BY FERAHI TINC
HURRIYET- Speaking in Prague yesterday, US President Barack Obama said that we 'must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change.' This is the message that the US administration wants to give to the world: change. Two persons, Michelle and Barack Obama, who changed their own difficult lives through hard work, are the embodied representative of this message. Obama led the way to a solution to the economic crisis at the G-20 summit, tested the durability of the situation in Europe on the 60th anniversary of NATO and then re-defined European Union-US relations yesterday in Prague, and now is in Turkey. Anti-Americanism runs very high here due to the Iraq war. But Obama is a hopeful politician who is seen warmly in both Turkey and worldwide.
We're the closest witnesses to the war in Iraq. We saw how a country was robbed of its museums and archives and how millions of people were left without homes and future. We not only know how things came to this, but also paid a price for it, though we had no say. What's more, we've been doing this since 1990. In other words, our own Iraq war lasted longer than the US'. Even if they withdraw, it will probably continue. Obama knows that now he's among people who paid a price due to the US war and economic crisis, and he will give messages accordingly. He'll also say what we want to hear. He'll say that he came to listen and learn from us and understand how we can provide change. But he'll also give important and serious messages.
When then US President George W. Bush came to Turkey in 2004 for a NATO summit, he condemned the terrorist PKK, supported Turkey's EU membership, and praised our EU reforms. I think Obama will also touch on these points. His statements in Prague yesterday about Turkey's EU membership show this as well. Bush did the same thing. (At that time, he made former French President Jacques Chirac angry, and yesterday a response came from current French President Nicolas Sarkozy). But there will be big differences between Obama's and Bush's messages. Bush held up Turkey to the Middle East as an example of a country which harmonized Islam and democracy. At that time, Iraq was the main issue for NATO, and the Greater Middle East Initiative hadn't been shelved yet. Turkey's Muslim face was being brought to the forefront, and some were trying to draw parallels between its democratization efforts and its 'moderate' character. I believe Obama won't mention moderate Islam. The new US administration will signal that it considers Turkey not an ally to be held up as an example in the Middle East, but as an old NATO partner and important power.
He'll give the message that friendship and cooperation between the two countries on the Western axis share common interests on a wide range of issues, including energy, the economy, stability in Iraq, and responsibility in Afghanistan. That's why his visit to Turkey was made the last stop on his European tour. As a matter of fact, NATO's main issue is no longer Iraq, but Afghanistan. The new US administration learned from the how Europe was shaken as the transatlantic alliance cracked. The US, growing weaker in Europe, can't deal with the entire world. Moreover, Turkey would strengthen the US position as a strong member in transatlantic cooperation, not as an ally in the Middle East. This means that Turkey should keep its relations with the Middle East strong, but it shouldn't lose its EU vision.