaders to Turkey.
This time both the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the government are very determined. Remarks this week by Foreign Minister Ali Babacan reflect this determinism as well. He said that Turkey won't waste any more time with commissions or discussions and that it opposes retrying mechanisms which already proved ineffective. In other words, Babacan means that Turkey doesn't want to hear any more empty words and that it won't tolerate further delays - that we will either carry out this operation, or Turkey will do what's necessary.
Meanwhile, calls to head off Turkey aren't coming only from the US. Other players, especially Russia, are issuing calls for `moderation.' The surprise visit to Ankara paid by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki last night is being seen as a similar effort. Of course, the approaches of neighboring countries are important, but Ankara thinks that actually the important power is Washington. Washington's stance will determine the fate of our strategic partnership.
In this respect, the next three days are extremely critical. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's meetings this week with Babacan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul and what she says to them are important. But Erdogan's meeting next Monday with US President George W. Bush at the White House carries even more weight. This meeting is historically important for the future of bilateral ties because its outcome could reshape the future of Turkish-US relations. If the result is consensus, then there's no problem. In that case, our strategic partnership will continue even more strongly. But what if the opposite happens and Erdogan comes back to Turkey empty-handed? Then you can forget the strategic partnership, as our relations could be harder hit than even during the US military embargo against Turkey following the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation.